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Electronic Newsletter

February 18, 2011

AHRQ News and Numbers

Overall, an average of 3.7 million adults in the United States were treated for kidney disease each year between 2003 and 2007. Spending for kidney disease treatment averaged $25.3 billion (in 2007 dollars) a year from 2003-2007. [Source: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, MEPS Statistical Brief #306: Average Annual Health Care Use and Expenditures for Kidney Disease among Adults 18 and Older, U.S. Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population, 2003-2007.]

Today's Headlines

  1. Rates of pneumonia dramatically reduced in patients on ventilators in Michigan intensive care units
  2. AHRQ's Health Care Innovations Exchange focuses on personal health records
  3. Audio podcasts keep you updated on health care information
  4. Do you know how AHRQ's research is being used?
  5. AHRQ in the professional literature

1. Rates of Pneumonia Dramatically Reduced in Patients on Ventilators in Michigan Intensive Care Units

Hospital staff in Michigan intensive care units cut by more than 70 percent the rate of pneumonia in patients who are on ventilators by using a targeted quality improvement initiative funded by AHRQ. This reduction in the rate of ventilator-associated pneumonia was sustained for the duration of the study's follow-up, a period of up to two and a half years. The quality improvement initiative, known as the Comprehensive Unit-based Safety Program, includes tools to improve communication and teamwork among ICU staff teams and implement practices based on guidelines by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, such as checklists and hand washing, to reduce rates of catheter-related bloodstream infections and ventilator-associated pneumonia. The program also measures if ICUs reduce healthcare-associated infections and reports these results so they can improve care. The study was published in the February 17 issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology and includes data from 112 ICUs in Michigan. Select to read our press release.

2. AHRQ's Health Care Innovations Exchange Focuses on Personal Health Records

In this week's issue, AHRQ's Health Care Innovations Exchange Web site focuses on the use of personal health records to improve care. The featured Innovations describe three programs that used personal health record systems to improve care. In addition, the featured QualityTools provide resources and tools to assist health care consumers in creating their own personal health records. Select to read this issue and more on the AHRQ Health Care Innovations Exchange Web site.

3. Audio Podcasts Keep You Updated On Health Care Information

AHRQ's Healthcare 411 is a podcast series you can listen to at home or on the go. Available in English and Spanish, 60-second audio podcasts are designed for consumers. Log on and listen to Healthcare 411; or subscribe and we'll send stories directly to your computer or personal media player. Select to listen to our latest audio podcast on e-prescribing and reducing medication costs.

4. Do You Know How AHRQ's Research Is Being Used?

We are always looking for ways in which AHRQ-funded research, products, and tools have changed people's lives, influenced clinical practice, improved policies, and affected patient outcomes. These impact case studies describe AHRQ research findings in action and are used in testimony, budget documents, and speeches. If your AHRQ-funded research has had an impact on health care policy, clinical practice, or patient outcomes, we would like to know. Contact AHRQ's Impact Case Studies Program at Jane.Steele@ahrq.hhs.gov or (301) 427-1243 with your impact stories.

5. AHRQ in the Professional Literature

We are providing the following hyperlinks to journal abstracts through PubMed® for your convenience. Unfortunately, some of you may not be able to access the abstracts because of firewalls or specific settings on your individual computer systems. If you are having problems, you should ask your technical support staff for possible remedies.

Schmittdiel JA, Grumbach K, Selby JV. System-based participatory research in health care: an approach for sustainable translational research and quality improvement. Ann Fam Med 2010 May-Jun; 8(3):256-9. Select to access the abstract on PubMed®.

Mitchell MD, Mikkelsen ME, Umscheid CA, Lee I, Fuchs BD, Halpern SD. A systematic review to inform institutional decisions about the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation during the H1N1 influenza pandemic. Crit Care Med 2010 Jun; 38(6):1398-1404. Select to access the abstract on PubMed®.

Neuman HB, Robbins L, Duarte J, et al. Risk-reducing surgery in FAP: role for surgeons beyond the incision. J Surg Oncol 2010 Jun 1; 101(7):570-6. Select to access the abstract on PubMed®.

Dalton VK, Harris LH, Gold KJ, et al. Provider knowledge, attitudes, and treatment preferences for early pregnancy failure. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2010 Jun; 202(6):531.e1-531.e8. Select to access the abstract on PubMed®.

Manski RJ, Cooper PF. Characteristics of employers offering dental coverage in the United States. J Am Dent Assoc 2010 Jun; 141(6):700-11. Select to access the abstract on PubMed®.

Mark TL, Vandivort-Warren R, Owens PL, et al. Psychiatric discharges in community hospitals with and without psychiatric units: how many and for whom? Psychiatr Serv 2010 Jun; 61(6):562-8. Select to access the abstract on PubMed®.

Contact Information

Please address comments and questions regarding the AHRQ Electronic Newsletter to Nancy Comfort at Nancy.Comfort@ahrq.hhs.gov or (301) 427-1866.

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Current as of February 2011

Internet Citation:

AHRQ Electronic Newsletter, February 18, 2011, Issue #307. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/news/enews/enews307.htm

 

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