Articles of Interest

April 15, 2005

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These articles appeared in recently released journals and newsletters. They include articles funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) or authored by AHRQ researchers; articles mentioning or discussing AHRQ; articles related to AHRQ-funded Evidence-based Practice Centers; articles mentioning the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force/Put Prevention into Practice; articles mentioning the President's Advisory Commission on Consumer Protection and Quality in the Health Care Industry and Agency-supported activities relating to the Quality Interagency Task Force; and other research using AHRQ data.

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AHRQ-Funded/Authored Articles

American Journal of Psychiatry
Wei W, Sambamoorthi U, Olfson M, et al. Use of psychotherapy for depression in older adults. Am J Psychiatry 2005 Apr 162(4):711-7. [Supported by Grant Nos. HS11825 and HS09566.]

American Nurse
Farquhar MB, Friesen MA, Hughes R. Patient safety and culture: nurses play a key role. Am Nurse 2005 Mar-Apr; 37(2):9. [First and third authors are researchers in AHRQ's Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety and Center for Primary Care, Prevention, and Clinical Partnerships, respectively.]

Archives of Internal Medicine
Baker DW, Sudano JJ. Health insurance coverage during the years preceding Medicare eligibility. Arch Intern Med 2005 Apr 11; 165(7):770-6. [Supported by Grant No. 2 R01 HS10283-03.]

Peterson JF, Kuperman GJ, Shek C, et al. Guided prescription of psychotropic medications for geriatric inpatients. Arch Intern Med 2005 Apr 11; 165(7):802-7. [Supported by Grant No. U18 HS11169.]

Ethnicity and Disease
McCabe M, Morgan F, Curley H, et al. The informed consent process in a cross-cultural setting: is the process achieving the intended result? Ethn Dis 2005 Spring; 15(2):300-4. [Supported by Grant No. R01 HS10637.]

Health Services Research
Phillips CD, Holan S, Sherman M, Spector W, et al. Medicare expenditures for residents in assisted living: data from a national study. Health Serv Res 2005 Apr; 40(2):373-88. [Supported by Grant No. R01 HS10606; fourth author is researcher in AHRQ's Center for Delivery, Organization, and Markets.]

Tierney WM, Overhage JM, Murray MD, et al. Can computer-generated evidence-based care suggestions enhance evidence-based management of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease? A randomized controlled trial. Health Serv Res 2005 Apr; 40(2):477-98. [Supported by Grant No. HS07763.]

Hebert PL, Frick KD, Kane RL, et al. The causes of racial and ethnic differences in influenza vaccination rates among elderly Medicare beneficiaries. Health Serv Res 2005 Apr; 40(2):517-37. [Supported by Grant No. R03 HS10154-01.]

Wyrwich KW, Tierney WM, Babu AN, et al. A comparison of clinically important differences in health-related quality of life for patients with chronic lung disease, asthma, or heart disease. Health Serv Res 2005 Apr; 40(2):577-91. [Supported by Grant Nos. R01 HS10234 and K02 HS11635.]

International Journal for Quality in Health Care
Weingart SN. Beyond Babel: prospects for a universal patient safety taxonomy. Int J Qual Health Care 2005 Apr; 17(2):93-4. [Supported by Grant No. 1 K08 HS11644.]

Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety
Baker DP, Salas E, King H, Battles J, et al. The role of teamwork in the professional education of physicians: current status and assessment recommendations. Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf 2005 Apr; 31(4):185-202. [Supported by AHRQ/DoD Contract No. 282-98-0029 to American Institutes for Research; fourth author is researcher in AHRQ's Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety.]

Solberg LI, O'Connor PJ, Christianson JB, et al. The QUEST for quality: what are medical groups doing about it? Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf 2005 Apr; 31(4):211-9. [Supported by Grant No. R01 HS09946.]

Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association
Holzmueller CG, Pronovost PJ, Dickman F, et al. Creating the Web-based Intensive Care Unit Safety Reporting System. J Am Med Inform Assoc 2005 Mar-Apr; 12(2):130-9. [Supported by Grant No. U18 HS11902.]

