National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
Latest available findings on quality of and access to health care
Data
- Data Infographics
- Data Visualizations
- Data Tools
- Data Innovations
- All-Payer Claims Database
- Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP)
- Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS)
- AHRQ Quality Indicator Tools for Data Analytics
- State Snapshots
- United States Health Information Knowledgebase (USHIK)
- Data Sources Available from AHRQ
Search All Research Studies
AHRQ Research Studies Date
Topics
- Access to Care (1)
- Adverse Events (2)
- Cardiovascular Conditions (2)
- Care Management (1)
- Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infections (CLABSI) (1)
- Community-Based Practice (1)
- Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) (8)
- Data (1)
- Diabetes (1)
- Diagnostic Safety and Quality (1)
- Disparities (3)
- Elderly (8)
- Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs) (3)
- Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) (4)
- Healthcare Costs (6)
- Healthcare Delivery (1)
- Health Insurance (2)
- Health Services Research (HSR) (2)
- Health Status (2)
- Health Systems (3)
- Heart Disease and Health (2)
- Hospital Discharge (3)
- Hospitalization (3)
- Hospital Readmissions (8)
- Hospitals (16)
- Inpatient Care (1)
- Kidney Disease and Health (1)
- Long-Term Care (1)
- Low-Income (1)
- Medicaid (3)
- Medical Devices (1)
- Medical Errors (1)
- (-) Medicare (55)
- Mortality (1)
- Nursing Homes (6)
- Orthopedics (1)
- Outcomes (4)
- Patient-Centered Healthcare (1)
- Patient-Centered Outcomes Research (2)
- Patient Experience (10)
- Patient Safety (5)
- Payment (16)
- Policy (1)
- Provider (1)
- Provider: Physician (1)
- Provider Performance (22)
- Public Reporting (2)
- Quality Improvement (13)
- Quality Indicators (QIs) (7)
- Quality Measures (7)
- (-) Quality of Care (55)
- Racial and Ethnic Minorities (2)
- Registries (1)
- Sepsis (2)
- Social Determinants of Health (1)
- Surgery (5)
- Vulnerable Populations (1)
AHRQ Research Studies
Sign up: AHRQ Research Studies Email updates
Research Studies is a compilation of published research articles funded by AHRQ or authored by AHRQ researchers.
Results
1 to 25 of 55 Research Studies DisplayedCollins CR, Abel MK, Shui A
Preparing for participation in the centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' bundle care payment initiative-advanced for major bowel surgery.
This study aimed to assess where the largest opportunities for care improvement lay with the bundled payment reimbursement model and how best to identify patients at high risk of suffering costly complications, including hospital readmission. The authors used a cohort of patients from 2014 and 2016 who met inclusion criteria for the Major Bowel Bundled Payment Program and performed a cost analysis to identify opportunities for improved care efficiency. Using the results, they identified readmissions as a target for improvement and then assessed whether the American College of Surgeons' National Surgical Quality Improvement Program surgical risk calculator (ACS NSQIP SRC) could accurately identify patients within the bundled payment population who were at high risk of readmission using a logistic regression model. Patients who were readmitted within 90-days post-surgery were 2.53 times more likely to be high-cost (>$60,000) then non-readmitted patients. However, the ACS NSQIP SRC did not accurately predict patients at high risk of readmission within the first 30 days post-surgery.
AHRQ-funded; HS024532.
Citation: Collins CR, Abel MK, Shui A .
Preparing for participation in the centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' bundle care payment initiative-advanced for major bowel surgery.
Perioper Med 2022 Dec 9;11(1):54. doi: 10.1186/s13741-022-00286-9..
Keywords: Provider Performance, Payment, Hospital Readmissions, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Surgery, Medicare, Medicaid
Liao JM, Huang Q, Wang E
Performance of physician groups and hospitals participating in bundled payments among Medicare beneficiaries.
