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
Topics
- Access to Care (1)
- (-) Ambulatory Care and Surgery (9)
- Antibiotics (1)
- Antimicrobial Stewardship (1)
- Behavioral Health (1)
- Cancer (1)
- Caregiving (1)
- Care Management (1)
- Children/Adolescents (1)
- Chronic Conditions (3)
- Clinician-Patient Communication (3)
- Communication (2)
- Decision Making (1)
- Education: Patient and Caregiver (1)
- Evidence-Based Practice (1)
- Healthcare Delivery (1)
- Medical Liability (1)
- Medication (4)
- Nursing (1)
- Opioids (1)
- Organizational Change (1)
- Pain (1)
- Patient-Centered Outcomes Research (1)
- Patient Safety (2)
- Practice Patterns (1)
- Primary Care (2)
- Primary Care: Models of Care (1)
- (-) Provider (9)
- Provider: Clinician (1)
- Provider: Nurse (1)
- Provider: Pharmacist (1)
- Provider: Physician (3)
- Quality Improvement (1)
- Quality of Care (1)
- Treatments (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 9 of 9 Research Studies DisplayedRhee TG, Olfson M, Nierenberg AA
20-year trends in the pharmacologic treatment of bipolar disorder by psychiatrists in outpatient care settings.
Pharmacological options for treating bipolar disorder have increased over the past 20 years, with several second-generation antipsychotics receiving regulatory approval in the 1990s. In this study the authors describe trends in use of pharmacological agents in the outpatient management of bipolar disorder. The authors concluded that substantial changes occurred in the treatment of bipolar disorder over the past 20 years, with second-generation antipsychotics in large measure supplanting traditional mood stabilizers.
AHRQ-funded; HS023000.
Citation: Rhee TG, Olfson M, Nierenberg AA .
20-year trends in the pharmacologic treatment of bipolar disorder by psychiatrists in outpatient care settings.
Am J Psychiatry 2020 Aug;177(8):706-15. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2020.19091000..
Keywords: Behavioral Health, Medication, Practice Patterns, Ambulatory Care and Surgery, Provider: Physician, Provider
Lafferty M, Fauer A, Wright N
Causes and consequences of chemotherapy delays in ambulatory oncology practices: a multisite qualitative study.
The purpose of this study was to examine the causes and consequences of chemotherapy treatment delays and possible solutions to improve quality of care. The authors identified four primary themes from the analysis that affect delays. They suggest future investigations to examine nurses' communication practices in the context of timely chemotherapy administration since communication and documentation technologies within healthcare settings continuously evolve.
AHRQ-funded; HS024914.
Citation: Lafferty M, Fauer A, Wright N .
Causes and consequences of chemotherapy delays in ambulatory oncology practices: a multisite qualitative study.
Oncol Nurs Forum 2020 Jul 1;47(4):417-27. doi: 10.1188/20.Onf.417-427..
Keywords: Treatments, Cancer, Ambulatory Care and Surgery, Quality of Care, Clinician-Patient Communication, Communication, Provider: Nurse, Provider, Nursing, Chronic Conditions
Kohut MR, Keller SC, Linder JA
AHRQ Author: Miller MA
The inconvincible patient: how clinicians perceive demand for antibiotics in the outpatient setting.
Researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with clinicians to determine how they perceive demand for antibiotics in the outpatient setting. They conducted interviews with 25 clinicians from nine practices across three states. Patient demand was the most common reason why non-indicated antibiotics were prescribed. Clinicians felt that if they didn’t prescribe them they would experience repercussions in their reputation and practice and that certain patients are impossible to please without an antibiotic prescription regardless of the diagnosis.
AHRQ-authored; AHRQ-funded; 233201500020I.
Citation: Kohut MR, Keller SC, Linder JA .
The inconvincible patient: how clinicians perceive demand for antibiotics in the outpatient setting.
Fam Pract 2020 Mar 25;37(2):276-82. doi: 10.1093/fampra/cmz066..
Keywords: Antibiotics, Medication, Antimicrobial Stewardship, Ambulatory Care and Surgery, Provider: Clinician, Provider: Physician, Provider
Ike B, Baldwin LM, Sutton S
Staff and clinician work-life perceptions after implementing systems-based improvements to opioid management.
The authors assessed the impact of implementing the Six Building Blocks on the work-life of primary care providers and staff. Six rural and rural-serving primary care organizations implemented the Six Building Blocks, with assistance from practice facilitators, clinical experts, and informatics specialists. The authors found that clinicians and staff reported improvement in their work-life after implementing the Six Building Blocks Program to improve opioid medication management and recommended further research on patient experiences specific to practice redesign programs.
AHRQ-funded; HS023750.
Citation: Ike B, Baldwin LM, Sutton S .
Staff and clinician work-life perceptions after implementing systems-based improvements to opioid management.
J Am Board Fam Med 2019 Sep-Oct;32(5):715-23. doi: 10.3122/jabfm.2019.05.190027.