Journal of General Internal Medicine
He XZ, Baker DW. Differences in leisure-time, household, and work-related physical activity by race, ethnicity, and education. J Gen Intern Med 2005 Mar; 20(3):259-66. [Supported by Grant No. R01 HS10283.]

Journal of Patient Safety
Clancy CM. The Journal of Patient Safety's inaugural issue. J Patient Saf 2005 Mar; 1(1):2-3. [Author is AHRQ Director Carolyn Clancy.]

Cook RI. Lessons from the war on cancer; the need for basic research on safety. J Patient Saf 2005 Mar; 1(1):7-8. [Supported by Grant Nos. HS11816 and HS14261.]

Woods DM, Holl JL, Shonkoff JP, et al. Child-specific risk factors and patient safety. J Patient Saf 2005 Mar; 1(1):17-22. [First author supported by AHRQ institutional National Research Service Award T32 HS00078.]

Wu AW, Holzmueller CG, Lubomski LH, et al. Development of the ICU Safety Reporting System. J Patient Saf 2005 Mar; 1(1):23-32. [Supported by Grant No. U18 HS11902-01.]

Pronovost P, Weast B, Rosenstein B, et al. Implementing and validating a comprehensive unit-based safety program. J Patient Saf 2005 Mar; 1(1):33-40. [Supported by Grant No. U18 HS11902-01.]

Woods DM, Holl JL, Ogata ES, et al. Systemic patient safety risks: lessons learned from focus groups. J Patient Saf 2005 Mar; 1(1):68-9. [First author supported by AHRQ institutional National Research Service Award T32 HS00078.]

Medical Decision Making
Mushlin AI, Kern LM, Paris M, et al. The value of diagnostic information to patients with chest pain suggestive of coronary artery disease. Med Decis Making 2005 Mar-Apr; 25(2):149-57. [Supported by Grant No. HS06901.]

AHRQ-Related Articles

BNAs Health Care Policy Report
State-level health quality data issued. BNA Health Care Policy Rep 2005 Apr 11; 13(15):487. [Summarizes findings from AHRQ's State Resources for Selected Measures from the 2004 National Healthcare Quality Report, as published on the AHRQ QualityTools Web site.]

Dermatology Nursing
Gorgos D. Nurses should raise a 'red flag' to protect patients. Dermatol Nurs 2005 Apr 1; 17(2):160. [Summarizes recommendations from Rhonda Hughes (researcher in AHRQ's Center for Primary Care, Prevention, and Clinical Partnerships) based on previous article (Am J Nurs 2005 May; 104(5):81, 83-4).]

Ethnicity and Disease
Heisler MB, Rust G, Patillo R. Improving health, eliminating disparities: finding solutions for better health care for all populations. Ethn Dis 2005 Spring; 15(2 Suppl 2):S1-4. [Cites AHRQ's National Healthcare Disparities Report (NHDR), 2003, and acknowledges AHRQ sponsorship of the 4th Annual Primary Care and Prevention Conference.]

Pederson LL, Blumenthal D. Smoking cessation: what works in primary care settings. Ethn Dis 2005 Spring; 15(2 Suppl 2):S10-13. [Cites PHS guideline, Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence, 2000.]

Bach PB. Racial disparities and site of care. Ethn Dis 2005 Spring; 15(2 Suppl 2):S31-33. [Cites AHRQ-authored articles by Aaron and Clancy (JAMA 2003 Feb 26; 289(8):1033-4) and Fiscella, Franks, Gold, and Clancy (JAMA 2000 May 17; 283(19):2579-84); cites AHRQ publication, Understanding and Eliminating Minority Health Disparities, 1999; and cites AHRQ-funded article by Schneider, et al. (JAMA 2002 Mar 13; 287(10):1288-94).]

Family Practice News
President's budget includes incentives for electronic records. Fam Pract News 2005, Mar 15; 35(6):80. [States that AHRQ is "currently directing $14 million of this year's budget to jump-start regional collaborations that would assist health care providers in employing these types of systems" and that "to continue these activities outside of AHRQ in 2006, the budget proposal includes a new $75 million account."]