This cohort study compared how physician group practices (PGPs) performed in bundled payments compared with hospitals. The authors used 2011 to 2018 Medicare claims data to compare the association of participants in the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement (BCPI) initiative with episode outcomes. Primary outcome was 90-day total episode spending. The total sampled comprised data from 1,288,781 Medicare beneficiaries, of whom mean age was 76.2 years, 59.7% women, and 85.5% White, with 592,071 individuals receiving care from 6405 physicians in in BPCI-participating PGPs and 24,758 propensity-matched physicians in non-BPCI-participating PGPs. For PGPs, BPCI participation was associated with greater reductions in episode spending for surgical (difference, -$1648 to -$1088) but not for medical episodes (difference, -$410 to $206). Hospital participation in BPCI was associated with greater reductions in episode spending for both surgical ($1345 to -$675) and medical -$1139 to -$386) episodes.
AHRQ-funded; HS027595.
Citation: Liao JM, Huang Q, Wang E .
Performance of physician groups and hospitals participating in bundled payments among Medicare beneficiaries.
JAMA Health Forum 2022 Dec 2; 3(12):e224889. doi: 10.1001/jamahealthforum.2022.4889..
Keywords: Provider Performance, Payment, Hospitals, Medicare, Quality of Care
Waters TM, Burns N, Kaplan CM
Combined impact of medicare's hospital pay for performance programs on quality and safety outcomes is mixed.
The authors examined the combined impact of Medicare's pay for performance (P4P) programs on clinical areas and populations targeted by the programs, as well as those outside their focus. Using HCUP data, and consistent with previous studies for individual programs, they detected minimal, if any, effect of Medicare's hospital P4P programs on quality and safety. They recommended a redesigning of the P4P programs before continuing to expand them.
AHRQ-funded; HS025148.
Citation: Waters TM, Burns N, Kaplan CM .
Combined impact of medicare's hospital pay for performance programs on quality and safety outcomes is mixed.
BMC Health Serv Res 2022 Jul 28;22(1):958. doi: 10.1186/s12913-022-08348-w..
Keywords: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Medicare, Payment, Provider Performance, Hospitals, Quality Indicators (QIs), Quality Measures, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Patient Safety
Zrelak PA, Utter GH, McDonald KM
Incorporating harms into the weighting of the revised Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Patient Safety for Selected Indicators Composite (Patient Safety Indicator 90).
The purpose of this study was to reweight AHRQ’s Patient Safety for Selected Indicators Composite (Patient Safety Indicator 90) from weights based solely on the frequency of component Patient Safety Indicators (PSIs) to those that incorporate excess harm reflecting patients' preferences for outcome-related health states. Findings showed that including harms in the weighting scheme changed individual component weights from the original frequency-based weighting. In the reweighted composite, PSIs 11, 13, and 12 contributed the greatest harm. The investigators concluded that reformulation of PSI 90 with harm-based weights is feasible and results in satisfactory reliability and discrimination.
AHRQ-authored; AHRQ-funded; 290201200003I.
Citation: Zrelak PA, Utter GH, McDonald KM .
Incorporating harms into the weighting of the revised Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Patient Safety for Selected Indicators Composite (Patient Safety Indicator 90).
Health Serv Res 2022 Jun;57(3):654-67. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.13918..
Keywords: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Patient Safety, Quality Indicators (QIs), Quality Measures, Quality of Care, Adverse Events, Medicare
Herrin J, Yu H, Venkatesh AK
Identifying high-value care for Medicare beneficiaries: a cross-sectional study of acute care hospitals in the USA.
Investigators sought to define hospital value and identify the characteristics of hospitals which provide high-value care. Participants were Medicare beneficiaries with claims included in CMS Overall Star Ratings or in publicly available Medicare spending per beneficiary data. The researchers found that there are high quality hospitals that are not high value, and a number of factors are strongly associated with being low or high value. They suggested that their findings can inform efforts of policymakers and hospitals to increase the value of care.
AHRQ-funded; HS022882; HS026980.
Citation: Herrin J, Yu H, Venkatesh AK .
