National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
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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 DisplayedWang J, Ying M, Temkin-Greener H
Care-partner support and hospitalization in assisted living during transitional home health care.
This study examined the impact of care-partner support on outcomes among assisted living (AL) residents. Variation in care-partner and its impact on hospitalizations among AL residents receiving Medicare home health (HH) services was investigated. Analysis of national data from various databases was used and a total of 741,926 participants were identified with Medicare HH admissions in 2017. Care-partner support during the HH admission was measured in seven domains: activity of daily living (ADLs), instrumental activities of ADLs), medication administration, treatment, medical equipment, home safety, and transportation. Care-partner support was categorized as assistance not needed, care-partner currently providing assistance, care-partner needs additional training/support to provide assistance, and care-partner is unavailable/unlikely to provide assistance. Among the cohort, inadequate care-partner support was identified for all seven domains ranging from 13.1% for transportation to 49.8% for treatment and was unavailable for 0.9% for transportation to 11.0% for treatment. Having inadequate or unavailable care-partner support was related to increased risk of hospitalization by 8.9% for treatment to 41.3% for medication administration.
AHRQ-funded; HS026893.
Citation: Wang J, Ying M, Temkin-Greener H .
Care-partner support and hospitalization in assisted living during transitional home health care.
J Am Geriatr Soc 2021 May;69(5):1231-39. doi: 10.1111/jgs.17005..
Keywords: Elderly, Transitions of Care, Caregiving, Hospitalization, Home Healthcare, Long-Term Care
Reistetter TA, Eschbach K K, Prochaska J
Understanding variation in postacute care: developing rehabilitation service areas through geographic mapping.
This study’s goal was to demonstrate a method for developing rehabilitation service areas for post-acute care. A secondary analysis of 2013-2014 Medicare records for older patients in Texas (n = 469,172) was conducted. The analysis included admission records for inpatient rehabilitation facilities, skilled nursing facilities, and long-term care hospitals. The authors used Ward’s algorithm to cluster patient ZIP code tabulation areas based on which facilities patients were admitted to for rehabilitation. They set the number of rehabilitation clusters to 22 to allow for comparison to the 22 hospital referral regions. Interclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) and variance in the number of rehabilitation beds across areas were the methods used to evaluate rehabilitation service areas. The service areas had a higher ICC and variance in beds than the hospital referral regions.
AHRQ-funded; HS024711.
Citation: Reistetter TA, Eschbach K K, Prochaska J .
Understanding variation in postacute care: developing rehabilitation service areas through geographic mapping.
Am J Phys Med Rehabil 2021 May;100(5):465-72. doi: 10.1097/phm.0000000000001577..
Keywords: Elderly, Rehabilitation, Medicare, Nursing Homes, Long-Term Care, Home Healthcare, Access to Care
Popescu I, Sood N, Joshi S
Trends in the use of skilled nursing facility and home health care under the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program: an interrupted time-series analysis.
Medicare's Hospital Readmission Reduction Program penalizes hospitals with elevated 30-day readmission rates for acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, or pneumonia. The authors investigated if, in order to reduce readmissions, hospitals may have increased referrals to skilled nursing facilities and home health care. They found that hospitals might be shifting to more intensive postacute care to avoid readmissions among seniors with pneumonia. At the same time, penalized hospitals' efforts to prevent readmissions may be keeping higher proportions of their patients in the community.
AHRQ-funded; HS024284; HS025394.
Citation: Popescu I, Sood N, Joshi S .
Trends in the use of skilled nursing facility and home health care under the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program: an interrupted time-series analysis.
Med Care 2019 Oct;57(10):757-65. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000001184..
Keywords: Home Healthcare, Nursing Homes, Chronic Conditions, Hospital Readmissions, Long-Term Care, Hospitals, Heart Disease and Health, Pneumonia, Cardiovascular Conditions
Gorges RJ, Sanghavi P, Konetzka RT
A national examination of long-term care setting, outcomes, and disparities among elderly dual eligibles.
The authors investigated the outcomes of expanding Medicaid funding for long-term care home and community-based services (HCBS). Using national Medicaid claims data on older adults enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid, they found that overall hospitalization rates were similar for HCBS and nursing facility users. They concluded that home and community-based services need to be carefully targeted to avoid adverse outcomes and that the racial/ethnic disparities in access to high-quality institutional long-term care are also present in HCBS.