Brunk D. Primary care falls short for depressed seniors. Fam Pract News 2005, Apr 1; 35(7):6. [States that "even though depression treatment guidelines have been available from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and other groups for more than a decade, only about one-quarter of physicians are using them in practice."]

Health Services Research
Halm EA, Sui AL. Are quality improvement messages registering? Health Serv Res 2005 Apr; 40(2):311-5. [Cites findings from article by Tierney, et al., in Health Serv Res, cited in AHRQ-Funded/Authored Articles.]

Berwick DM. The John M. Eisenberg Lecture: health services research as a citizen in improvement. Health Serv Res 2005 Apr; 40(2):317-36. [Cites use of AHRQ's Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) data in reviewed studies and former AHRQ director John Eisenberg's teachings on connecting formal evaluative methods to clinical practice.]

Pickreign JD, Gabel JR. Health benefits offer rates: is there a nonresponse bias? Health Serv Res 2005 Apr; 40(2):401-11. [Cites AHRQ's Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, Insurance Component (MEPS-IC) as an example of a survey that collects data on employer-sponsored health benefits from firms with fewer than 50 workers.]

Fiscella K. Commentary—anatomy of racial disparity in influenza vaccination. Health Serv Res 2005 Apr; 40(2):539-49. [Comments on article by Hebert, et al., cited in AHRQ-Funded/Authored Articles; cites several AHRQ-funded articles.]

Schunemann HJ, Guyatt GH. Commentary—goodbye M(C)ID! Hello MID, where do you come from? Health Serv Res 2005 Apr; 40(2):593-7. [Comments on article by Wyrwich, et al., cited in AHRQ-Funded/Authored Articles.]

International Journal for Quality in Health Care
Ouwens M, Wollersheim H, Hermens R, et al. Integrated care programmes for chronically ill patients: a review of systematic reviews. Int J Qual Health Care 2005 Apr; 17(2):141-6. [Cites AHRQ-authored articles by Norris (researcher in AHRQ's Center for Outcomes and Evidence) (Am J Prev Med 2002 May; 22(4 Suppl):15-38) and Dis Manage Health Outcomes 2003; 11(8):477-88).]

Cho W, Lee S, Kang HY, et al. Setting national priorities for quality assessment of health care services in Korea. Int J Qual Health Care 2005 Apr; 17(2):157-65. [Cites AHRQ publications Priority Areas for National Action: Transforming Healthcare Quality, 2000, Q-SPAN, USA: Expanding and Improving Quality of Care Measures, 200l, and A Computerized Needs-Oriented Quality Measurement Evaluation System, 2001; cites AHRQ-authored article by Johantgen, Elixhauser, et al. (former and current researchers in AHRQ's Center for Delivery, Organization, and Markets) (Jt Comm J Qual Improve 1998 Feb; 24(2):88-105).]

Walker CF, Jacobs SW. The role of the print media in informing the community about safety in public hospitals in Victoria, Australia: the case of 'golden staph'. Int J Qual Health Care 2005 Apr; 17(2):167-72. [Cites AHRQ-authored article by Stryer and Clancy (BMJ 2003 Jun 14; 326(7402):1278-9).]

Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety
Call for applicants—John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety Awards. Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf 2005 Apr; 31(4):180. [Announces call for award applications.]

Bates DW, Vanderveen T, Seger D, et al. Variability in intravenous medication practices: implications for medication safety. Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf 2005 Apr; 31(4):203-10. [Cites AHRQ-funded articles by Bates, et al. (JAMA 1995 Jul 5;274(1):29-34) and Leape, et al. (JAMA 1995 Jul 5;274(1):35-43).]

Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association
Overhage JM, Evans L, Marchibroda J. Communities' readiness for health information exchange: the national landscape in 2004. J Am Med Inform Assoc 2005 Mar-Apr; 12(2):107-12. [Cites AHRQ provision of $139 million in funding for health information technology programs.]