Identifying high-value care for Medicare beneficiaries: a cross-sectional study of acute care hospitals in the USA.
BMJ Open 2022 Mar 31;12(3):e053629. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-053629..
Keywords: Medicare, Quality of Care, Hospitals
Wilcock AD, Joshi S, Escarce J
Luck of the draw: role of chance in the assignment of Medicare readmissions penalties.
Pay-for-performance programs are one strategy used by health plans to improve the efficiency and quality of care delivered to beneficiaries. Under such programs, providers are often compared against their peers in order to win bonuses or face penalties in payment. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact luck can have on the assessment of performance, the researchers investigated its role in assigning penalties under Medicare's Hospital Readmissions Reduction Policy (HRRP), a program that penalizes hospitals with excess readmissions.
AHRQ-funded; HS024284.
Citation: Wilcock AD, Joshi S, Escarce J .
Luck of the draw: role of chance in the assignment of Medicare readmissions penalties.
PLoS One 2021 Dec 21;16(12):e0261363. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0261363..
Keywords: Medicare, Payment, Hospital Readmissions, Provider Performance, Quality of Care
Roberts ET, Song Z, Ding L
Changes in patient experiences and assessment of gaming among large clinician practices in precursors of the merit-based incentive payment system.
Medicare's Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), a public reporting and pay-for-performance program, adjusts clinician payments based on publicly reported measures that are chosen primarily by clinicians or their practices. Within precursor programs of the MIPS, this study examined 1) practices' selection of Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) patient experience measures for quality scoring under pay-for-performance and 2) the association between mandated public reporting on CAHPS measures and performance on those measures.
AHRQ-funded; HS026727.
Citation: Roberts ET, Song Z, Ding L .
Changes in patient experiences and assessment of gaming among large clinician practices in precursors of the merit-based incentive payment system.
JAMA Health Forum 2021 Oct;2(10). doi: 10.1001/jamahealthforum.2021.3105..
Keywords: Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), Patient Experience, Medicare, Provider Performance, Payment, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care
Markovitz AA, Ayanian JZ, Warrier A
Medicare Advantage plan double bonuses drive racial disparity in payments, yield no quality or enrollment improvements.
Using national data for 2008-18, investigators found that double bonuses were not associated with either improvements in plan quality or increased Medicare Advantage enrollment. Additionally, double bonuses increased payments to plans to care for Black beneficiaries by $60 per year, compared with $91 for White beneficiaries. These findings suggest that double bonuses not only fail to improve quality and enrollment but also foster a racially inequitable distribution of Medicare funds that disfavors Black beneficiaries. This study supports eliminating double bonuses, thereby saving Medicare an estimated $1.8 billion per year.
AHRQ-funded; HS000053.
Citation: Markovitz AA, Ayanian JZ, Warrier A .
Medicare Advantage plan double bonuses drive racial disparity in payments, yield no quality or enrollment improvements.
Health Aff 2021 Sep;40(9):1411-19. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2021.00349..
Keywords: Medicare, Health Insurance, Payment, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Disparities, Racial and Ethnic Minorities
Barbash IJ, Davis BS, Yabes JG
Treatment patterns and clinical outcomes after the introduction of the Medicare Sepsis Performance Measure (SEP-1).
This study evaluated the effect of Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock Early Management Bundle (SEP-1) on treatment patterns and patient outcomes. Findings showed that, two years after its implementation, SEP-1 was associated with variable changes in process measures, with the greatest effect being an increase in lactate measurement within 3 hours of sepsis onset. There were small increases in antibiotic administration and fluid administration, a small increase in ICU admissions, and no changes in mortality or discharge to home.
Citation: Barbash IJ, Davis BS, Yabes JG .
Treatment patterns and clinical outcomes after the introduction of the Medicare Sepsis Performance Measure (SEP-1).
Ann Intern Med 2021 Jul;174(7):927-35. doi: 10.7326/m20-5043..
