You Are Here: AHRQ Home > News & Information > Articles of Interest

Articles of Interest

February 27, 2009

This weekly compilation of articles appearing in recently released journals and newsletters includes:

Articles funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) or authored by AHRQ researchers.
Articles mentioning or discussing AHRQ staff, activities, and publications/products.
Articles related to AHRQ-funded Evidence-based Practice Centers.
Articles related to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force or Put Prevention into Practice program.
Articles mentioning the National Healthcare Disparities Report and National Healthcare Quality Report.
Other research using AHRQ data or products.

AHRQ-Funded/Authored Articles

American Heart Journal
Auble TE, Hsieh M, Yealy DM. Differences in initial severity of illness between black and white emergency department patients hospitalized with heart failure. Am Heart J 2009 Feb; 157(2):306-11. [Supported by grant R01 HS10888.] Select to access the abstract.

American Journal of Medicine
Eisenstein EL, Sun JL, Anstrom KJ, et al. Do income level and race influence survival in patients receiving hemodialysis? Am J Med 2009 Feb; 122(2):170-80. [Supported by grant R01 HS13345 (Dialysis Facility Management study).] Select to access the abstract.

Archives of Internal Medicine
Lee I, Fishman NO, Zaoutis TE, et al. Risk factors for Fluconazole-resistant Candida glabrata bloodstream infections. Arch Intern Med 2009 Feb 23; 169(4):379-83. [Supported in part by grants U18 HS16946 and U18 HS10399.] Select to access the abstract.

An PG, Rabatin JS, Manwell LB, et al. Burden of difficult encounters in primary care: data from the minimizing error, maximizing outcomes study. Arch Intern Med 2009 Feb 23; 169(4):410-14. [Supported in part by grant R01 HS11955.]

Arthritis & Rheumatism (Arthritis Care and Research)
Hersh AO, von Scheven E, Yazdany J, et al. Differences in long-term disease activity and treatment of adult patients with childhood- and adult-onset systemic lupus erythematosus. Arthritis Rheum 2009 Jan 15; 61(1):13-20. [Supported by grant 1 R01 HS13893 (to ninth author, Yelin E).] Select to access the abstract.

Contemporary Economic Policy
Lu C, Frank RG, McGuire TG. Demand response of mental health services to cost sharing under managed care. Contemp Econ Policy 2009 Jan; 27(1):1-15. [Supported by grant P01 HS10803; uses 1996 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) data.] Select to access the abstract.

Health Affairs
Hsu J, Huang J, Fung V, et al. Distributing $800 billion: an early assessment of Medicare Part D risk adjustment. Health Aff 2009 Jan-Feb; 28(1):215-25. [Supported in part by grant R01 HS13902.] Select to access the abstract.

JAMA
Tricoci P, Allen JM, Kramer JM, et al. Scientific evidence underlying the ACC/AHA clinical practice guidelines. JAMA 2009 Feb 25; 301(8):831-41. [Supported by grant U18 HS10548.] Select to access the abstract.

Schiff GD, Galanter WL. Promoting more conservative prescribing. JAMA 2009 Feb 25; 301(8):865-7. [Supported in part by grant U18 HS16973(Formulary Leveraged Improved Prescribing (FLIP) project.]

Journal of Clinical Epidemiology
Patkar NM, Curtis JR, Teng GG, et al. Administrative codes combined with medical records based criteria accurately identified bacterial infections among rheumatoid arthritis patients. J Clin Epidemiol 2009 Mar; 62(3):321-7, 327.e1-327.e 7. [Supported in part by grant HS10389 (to the Arthritis Foundation, Maryland Chapter).] Select to access the abstract.

Quality and Safety in Health Care
Battles JB, Stevens DP. Adverse event reporting systems and safer healthcare. Qual Saf Health Care 2009 Feb; 18(1):2. [Authors are researchers in AHRQ's Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety.]

AHRQ-Related Articles

Archives of Internal Medicine
Rozzini R, Trabucchi M. Care quality and frail subjects. Arch Intern Med 2009 Feb 23; 169(4):416. [Cites AHRQ-authored article by Clancy (AHRQ director) (Arch Intern Med, 2008).]

Health Affairs
Siu AL, Spragens LH, Inouye SK, et al. The ironic business case for chronic care in the acute care setting. Health Aff 2009 Jan-Feb; 28(1):113-25. [Cites Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) publication, Weighted National Estimates from HCUP Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS), 2006, as published on AHRQ Web site.] Select to access the abstract.