.
.
Keywords: Opioids, Pain, Chronic Conditions, Primary Care: Models of Care, Primary Care, Care Management, Ambulatory Care and Surgery, Quality Improvement, Medication, Provider, Clinician-Patient Communication
Links AR, Callon W, Wasserman C
Surgeon use of medical jargon with parents in the outpatient setting.
This study analyzed the use of unexplained medical jargon with parents whose children have sleep-disordered breathing and their consultations with otolaryngologists in a pediatric surgical setting. Participants (64 parents and 8 otolaryngologists) completed questionnaires that evaluated demographics, clinical features and parental role in decision-making. Unexplained medical jargon was commonly used by physicians (mean total utterances per visit = 28.9) while parents used jargon a mean of 4.3 times. Clinicians used more jargon when they felt that parents had greater involvement in decision-making or when parents used more jargon themselves. These results will be incorporated into communication training for clinicians.
AHRQ-funded; HS022932.
Citation: Links AR, Callon W, Wasserman C .
Surgeon use of medical jargon with parents in the outpatient setting.
Patient Educ Couns 2019 Jun;102(6):1111-18. doi: 10.1016/j.pec.2019.02.002..
Keywords: Ambulatory Care and Surgery, Caregiving, Children/Adolescents, Clinician-Patient Communication, Communication, Decision Making, Education: Patient and Caregiver, Provider, Provider: Physician
Ray KN, Martsolf GR, Mehrotra A
Trends in visits to specialist physicians involving nurse practitioners and physician assistants, 2001 to 2013.
The purpose of this study is to examine trends in specialist physician visits where nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs) provide care, based on the hypothesis that NPs and PAs provide care to patients of specialist physicians in increasing numbers, primarily for routine follow-up visits. Using the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) information on samples office visits, researchers identified visits to specialist physicians, divided these into surgical and medical specialists and examined unadjusted trends from 2001 - 2013 in the percentage of visits with NP or PA involvement. Visit characteristics associated with higher likelihood of NP or PA involvement were examined.
AHRQ-funded; HS022989.
Citation: Ray KN, Martsolf GR, Mehrotra A .
Trends in visits to specialist physicians involving nurse practitioners and physician assistants, 2001 to 2013.
JAMA Intern Med 2017 Aug;177(8):1213-16. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2017.1630..
Keywords: Access to Care, Ambulatory Care and Surgery, Healthcare Delivery, Primary Care, Provider
Hickner J, Smith SA, Yount N
Differing perceptions of safety culture across job roles in the ambulatory setting: analysis of the AHRQ Medical Office Survey on Patient Safety Culture.
This study examines differences in patient safety culture perceptions among providers, management and staff in a large national survey of safety culture in ambulatory practices in the USA. Its findings suggest that managers need to pay attention to the training needs of office staff, since this was an area with one of the greatest gaps in perceptions. In addition, both office managers and physicians need to encourage more open communication.
AHRQ-funded; 290200710024C.
Citation: Hickner J, Smith SA, Yount N .
Differing perceptions of safety culture across job roles in the ambulatory setting: analysis of the AHRQ Medical Office Survey on Patient Safety Culture.
BMJ Qual Saf 2016 Aug;25(8):588-94. doi: 10.1136/bmjqs-2014-003914.
.
.
Keywords: Ambulatory Care and Surgery, Organizational Change, Patient Safety, Provider
Singer SJ, Reyes Nieva H, Brede N
Evaluating ambulatory practice safety: the PROMISES project administrators and practice staff surveys.
This study reports findings from the baseline practice staff and administrator surveys designed as part of the PROMISES Project to assess safety and malpractice risks in the ambulatory setting. It found that administrators frequently reported important safety systems and processes were absent. Suboptimal or incomplete implementation of referral and test result management systems were related to staff perceptions of their quality.
AHRQ-funded; HS019508.
Citation: Singer SJ, Reyes Nieva H, Brede N .
Evaluating ambulatory practice safety: the PROMISES project administrators and practice staff surveys.
Med Care 2015 Feb;53(2):141-52. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000000269..
Keywords: Ambulatory Care and Surgery, Patient Safety, Medical Liability, Provider
Viswanathan M, Kahwati LC, Golin CE
Medication therapy management interventions in outpatient settings: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Medication therapy management (MTM) services (also called clinical pharmacy services) aim to reduce medication-related problems and their downstream outcomes. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of MTM interventions among outpatients with chronic illnesses. The investigators graded the evidence as insufficient for most outcomes because of inconsistency and imprecision that stemmed in part from underlying heterogeneity in populations and interventions.
AHRQ-funded; 290201200008I.
Citation: Viswanathan M, Kahwati LC, Golin CE .
Medication therapy management interventions in outpatient settings: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
JAMA Intern Med 2015 Jan;175(1):76-87. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2014.5841..
Keywords: Medication, Ambulatory Care and Surgery, Chronic Conditions, Evidence-Based Practice, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Provider: Pharmacist, Provider