Keywords: Sepsis, Medicare, Outcomes, Quality Measures, Quality of Care
Meyers DJ, Rahman M, Mor V
Association of Medicare Advantage Star Ratings with racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities in quality of care.
This cross-sectional study looked at racial/ethnic minority and socioeconomic disparities in ratings for Medicare Advantage (MA) plans, which disproportionately enroll these populations. A total of 1,578,564 enrollees were included in this analysis that used 22 measures of quality and satisfaction at the individual enrollee level, aggregated into simulated star ratings from 2-5 stratified by socioeconomic status (SES) and race/ethnicity. Low SES enrollees had simulated stratified star ratings 0.5 stars lower than individuals with high SES in the same contract. Black enrollees had simulated star ratings that were 0.3 stars lower and Hispanic enrollees had 0.1 lower simulated star ratings than White enrollees in the same contract. There was a larger difference in ratings with 4.5 to 5-star contracts with Black and Hispanic enrollees with Whites, and no statistical difference in 2.0 to 2.5 star-rated contracts. There was only low correlation between simulated ratings for enrollees of low SES and high SES.
AHRQ-funded; HS02705101.
Citation: Meyers DJ, Rahman M, Mor V .
Association of Medicare Advantage Star Ratings with racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities in quality of care.
JAMA Health Forum 2021 Jun;2(6):e210793..
Keywords: Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), Medicare, Patient Experience, Disparities, Quality Measures, Provider Performance, Quality of Care, Racial and Ethnic Minorities
Sen AP, Meiselbach MK, Anderson KE
Physician network breadth and plan quality ratings in Medicare Advantage.
This research letter describes a cross-sectional study that was conducted to examine the extent of narrow networks across Medicare Advantage (MA), types of counties where they are common, enrollment in narrow network plans, and how networks are associated with star ratings. The authors used Vericred physician networks data, publicly available CMS MA plan data, and Census and Area Health Resources File data on county characteristics. Network breadth was defined as the percentage of eligible county-level physicians in network, with narrow defined as fewer than 25% of eligible physicians. The authors examined the 2019 physician breadth among the most prevalent MA plan designs (HMOs and PPOs), described the percentage of enrollees in narrow network plans by state, and assessed whether network breadth was associated with star ratings, adjusting for plan and county characteristics. The sample included 44,715 plan-counties and 18,448,434 MA enrollees. The mean MA network included 41.2% of local physicians. From the 44,715 plan-counties, 28% had narrow networks and 72% were non-narrow. The majority of narrow networks were HMOs (79.8%) compared with 50.7% among non-narrow plans. More narrow networks were in large metropolitan counties (40%) than in non-narrow networks (26.7%). Counties with higher narrow networks had more mean MA penetration and a larger mean percentage of population older than 65 years who self-identified as Hispanic. Six states had more than 50% of beneficiaries in a narrow network plan, including California, Florida, Minnesota, Maryland, Wyoming, and Kansas.
AHRQ-funded; HS000029.
Citation: Sen AP, Meiselbach MK, Anderson KE .
Physician network breadth and plan quality ratings in Medicare Advantage.
JAMA Health Forum 2021 Jul 30; 2(7):e211816. doi: 10.1001/jamahealthforum.2021.1816..
Keywords: Medicare, Quality of Care, Provider Performance
Meyers DJ, Trivedi AN, Wilson IB, DJ, Trivedi AN, Wilson IB
Higher Medicare Advantage Star Ratings are associated with improvements In patient outcomes.
Researchers examined CMS' five-star rating system for the overall quality of Medicare Advantage (MA) contracts. They found that enrollees experiencing a one-star MA rating increase were 20.8 percent less likely to leave their plan voluntarily to enroll in another plan or traditional Medicare. When hospitalized, enrollees were 3.4 percent more likely to use a higher-quality hospital and 2.6 percent less likely to be readmitted within ninety days. These findings suggest that MA star ratings may capture key domains of an MA plan's quality.
AHRQ-funded; HS027051.