Hurley RE, Keenan PS, Martsolf GR, et al. Early experiences with consumer engagement initiatives to improve chronic care. Health Aff 2009 Jan-Feb; 28(1):277-83. [Cites AHRQ publication, Public Chartered Value Exchanges Point of Contact Addresses, 2008, as published on AHRQ Web site.] Select to access the abstract.

Quality Safety in Health Care
Groene O, Lombarts MJ, Klazinga N, et al. Is patient-centredness in European hospitals related to existing quality improvement strategies? Analysis of a cross-sectional survey (MARQuIS study). Qual Saf Health Care 2009 Feb; 18 Suppl 1:i44-i50. [Cites AHRQ-funded article by Weiner et al. (Health Serv Res, 2006).] Select to access the abstract.

van Doormaal JE, van den Bemt PM, Mol PG, et al. Medication errors: the impact of prescribing and transcribing errors on preventable harm in hospitalised patients. Qual Saf Health Care 2009 Feb; 18(1):22-7. [Cites AHRQ-funded articles by Leape et al. (JAMA, 1995), Bates et al. (J Gen Intern Med, 1995, and JAMA, 1995), Kaushal et al. (JAMA, 2001), Gurwitz et al. (Am J Med, 2005), and Bates and Gawande (N Engl J Med, 2003).] Select to access the abstract.

Boockvar KS, Liu S, Goldstein N, et al. Prescribing discrepancies likely to cause adverse drug events after patient transfer. Qual Saf Health Care 2009 Feb; 18(1):32-6. [Cites AHRQ-funded articles Rogers et al. (Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf, 2006) and Kawamoto (BMJ, 2005).] Select to access the abstract.

Rodriguez-Paz JM, Kennedy M, Salas E, et al. Beyond "see one, do one, teach one": toward a different training paradigm. Qual Saf Health Care 2009 Feb; 18(1):63-8. [Cites AHRQ-funded articles by Pronovost et al. (J Crit Care, 2006, Health Serv Res, 2006, Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf, 2006, and Ann Intern Med, 2004), Rothschild et al. (Crit Care Med, 2005), and Landrigan et al. (N Engl J Med, 2004).] Select to access the abstract.

U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF)/Put Prevention Into Practice (PPIP)-Related Articles

American Journal of Preventive Medicine
Stahre MA, Brewer RD, Fonseca VP, et al. Binge drinking among U.S. active-duty military personnel. [Uses and cites USPSTF recommendation statement on screening and behavioral counseling interventions in primary care to reduce alcohol misuse (Ann Intern Med, 2004).] Select to access the abstract.

Archives of Internal Medicine
Sequist TD, Zaslavsky AM, Marshall R, et al. Patient and physician reminders to promote colorectal cancer screening: a randomized control trial. Arch Intern Med 2009 Feb 23; 169(4):364-71. [Cites USPSTF recommendation and rationale on screening for colorectal cancer (Ann Intern Med, 2002); cites AHRQ-funded article by Poon et al. (Stud Health Technol Info, 2007).] Select to access the abstract.

Health Affairs
Goetzel RZ. Do prevention or treatment services save money? The wrong debate. Health Aff 2009 Jan-Feb; 28(1):37-41. [States that "deciding which preventive services are effective and safe and therefore recommended is left to the judgment of unbiased, independent panels such as the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force..."; cites Partnership for Prevention publication, Evidence and Calculations: Clinically Preventable Burden and Cost Effectiveness for Preventive Services Recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, 2001, as published on the Partnership for Prevention Web site.] Select to access the abstract.

Emmons KM, Lobb R, Puleo E, et al. Colorectal cancer screening: prevalence among low-income groups with health insurance. Health Aff 2009 Jan-Feb; 28(1):169-77. [Cites USPSTF recommendation statement Screening for Colorectal Cancer, Decision Analysis, 2008, as published on AHRQ Web site.] Select to access the abstract.

JAMA
Shaneyfelt TM, Centor RM. Reassessment of clinical practice guidelines: go gently into that good night. JAMA 2009 Feb 25; 301(8):868-9. [Asserts that "the time has come for guideline development to again be centralized, for example under the guidance of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality or "a group similar to the US Preventive Services Task Force. Such centralization should help reduce bias and redundancy and better guide the research agenda"; citesAHRQ-funded/authored article by Shekelle et al. (JAMA, 2001) regarding the average valid life-span of guidelines and lack of procedures to update them.]

