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AHRQ Research Studies
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Research Studies is a compilation of published research articles funded by AHRQ or authored by AHRQ researchers.
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1 to 4 of 4 Research Studies DisplayedMafi JN, Godoy-Travieso P, Wei E
Evaluation of an intervention to reduce low-value preoperative care for patients undergoing cataract surgery at a safety-net health system.
This study analyzed the effects of an intervention program to reduce preoperative costs for care in patients undergoing cataract surgery. Most surgery centers require a battery of tests before surgery is approved. All patients must undergo primary care visits with chest x-rays, laboratory tests, and electrocardiograms required for many of them depending on age and presence of other conditions. This case-control study was conducted at 2 academic safety-net medical centers, Los Angeles County and University of Southern California (LAC-USC) (intervention, n = 469) and Harbor-UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) (control, n = 585), from April 13, 2015, through April 12, 2016, with 12 additional months (April 13, 2016, through April 13, 2017) to assess sustainability (intervention, n = 1002; control, n = 511). All preoperative care decreased in the intervention group and mostly decreased in the control group. Financial losses occurred at these centers, but there was an overall savings for patients and society. These findings suggest that this may be a barrier to eliminating low-value care.
AHRQ-funded; HS024067.
Citation: Mafi JN, Godoy-Travieso P, Wei E .
Evaluation of an intervention to reduce low-value preoperative care for patients undergoing cataract surgery at a safety-net health system.
JAMA Intern Med 2019 May;179(5):648-57. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2018.8358..
Keywords: Healthcare Costs, Surgery, Eye Disease and Health, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care
Nuckols TK, Keeler E, Anderson LJ
Economic evaluation of quality improvement interventions designed to improve glycemic control in diabetes: a systematic review and weighted regression analysis.
This study systematically reviewed economic evaluations of quality improvement (QI) interventions for glycemic control among adults with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Using English-language studies from high-income countries that evaluated organizational changes and reported program and utilization-related costs, the researchers extracted data regarding intervention, study design, change in HbA1c, time horizon, perspective, incremental net cost, incremental cost-effectiveness ratio, and study quality. They conclude that diverse and multifaceted QI interventions which lower HbA1c appear to be a fair-to-good value, relative to usual care.
AHRQ-funded; HS022644.
Citation: Nuckols TK, Keeler E, Anderson LJ .
Economic evaluation of quality improvement interventions designed to improve glycemic control in diabetes: a systematic review and weighted regression analysis.
Diabetes Care 2018 May;41(5):985-93. doi: 10.2337/dc17-1495..
Keywords: Diabetes, Healthcare Costs, Quality of Care, Quality Improvement
Paddock SM, Damberg CL, Yanagihara D
What role does efficiency play in understanding the relationship between cost and quality in physician organizations?
Previous studies demonstrate overuse of a narrow set of services, suggesting provider inefficiency, but existing studies neither quantify inefficiency more broadly nor assess its variation across physician organizations (POs). This study found that POs had substantial variation in efficiency, producing widely differing levels of quality for the same cost.
AHRQ-funded; HS021860.
Citation: Paddock SM, Damberg CL, Yanagihara D .
What role does efficiency play in understanding the relationship between cost and quality in physician organizations?
Med Care 2017 Dec;55(12):1039-45. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000000823.
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Keywords: Practice Patterns, Healthcare Costs, Quality of Care, Quality Improvement, Payment, Provider Performance
Kronick R, Casalino LP, Bindman AB
AHRQ Author: Kronick R
Apple pickers or federal judges: strong versus weak incentives in physician payment.
The authors provide an introduction for five papers commissioned by AHRQ focusing on incentives for physicians that are featured in this special issue of Health Services Research. These papers concentrate on suggesting a conceptual framework for the use of financial incentives in health care, key implications of the evidence to date on pay for performance and public reporting in health care and several related topics.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation: Kronick R, Casalino LP, Bindman AB .
Apple pickers or federal judges: strong versus weak incentives in physician payment.
Health Serv Res 2015 Dec;50 Suppl 2:2049-56. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.12424.
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Keywords: Payment, Provider Performance, Policy, Health Services Research (HSR), Quality of Care, Healthcare Costs, Quality Improvement