Citation: Meyers DJ, Trivedi AN, Wilson IB, DJ, Trivedi AN, Wilson IB .
Higher Medicare Advantage Star Ratings are associated with improvements In patient outcomes.
Health Aff 2021 Feb;40(2):243-50. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2020.00845..
Keywords: Patient Experience, Provider Performance, Medicare, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Outcomes
Kranz AM, DeYoreo M, shete-Roesler B
Health system affiliation of physician organizations and quality of care for Medicare beneficiaries who have high needs.
The goal of this study was to test the hypothesis that health systems provide better care to patients with high needs compared to nonaffiliated physician organizations (POs). The 2015 Medicare Data on Provider Practice and Specialty linked physicians’ database was linked to POs Medicare Provider Enrollment, Chain, and Ownership System (PECOS) and IRS Form 990 data to identify health system affiliations. Among 2,323,301 beneficiaries with high needs, 52.3% received care from system-affiliated practices. The emergency department (ED) visit rate was statistically significantly different in system-affiliated POs and nonaffiliated POs. There were small differences for the remaining five of six quality measures examined: continuity of care, follow-up visits, all-cause readmissions, and ambulatory care-sensitive hospitalizations. Within systems there was substantial variation for rates of continuity of care and follow-up after ED visits.
AHRQ-funded; HS024067.
Citation: Kranz AM, DeYoreo M, shete-Roesler B .
Health system affiliation of physician organizations and quality of care for Medicare beneficiaries who have high needs.
Health Serv Res 2020 Dec;55(Suppl 3):1118-28. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.13570..
Keywords: Health Systems, Medicare, Quality of Care, Healthcare Delivery
Jacobs PD, Basu J
AHRQ Author: Jacobs PD, Basu J
Medicare Advantage and postdischarge quality: evidence from hospital readmissions.
This study compared relative readmission rates for beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Advantage (MA) and traditional Medicare (TM). HCUP State Inpatient Databases data for 4 states was used from 2009 and 2014. The outcome compared was the probability of a hospital readmission within 30 days of an index admission. There were significantly lower all-cause readmission rates among MA enrollees relative to those in TM in both 2009 and 2014, but MA enrollment was not associated with an increased reduction in readmission rates relative to TM during that time period.
AHRQ-authored
Citation: Jacobs PD, Basu J .
Medicare Advantage and postdischarge quality: evidence from hospital readmissions.
Am J Manag Care 2020 Dec;26(12):524-29. doi: 10.37765/ajmc.2020.88540..
Keywords: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Elderly, Medicare, Hospital Readmissions, Hospitals, Quality of Care, Provider Performance
Short MN, Ho V
Weighing the effects of vertical integration versus market concentration on hospital quality.
Provider organizations are increasing in complexity, as hospitals acquire physician practices and physician organizations grow in size. At the same time, hospitals are merging with each other to improve bargaining power with insurers. In this study, the investigators analyzed 29 quality measures reported to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services' Hospital Compare database for 2008 to 2015 to test whether vertical integration between hospitals and physicians or increases in hospital market concentration influenced patient outcomes.
AHRQ-funded; HS024727.
Citation: Short MN, Ho V .
Weighing the effects of vertical integration versus market concentration on hospital quality.
Med Care Res Rev 2020 Dec;77(6):538-48. doi: 10.1177/1077558719828938.
.
.
Keywords: Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), Quality of Care, Patient Experience, Hospitals, Medicare, Provider Performance, Health Systems
Ryskina KL, Andy AU, Manges KA
Association of online consumer reviews of skilled nursing facilities with patient rehospitalization rates.
The purpose of this study was to: 1.) assess the association between rehospitalization rates and online ratings of skilled nursing facility (SNFs); 2.) Compare the association of rehospitalization with ratings from a review website vs Medicare Nursing Home Compare (NHC) ratings; and 3.) Identify specific topics consistently reported in reviews of SNFs with the highest vs lowest rehospitalization rates using natural language processing.
AHRQ-funded; HS026116.