AHRQ-funded; HS000084.
Citation: Gorges RJ, Sanghavi P, Konetzka RT .
A national examination of long-term care setting, outcomes, and disparities among elderly dual eligibles.
Health Aff 2019 Jul;38(7):1110-18. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2018.05409..
Keywords: Elderly, Medicaid, Medicare, Long-Term Care, Home Healthcare, Disparities, Racial and Ethnic Minorities
Coe NB, Guo J, Konetzka RT
AHRQ Author: Guo J
What is the marginal benefit of payment-induced family care? Impact on Medicaid spending and health of care recipients.
Research on home-based long-term care has centered almost solely on the costs; there has been very little, if any, attention paid to the relative benefits. This study exploited the randomization built into the Cash and Counseling Demonstration and Evaluation program that directly impacted the likelihood of having family involved in home care delivery. The investigators found that some family involvement in home-based care significantly decreased health-care utilization: lower likelihood of emergency room use, Medicaid-financed inpatient days, any Medicaid hospital expenditures, and fewer months with Medicaid-paid inpatient use.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation: Coe NB, Guo J, Konetzka RT .
What is the marginal benefit of payment-induced family care? Impact on Medicaid spending and health of care recipients.
Health Econ 2019 May;28(5):678-92. doi: 10.1002/hec.3873..
Keywords: Home Healthcare, Long-Term Care, Medicaid
Jones CD, Burke RE
Inpatient notes - getting past the "black box"-opportunities for hospitalists to improve postacute care transitions.
The care provided after hospital discharge in skilled-nursing facilities and home health care is collectively termed postacute care (PAC). In this article, the authors outline 3 key problems with postacute care transitions and offer potential solutions.
AHRQ-funded; HS024569.
Citation: Jones CD, Burke RE .
Inpatient notes - getting past the "black box"-opportunities for hospitalists to improve postacute care transitions.
Ann Intern Med 2018 May 15;168(10):HO2-HO3. doi: 10.7326/m18-0940..
Keywords: Health Services Research (HSR), Home Healthcare, Hospital Discharge, Long-Term Care, Transitions of Care
Rahman M, Keohane L, Trivedi AN
High-cost patients had substantial rates of leaving Medicare Advantage and joining traditional Medicare.
The investigators examined the rates at which participants who used three high-cost services switched between Medicare Advantage and traditional Medicare. They found that the switching rate from 2010 to 2011 away from Medicare Advantage and to traditional Medicare exceeded the switching rate in the opposite direction for participants who used long-term nursing home care, short-term nursing home care, and home health care. These results were magnified among people who were enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid.
AHRQ-funded; HS000011.
Citation: Rahman M, Keohane L, Trivedi AN .
High-cost patients had substantial rates of leaving Medicare Advantage and joining traditional Medicare.
Health Aff 2015 Oct;34(10):1675-81. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2015.0272.
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Keywords: Healthcare Costs, Home Healthcare, Long-Term Care, Medicare, Nursing Homes
Thomas KS
The relationship between Older Americans Act in-home services and low-care residents in nursing homes.
This study examining the relationship between the proportion of older adults in a State who receive in-home services funded by the Older Americans Act and the proportion of residents in nursing homes finds that for every additional 1 percent of the 65+ population that receives personal care services, there is a 0.8% decrease in the proportion of low-care residents in nursing homes.
AHRQ-funded; HS00011
Citation: Thomas KS .
The relationship between Older Americans Act in-home services and low-care residents in nursing homes.
J Aging Health. 2014 Mar;26(2):250-60. doi: 10.1177/0898264313513611..
Keywords: Elderly, Long-Term Care, Home Healthcare, Nursing Homes, Healthcare Delivery
Huckfeldt PJ, Sood NB, Romley JA
Medicare payment reform and provider entry and exit in the post-acute care market.
The researchers examined the impact of Medicare payment reform on the entry and exit of post-acute providers (home health agencies and skilled nursing facilities). They found that payment reforms reducing average and marginal payments reduced entries and increased exits from the market, with entries more likely to be affected.
AHRQ-funded; HS018541
Citation: Huckfeldt PJ, Sood NB, Romley JA .
Medicare payment reform and provider entry and exit in the post-acute care market.
Health Serv Res. 2013 Oct;48(5):1557-80. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.12059..
Keywords: Medicare, Critical Care, Healthcare Costs, Home Healthcare, Long-Term Care