National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
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Search All Research Studies
Topics
- (-) Adverse Events (9)
- Ambulatory Care and Surgery (1)
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- Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs) (2)
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- Medical Errors (3)
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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.
Results
1 to 9 of 9 Research Studies DisplayedAuerbach AD, Lee TM, Hubbard CC
Diagnostic errors in hospitalized adults who died or were transferred to intensive care.
The objective of this retrospective cohort study was to determine the prevalence, underlying causes, and harms of diagnostic errors in hospitalized adults who were transferred to an intensive care unit or who died. Data was taken from 29 academic medical centers in the U.S. in a random sample of adults hospitalized with general medical conditions. Errors were found to have contributed to temporary harm, permanent harm, or death in nearly 18% of patients; among patients who died, diagnostic error was judged to have contributed to death in 6.6% of cases. The researchers noted that problems with choosing and interpreting tests and the processes involved with clinician assessment were a high priority for improvement efforts.
AHRQ-funded; HS027369.
Citation: Auerbach AD, Lee TM, Hubbard CC .
Diagnostic errors in hospitalized adults who died or were transferred to intensive care.
JAMA Intern Med 2024 Feb; 184(2):164-73. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2023.7347..
Keywords: Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Medical Errors, Hospitals, Inpatient Care, Quality of Care, Patient Safety, Adverse Events
Dalal AK, Schnipper JL, Raffel K
Identifying and classifying diagnostic errors in acute care across hospitals: early lessons from the Utility of Predictive Systems in Diagnostic Errors (UPSIDE) study.
This paper describes the Utility of Predictive Systems in Diagnostic Errors (UPSIDE) study, whose aim was to define the prevalence and underlying causes of diagnostic errors (DEs) in patients who die in the hospital or are transferred to the intensive care unit (ICU) after the first 48 hours. This study was conducted at 31 hospitals with more than 2500 cases reviewed using electronic health records. The authors identified some insights into key requirements into building a robust DE surveillance program by developing these steps: 1) Develop a shared understanding of what constitutes a diagnostic error; 2) Use validated tools to identify diagnostic errors and classify process failures, but respect your context; 3) Develop a standard approach to using electronic health records for case reviews; 4) Ensure reliability and consistency of the case review process; and 5) Link diagnostic error case reviews to institutional safety programs. They also developed steps to establish a diagnosis error review process at the hospital level with six processes.
AHRQ-funded; HS027369; HS026613.
Citation: Dalal AK, Schnipper JL, Raffel K .
Identifying and classifying diagnostic errors in acute care across hospitals: early lessons from the Utility of Predictive Systems in Diagnostic Errors (UPSIDE) study.
J Hosp Med 2024 Feb; 19(2):140-45. doi: 10.1002/jhm.13136..
Keywords: Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Medical Errors, Adverse Events, Patient Safety, Quality of Care, Hospitals
Marshall TL, Ipsaro AJ, Le M
Increasing physician reporting of diagnostic learning opportunities.
This study investigated methods to improve physician reporting of diagnostic errors at the pediatric division of a hospital. In that pediatric hospital medicine (PHM) division only 1 diagnostic-related safety event was reported in the preceding 4 years. The authors aimed to improve attending physician reporting of suspected diagnostic errors from 0 to 2 per 100 PHM patient admissions within 6 months. The improvement team used the Model for Improvement and used the term diagnostic learning opportunity (DLO) with clinicians as opposed to diagnostic error to lessen the stigma. They developed an electronic reporting form and encouraged its use through reminders, scheduled reflection time, and monthly progress reports. Over the course of 13 weeks, there was an increase from 0 to 1.6 per patient admission reports files. Most events (66%) were true diagnostic errors.
AHRQ-funded; HS023827.
Citation: Marshall TL, Ipsaro AJ, Le M .
Increasing physician reporting of diagnostic learning opportunities.
Pediatrics 2021 Jan;147(1). doi: 10.1542/peds.2019-2400..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Medical Errors, Adverse Events, Patient Safety, Hospitals, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care
Aldina S, Goldhaber-Fiebert SN, Hannenberg AA
Factors associated with the use of cognitive aids in operating room crises: a cross-sectional study of US hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers.
This study examined organizational context and implementation process factors influencing the use of cognitive aids for OR crises. It found that small facility size was associated with a fourfold increase in the odds of a facility reporting more successful implementation. Completing more implementation steps was also significantly associated with more successful implementation.
AHRQ-funded; HS024235.
Citation: Aldina S, Goldhaber-Fiebert SN, Hannenberg AA .
Factors associated with the use of cognitive aids in operating room crises: a cross-sectional study of US hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers.