Citation: Ryskina KL, Andy AU, Manges KA .
Association of online consumer reviews of skilled nursing facilities with patient rehospitalization rates.
JAMA Netw Open 2020 May;3(5):e204682. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.4682..
Keywords: Nursing Homes, Hospital Readmissions, Provider Performance, Quality of Care, Medicare, Elderly
Sheetz KH, Chhabra K, Nathan H
The quality of surgical care at hospitals associated with America's highest-rated medical centers.
The objective of this study was to assess whether the quality of surgical care changes as hospitals form networks with established, high-quality medical centers. The investigators concluded that network formation was not associated with a significant improvement in quality or reduction in Medicare expenditures across all procedures studied for hospitals joining the networks of America’s highest rated medical centers.
AHRQ-funded; HS023597.
Citation: Sheetz KH, Chhabra K, Nathan H .
The quality of surgical care at hospitals associated with America's highest-rated medical centers.
Ann Surg 2020 May;271(5):862-67. doi: 10.1097/sla.0000000000003195..
Keywords: Surgery, Hospitals, Quality of Care, Medicare, Health Systems
Fahrenbach J, Chin MH, Huang ES
Neighborhood disadvantage and hospital quality ratings in the Medicare Hospital Compare Program.
This study examined the relationship between neighborhood social risk factors (SRFs) and hospital ratings in Medicare's Hospital Compare Program. Results showed that lower hospital summary scores were associated with caring for neighborhoods with higher social risk. Associations between neighborhood SRFs and hospital ratings were largest in the timeliness of care, patient experience, and hospital readmission groups and smallest in the safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of care groups. Failing to account for neighborhood social risk in hospital rating systems may reinforce hidden disincentives to care for medically underserved areas in the United States.
AHRQ-funded; HS023007.
Citation: Fahrenbach J, Chin MH, Huang ES .
Neighborhood disadvantage and hospital quality ratings in the Medicare Hospital Compare Program.
Med Care 2020 Apr;58(4):376-83. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000001283..
Keywords: Quality of Care, Hospitals, Medicare, Quality Indicators (QIs), Patient Experience, Social Determinants of Health
Tang AB, Childers CP, Dworsky JQ
Surgeon work captured by the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program across specialties.
The National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database is increasingly used for surgical research. However, it is unclear how well this database represents the breadth of work performed by different specialties. Using the 2017 NSQIP participant use file and the 2017 Medicare Physician/Supplier Procedure Summary file, the investigators evaluated (1) what proportion of surgical work was captured by NSQIP, (2) what procedures and disciplines were undersampled, and (3) the overall concordance between the NSQIP sample and a national sample.
AHRQ-funded; HS000046.
Citation: Tang AB, Childers CP, Dworsky JQ .
Surgeon work captured by the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program across specialties.
Surgery 2020 Mar;167(3):550-55. doi: 10.1016/j.surg.2019.11.013..
Keywords: Surgery, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Provider: Physician, Provider, Medicare, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research
Sharma H, Konetzka RT, Smieliauskas F
The relationship between reported staffing and expenditures in nursing homes.
AHRQ-funded; HS024967.
Citation: Sharma H, Konetzka RT, Smieliauskas F .
The relationship between reported staffing and expenditures in nursing homes.
Med Care Res Rev 2019 Dec 1;76(6):758-83. doi: 10.1177/1077558717739214..
Keywords: Nursing Homes, Long-Term Care, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Provider Performance, Medicare
McWilliams JM, Barnett ML, Roberts ET
Did hospital readmissions fall because per capita admission rates fell?
In this study examining the cause of falling hospital readmission rates, the investigators found that the probability of an admission occurring soon after another was lower when there were fewer admissions per patient. The authors indicate that the reduction in admission rates may explain much of the reduction in readmission rates.
AHRQ-funded; HS026727.
Citation: McWilliams JM, Barnett ML, Roberts ET .
Did hospital readmissions fall because per capita admission rates fell?
