Research Activities

November 2010, No. 363

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Contents

About Research Activities

Feature Story

Plenary sessions at AHRQ annual meeting focus on connecting the dots between research and practice
AHRQ Conference Snapshot

Safety and Quality of Care

Oral chemotherapy drugs not immune to medication errors
Whistleblowers in pharmaceutical fraud cases pursue Federal lawsuits for moral reasons, not money
MRSA can spread slowly but surely in households
Electronic medical record boosts documentation of test results, but still falls short for patient notification and test followup
Various factors affect providers' ability to identify spoken drug names
AHRQ patient safety indicator can be used to identify cases of hospital-acquired collapsed lung
Cesarean delivery rates may not be a useful measure of obstetric quality

Outcomes/Effectiveness Research

Clopidogrel increases bleeding risk in cardiac patients with drug-eluting stents
Higher risk of death or heart attack in first 90 days after cardiac patients stop taking clopidogrel
Hospital report cards on coronary bypass surgery are more accurate when based on 2-year data
Colonoscopy is best at diagnosing lower intestinal bleeding
Most adults with lactose intolerance can tolerate the amount of lactose in a cup of milk
Pharmacy intervention for patients with limited literacy evokes positive responses from patients and pharmacists

Disparities/Minority Health

Black and Hispanic Medicare patients with hip fracture wait longer for surgery than white patients

Women's Health

9/11 attacks may have caused miscarriages of male fetuses
One-fifth of mothers do not receive recommended antenatal corticosteroids before delivery of premature infants

Chronic Disease

Stroke recurrence rates vary by U.S. region
A simple test can help assess how accurately patients report colorectal cancer screening

Public Health Preparedness

Heart-lung machine may be considered for certain patients with H1N1 influenza with acute respiratory failure

Primary Care

Medical home concept not well defined in 2007 legislation

HIV/AIDS Research

Internet-based personal health records helpful to most HIV/AIDS patients who used them

Agency News and Notes

Premiums for some family plans cost $20,000 or more
Use of diabetes pills up, insulin use down
Human growth hormone shows promise in treating cystic fibrosis symptoms
Potentially avoidable hospitalizations high among Medicare and Medicaid patients
Prostate cancer deaths drop, but blacks still most likely to die
Most public hospitals are in rural areas

Announcements

HHS awards $473 million in patient-centered outcomes research funding
AHRQ releases new Spanish language guides on women's health, cholesterol treatment, and other topics
New guide available on the AHRQ Health Care Innovations Exchange
AHRQ releases new and improved Registries for Evaluating Patient Outcomes

Research Briefs

Research Briefs
Healthcare 411
Subscribe to AHRQ's Electronic Newsletter
Visit the AHRQ Patient Safety Network Web Site
Follow AHRQ News on Twitter

AHRQ Publication No. 11-RA002
Current as of November 2010

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Internet Citation:

Research Activities Newsletter. November 2010, No. 363. AHRQ Publication No. 11-RA002. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/research/nov10/

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