Stead WW, Kelly BJ, Kolodner RM. Achievable steps toward building a national health information infrastructure in the United States. J Am Med Inform Assoc 2005 Mar-Apr; 12(2):113-20. [Cites AHRQ-funded regional demonstration projects.]

Forster AJ, Andrade J, van Walraven C. Validation of a discharge summary term search method to detect adverse events. J Am Med Inform Assoc 2005 Mar-Apr; 12(2):200-6. [Cites AHRQ-funded articles by Cullen, et al. (Jt Comm J Qual Improv 1995 Oct;21(10):541-8) and Bates, et al. (J Am Med Inform Assoc 2003 Mar-Apr;10(2):115-28); cites AHRQ-authored article by Thomas, Studdert, and Burstin (AHRQ's Center for Primary Care, Prevention, and Clinical Partnerships director), et al. (Med Care 2000 Mar;38(3):261-71).]

Journal of Patient Safety
Dickey NW. Inaugural issue. J Patient Saf 2005 Mar; 1(1):1. [Notes AHRQ's agreement to "regularly outline its opportunities and contributions to patient safety science for the journal."]

Wears RL, Perry SJ, Sutcliffe KM. The medicalization of patient safety. J Patient Saf 2005 Mar; 1(1):4-6. [Cites changing participation of non-health safety science experts at AHRQ patient safety conferences and AHRQ's funding for patient safety research.]

Denham CR. Patient safety practices: leaders can turn barriers into accelerators. J Patient Saf 2005 Mar; 1(1):41-55. [Cites AHRQ/Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard University survey; cites participation of AHRQ grantees David Bates and David Classen and former AHRQ center director Gregg Meyer in the Leapfrog Group's senior medical advisory board.]

Journal of the American Board of Family Practice
Gonzalez J, Williams JW Jr, Noel PH, et al. Adherence to mental health treatment in a primary care clinic. J Am Board Fam Pract 2005 Mar-Apr; 18(5):87-96. [Cites AHRQ guideline Depression in Primary Care, Vol. 2: Treatment of Major Depression, 1993.]

Medicine and Health
The bad news: unless medical practice is reengineered, I.T. won't help. Med Health 2005 Apr 11; 59(13):1, 7-8. [Cites remarks by AHRQ Director Carolyn Clancy.]

Modern Healthcare
Mantone J. Accepting the inevitable. Mod Healthc 2005 Apr 11; 35(15):26-7. [Cites use of AHRQ's Inpatient Quality Indicators.]

Washington Health Week in Review (Commonwealth Fund)
Experts see 'fundamental change' in drive to improve health care quality. Wash Health Week Rev (Commonw Fund) 2005 Apr 11. [Quotes remarks by AHRQ Director Carolyn Clancy at the recent AHRQ-sponsored Health Care Quality Summit.]

AHRQ highlights state-by-state data on quality of care. Wash Health Week Rev (Commw Fund) 2005 Apr 11. [Quotes remarks by AHRQ Director Carolyn Clancy in announcing online availability of State-level quality data and funding of a new initiative, AHRQ QualityConnect.]

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

Geriatrics
Bluestein D. Counseling for health lifestyles. Geriatrics 2005 Apr; 60(4):34-38. [Cites USPSTF guidelines on behavioral counseling interventions (Am J Prev Med 2002; 22(4):267-28), counseling on tobacco use and tobacco-caused disease, and counseling to promote a healthy diet (all published on AHRQ Web site); cites AHRQ publications Pocket Guide to Staying Healthy at 50+, 2004, and Your Medicine: Play It Safe, 2003.]

Internal Medicine News
More colorectal screenings advised than performed in West Virginia. Intern Med News 2005 Apr 15; 38(8):63. [Cites USPSTF recommendations on colorectal cancer screening for adults 50 and older.]