Health Aff 2019 Nov;38(11):1840-44. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2019.00411..
Keywords: Hospital Readmissions, Hospitals, Hospitalization, Quality of Care, Medicare
Schwarzkopf R, Behery OA, Yu H
Patterns and costs of 90-day readmission for surgical and medical complications following total hip and knee arthroplasty.
Unplanned readmissions following elective total hip (THA) and knee (TKA) arthroplasty as a result of surgical complications likely have different quality improvement targets and cost implications than those for nonsurgical readmissions. In this study, the investigators compared payments, timing, and location of unplanned readmissions with Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)-defined surgical complications to readmissions without such complications.
AHRQ-funded; HS022882.
Citation: Schwarzkopf R, Behery OA, Yu H .
Patterns and costs of 90-day readmission for surgical and medical complications following total hip and knee arthroplasty.
J Arthroplasty 2019 Oct;34(10):2304-07. doi: 10.1016/j.arth.2019.05.046..
Keywords: Orthopedics, Surgery, Hospital Readmissions, Adverse Events, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care, Medicare, Hospitals
Beckett MK, Elliott MN, Burkhart Q
The effects of survey version on patient experience scores and plan rankings.
Researchers assessed the effect of changing survey questions on plan-level patient experience measures and ratings. Using CAHPS data, they concluded that their analyses illustrated how to assess the impact of seemingly minor survey modifications for other national surveys considering changes and highlighted the importance of screeners in instrument design.
AHRQ-funded; HS016978.
Citation: Beckett MK, Elliott MN, Burkhart Q .
The effects of survey version on patient experience scores and plan rankings.
Health Serv Res 2019 Oct;54(5):1016-22. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.13172..
Keywords: Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), Patient Experience, Medicare, Quality of Care
Sukul D, Ryan AM, Yan P
Cardiologist participation in accountable care organizations and changes in spending and quality for Medicare patients with cardiovascular disease.
Despite widespread adoption of Medicare accountable care organizations (ACOs), healthcare spending reductions have been modest. This may relate to variable participation in ACOs by specialist physicians, who disproportionately drive spending. In this study, the investigators analyzed national Medicare data to examine whether specialist participation in Medicare ACOs was associated with changes in healthcare spending and clinical quality.
AHRQ-funded; HS024728; HS025615; HS024525.
Citation: Sukul D, Ryan AM, Yan P .
Cardiologist participation in accountable care organizations and changes in spending and quality for Medicare patients with cardiovascular disease.
Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes 2019 Sep;12(9):e005438. doi: 10.1161/circoutcomes.118.005438..
Keywords: Cardiovascular Conditions, Healthcare Costs, Heart Disease and Health, Medicare, Quality of Care
Ouayogode MH, Mainor AJ, Meara E
Association between care management and outcomes among patients with complex needs in Medicare accountable care organizations.
This study compared the performance of accountable care organizations (ACOS) for prevention quality indicator admissions and 30-day all-cause readmissions including hospitalization and emergency department visits, evaluation and management visits in ambulatory settings, median annual spending, lower median health care contact days and lower continuity-of-care-index for Medicare patients. This cross-sectional study surveyed 244 Medicare Shared Savings Program ACOs in the 2017-2018 National Survey of ACOs (of 351 Medicare ACO respondents conducted from July 20, 2017, to February 15, 2018 that was linked to 2016 Medicare administrative claims data. The study population included Medicare beneficiaries 66 years or older who were defined as having complex needs with higher costs because of frailty or 2 or more chronic conditions. There was not found to be much difference in quality between the lowest and top tertiles for care management and coordination activities.
AHRQ-funded; HS024075.
Citation: Ouayogode MH, Mainor AJ, Meara E .
Association between care management and outcomes among patients with complex needs in Medicare accountable care organizations.
JAMA Netw Open 2019 Jul 3;2(7):e196939. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.6939..
Keywords: Care Management, Elderly, Medicare, Outcomes, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Quality of Care, Quality Indicators (QIs)