Implement Sci 2018 Mar 26;13(1):50. doi: 10.1186/s13012-018-0739-4.
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Keywords: Adverse Events, Ambulatory Care and Surgery, Patient Safety, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Hospitals, Shared Decision Making, Clinical Decision Support (CDS)
Bhise V, Sittig DF, Vaghani V
An electronic trigger based on care escalation to identify preventable adverse events in hospitalised patients.
Researchers refined the methods of the Institute of Healthcare Improvement's Global Trigger Tool application and leveraged electronic health record data to improve detection of preventable adverse events, including diagnostic errors. In the studied sample, preventable adverse events were identified, including adverse drug events, patient falls, procedure-related complications, and hospital-associated infections. The authors concluded that such e-triggers can help overcome limitations of currently available methods to detect preventable harm in hospitalized patients.
AHRQ-funded; HS022087; HS023602.
Citation: Bhise V, Sittig DF, Vaghani V .
An electronic trigger based on care escalation to identify preventable adverse events in hospitalised patients.
BMJ Qual Saf 2018 Mar;27(3):241-46. doi: 10.1136/bmjqs-2017-006975..
Keywords: Adverse Events, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Hospitalization, Hospitals, Patient Safety, Prevention, Quality of Care, Quality Improvement, Quality Indicators (QIs)
Calderwood MS, Kleinman K, Huang SS
Surgical site infections: volume-outcome relationship and year-to-year stability of performance rankings.
The researchers evaluated the volume-outcome relationship as well as the year-to-year stability of performance rankings following coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery and hip arthroplasty. They concluded that aggregate surgical site infection risk is highest in hospitals with low annual procedure volumes. Even for higher volume hospitals, year-to-year random variation makes past experience an unreliable estimator of current performance.
AHRQ-funded; HS021424.
Citation: Calderwood MS, Kleinman K, Huang SS .
Surgical site infections: volume-outcome relationship and year-to-year stability of performance rankings.
Med Care 2017 Jan;55(1):79-85. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000000620.
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Keywords: Surgery, Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs), Adverse Events, Injuries and Wounds, Hospitals, Provider Performance, Quality Indicators (QIs), Quality of Care, Patient Safety, Elderly
Healy MA, Krell RW, Abdelsattar ZM
Pancreatic resection results in a statewide surgical collaborative.
This study sought to investigate changes over time in adverse outcomes after pancreatectomy across hospitals with different caseloads in a statewide surgical collaborative. It concluded that participation in regional quality collaboratives by lower-volume hospitals can attenuate the volume–outcome relationship for pancreatic surgery.
AHRQ-funded; HS20937; HS000053.
Citation: Healy MA, Krell RW, Abdelsattar ZM .
Pancreatic resection results in a statewide surgical collaborative.
Ann Surg Oncol 2015 Aug;22(8):2468-74. doi: 10.1245/s10434-015-4529-9..
Keywords: Surgery, Patient Safety, Adverse Events, Hospitals, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care
Durkin MJ, Dicks KV, Baker AW
Postoperative infection in spine surgery: does the month matter?
The authors evaluated for seasonal variation of surgical site infection (SSI) following spine surgery in a network of nonteaching community hospitals. They found that the rate of SSI following fusion or spinal laminectomy/laminoplasty was higher during the summer in this network of community hospitals, most likely due to S. aureus rather than the July effect.
AHRQ-funded; HS023866.
Citation: Durkin MJ, Dicks KV, Baker AW .
Postoperative infection in spine surgery: does the month matter?
J Neurosurg Spine 2015 Jul;23(1):128-34. doi: 10.3171/2014.10.spine14559.
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Keywords: Surgery, Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs), Injuries and Wounds, Adverse Events, Patient Safety, Hospitals, Outcomes, Quality of Care
Weissman JS, López L, Schneider EC
The association of hospital quality ratings with adverse events.
The researchers used a survey of 2,582 patients hospitalized at 16 acute care Massachusetts hospitals to understand how patient-reported quality is related to adverse events (AEs). Although patients with AEs rated hospital quality lower than others, patients with AEs who experienced ‘service recovery’ rated their quality of care at levels similar to those not experiencing AEs.
AHRQ-funded
Citation: Weissman JS, López L, Schneider EC .
The association of hospital quality ratings with adverse events.
Int J Qual Health Care. 2014 Apr;26(2):129-35. doi: 10.1093/intqhc/mzt092..
Keywords: Adverse Events, Quality of Care, Hospitals, Patient Experience, Patient Safety, Quality Indicators (QIs), Quality Measures