International Journal for Quality in Health Care
Fervers B, Burgers JS, Haugh MC, et al. Predictors of high quality clinical practice guidelines: examples in oncology. Int J Qual Health Care 2005 Apr; 17(2):123-31. [Cites AHRQ-authored article by Woolf, et al. (Ann Rev Public Health 1996; 17:511-38); third author is David Atkins, researcher in AHRQ's Center for Outcomes and Evidence.]

Journal of the American Board of Family Practice
Robinson WD, Geske JA, Prest LA, et al. Depression treatment in primary care. J Am Board Fam Pract 2005 Mar-Apr; 18(5):79-86. [Cites AHRQ press release, "USPSTF Now Finds Sufficient Evidence to Recommend Screening Adults for Depression", 2002, and AHRQ guideline, Depression in Primary Care, Vol. 2: Treatment of Major Depression, 1993.]

Seehusen DA, Baldwin L, Runkle GP, et al. Are family physicians appropriately screening for postpartum depression? J Am Board Fam Pract 2005 Mar-Apr; 18(5):87-96. [Cites USPSTF guidelines on screening for depression (Ann Intern Med 2002 May 21; 136(10):760-4).]

Evidence-based Practice Centers-Related Articles

International Journal for Quality in Health Care
Chang A, Schyve PM, Croteau RJ, et al. The JCAHO patient safety event taxonomy: a standardized terminology and classification schema for near misses and adverse events. Int J Qual Health Care 2005 Apr; 17(2):95-105. [Cites AHRQ Evidence Report/Technology Assessment, Making Health Care Safer: A Critical Analysis of Patient Safety Practices, 2001; acknowledges the membership of AHRQ researcher James Battles (of the Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety) in the Patient Safety Taxonomy Workgroup and the provision of "specific expertise and encouragement" by AHRQ; cites AHRQ report, Implementing Planning Study for the Integration of Medical Event Reporting Input and Data Structure for Reporting to AHRQ, CDC, CMS, and FDA, submitted by MEDSTAT, 2002; cites AHRQ-authored articles by Kaplan, Battles, et al. (Transfusion 1998 Nov-Dec; 38(11-12):1071-81) and Battles, et al. (Arch Pathol Lab Med 1998 Mar; 122(3):231-8).]

Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association
McCray AT. Promoting health literacy. J Am Med Inform Assoc 2005 Mar-Apr; 12(2):152-63. [Cites AHRQ Evidence Report/Technology Assessment, Literacy and Health Outcomes, 2004; cites AHRQ-supported program announcement, Understanding and Promoting Health Literacy, 2004.]

Journal of Family Practice
Pichichero ME, Casey JR. Acute otitis media: making sense of recent guidelines on antimicrobial treatment. J Fam Pract 2005 Apr; 54(4):313-22. [Cites AHRQ Evidence Report/Technology Assessment, Management of Acute Otitis Media, 2001.]

Finkelstein A, Rao G. About levels of evidence. J Fam Pract 2005 Apr; 54(4):340. [Cites AHRQ evidence rating taxonomy described in AHRQ Evidence Report/Technology Assessment, Systems to Rate the Strength of Scientific Evidence, 2002.]

Brunton S. Treating community-acquired bacterial respiratory tract infections: update on etiology, diagnosis, and antimicrobial therapy. J Fam Pract 2005 Apr; 54(4):357-64. [Cites findings from AHRQ Evidence Report/Technology Assessment on uncomplicated acute bacterial rhinosinusitis (Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2000 Jan; 123(1):665-7).]

Journal of Patient Safety
Akins RB, Cole BR. Barriers to implementation of patient safety systems in healthcare institutions: leadership and policy implications. J Patient Saf 2005 Mar; 1(1):9-16. [[Cites AHRQ Evidence Report/Technology Assessment, Making Health Care Safer: A Critical Analysis of Patient Safety Practices, 2001; cites AHRQ's National Healthcare Quality Report(NHQR), 2003; cites AHRQ-authored article by Dougherty and Simpson (researcher in AHRQ's Office of Extramural Research, Education, and Priority Populations, and former AHRQ deputy director, respectively) (Pediatrics 2004 Jan;113(1 Pt 2):185-98).]

Current as of April 2005