Journal of Gastroenterology
Iwama T. NSAIDs and colorectal cancer prevention. J Gastroenterol 2009; 44 Suppl 19:72-6. [Cites USPSTF-sponsored systematic review on the use of aspirin for primary prevention of colorectal cancer (Ann Intern Med, 2007).] Select to access the abstract.

Evidence-based Practice Centers-Related Articles

MLA News
de Richemond J. Adding value to searches: documenting search results. MLA News 2009 Feb; (413):12-13. [Mentions that AHRQ's"Evidence-based Practice Centers and the Cochrane Collaboration routinely publish documented search strategies and exact search strings for use in searching."]

Quality and Safety in Health Care
Benn J, Koutantji M, Wallace L, et al. Feedback from incident reporting: information and action to improve patient safety. Qual Saf Health Care 2009 Feb; 18(1):11-21. [Cite AHRQ Evidence Report/Technology Assessment, Making Health Care Safer: A Critical Analysis of Patient Safety Practices, 2001; cites AHRQ-authored article by Battles (Senior Service Fellow for Patient Safety and Medical Error in AHRQ's Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety) et al. (Arch Pathol Lab Med, 1998).] Select to access the abstract.

Braithwaite J, Runciman WB, Merry AF. Towards safer, better healthcare: harnessing the natural properties of complex sociotechnical systems. Qual Saf Health Care 2009 Feb; 18(1):37-41. [Cites AHRQ-funded articles by Pronovost et al. (N Engl J Med, 2006) and Koppel et al. (J Am Med Assoc, 2005); cites AHRQ Evidence Report/Technology Assessment, Making Health Care Safer: A Critical Analysis of Patient Safety Practices, 2001.] Select to access the abstract.

Krimsky WS, Mroz IB, McIlwaine JK, et al. A model for increasing patient safety in the intensive care unit: increasing the implementation rates of proven safety measures. Qual Saf Health Care 2009 Feb; 18(1):74-80. [Cites AHRQ Evidence Report/Technology Assessment, Making Health Care Safer: A Critical Analysis of Patient Safety Practices, 2001; cites AHRQ-funded articles by Pronovost et al. (N Engl J Med, 2006), Berenholtz et al. (Jt Comm J Qual Saf, 2004), and Bates et al. (Jt Comm J Qual Improv, 1998).] Select to access the abstract.

National Healthcare Quality Report (NHQR)/National Healthcare Disparities Report (NHDR)-Related Articles

American Journal of Occupational Therapy
Bass-Haugen JD. Health disparities: examination of evidence relevant for occupational therapy. Am J Occup Ther 2009 Jan-Feb; 63(1):24-34. [Uses data related to occupatiional therapy practice as compiled in AHRQ's NHDR, 2006; concludes that study's findings "support the National Healthcare Disparities Reports, which concluded that health disparities are still prevalent in the United States, and opportunities remain in health professions, like occupational therapy, to improve the health of all citizens."] Select to access the abstract.

Health Affairs
Bodenheimer T, Chen E, Bennett HD. Confronting the growing burden of chronic disease: can the U.S. health care workforce do the job?. Health Aff 2009 Jan-Feb; 28(1):64-74. [Cites AHRQ's NHDR, 2008.] Select to access the abstract.

Research by Others Using AHRQ Data or Products

Health Affairs
Roehrig C, Miller G, Bryant J. National health spending by medical condition, 1996-2005. Health Aff 2009 Feb 24. [Epub ahead of print. Uses MEPS and HCUP data and AHRQ's Clinical Classifications Software categories to supplement National Health Expenditure Accounts health spending estimates.] Select to access the abstract.

Quality and Safety in Health Care
Hutchinson A, Young TA, Cooper KL, et al. Trends in healthcare incident reporting and relationship to safety and quality data in acute hospitals: results from the National Reporting and Learning System. Qual Saf Health Care 2009 Feb; 18(1):5-10. [Cites AHRQ publication, Patient Safety Reporting Systems Factsheet, 2001, and uses patient safety indicators adapted from AHRQ quality indicators, as published on AHRQ Web site.] Select to access the abstract.

Current as of February 2009

Internet Citation:

Articles of Interest, February 27, 2009. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/news/articles/art022709.htm