AHRQ Report: Hospital-Acquired Conditions Continue To Decline, Saving Lives and Costs

AHRQ Stats: Medical Advice on Smoking

Nearly 73 percent of adults in rural counties received medical advice to quit smoking in 2012, up from 60 percent in 2002. (Source: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2014 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report Chartbook on Rural Health Care.)

Today's Headlines

1. AHRQ Report: Hospital-Acquired Conditions Continue To Decline, Saving Lives and Costs.
2. New Online Resource Combines Patient Safety News, Research and Resources.
3. Register Now: Webinar on Shared Decision-Making With Low Health Literacy Patients.
4. New Research and Evidence From AHRQ.
5. Register Now: Webinar on Missing Data in Patient Registries.
6. 2015 National Quality Strategy Annual Progress Report Highlights Improvements From AHRQ Report.
7. Featured Case Study: Buffalo Hospital Uses AHRQ Training To Improve Safety of Pediatric Patients.
8. AHRQ in the Professional Literature.

1. AHRQ Report: Hospital-Acquired Conditions Continue To Decline, Saving Lives and Costs

A new AHRQ report released by the Department of Health and Human Services shows that an estimated 87,000 fewer patients died in hospitals and nearly $20 billion in health care costs were saved as a result of reductions in hospital-acquired conditions (HACs) from 2010 to 2014. The report indicates that HACs were reduced by 17 percent in 2014, contributing to an overall reduction of 2.1 million HACs since 2010. A new infographic highlights important findings. To develop the report, Saving Lives & Saving Money: Hospital-Acquired Conditions Update, AHRQ analyzed the incidence of avoidable HACs compared with 2010 rates, using as a baseline estimates of deaths and excess health care costs that were developed when the Partnership for Patients was launched. AHRQ's analysis included a number of HACs including adverse drug events, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, central line-associated bloodstream infections, pressure ulcers and surgical site infections, among others. AHRQ has produced a variety of tools and resources to help hospitals and other providers prevent hospital-acquired conditions, such as infections, pressure ulcers and falls. Recently the Toolkit for Reducing CAUTI in Hospitals was released, which is based on the experiences of more than 1,200 hospitals nationwide that participated in an AHRQ-funded project to apply the Comprehensive Unit-based Safety Program to reducing catheter associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI). This new report updates data released in December 2014.

2. New Online Resource Combines Patient Safety News, Research and Resources

AHRQ has merged its Patient Safety Network (PSNet) and AHRQ WebM&M (Morbidity and Mortality Rounds on the Web) to help readers more efficiently access patient safety news, research and expert commentary. PSNet combines all the features of and content from both sites, including PSNet weekly updates, WebM&M Cases and Commentaries, Perspectives on Safety (including podcasts), Patient Safety Primers, The PSNet Collection and more.

3. Register Now: Webinar on Shared Decision-Making With Low Health Literacy Patients

Registration is open now for a webinar on December 9 from 1 to 2:30 p.m. ET that will address how clinicians can effectively engage patients who have limited health literacy skills in shared decision-making. Shared decision-making occurs when a health care provider and a patient work together to make a health care decision that is best for the patient. Research shows that implementation of shared decision-making in clinical practice increases patient satisfaction, enhances patient understanding of their treatment options and increases their involvement in decisions about their care. Yet shared decision-making has not been widely adopted in clinical practice and can be particularly challenging to implement with patients who have limited literacy skills. The webinar will be accredited for continuing education for physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, pharmacists and certified health education specialists. Determination of continuing education credit through Professional Education Services Group is pending. The webinar is offered via AHRQ’s SHARE Approach initiative, a five-step process for shared decision-making.

4. New Research and Evidence From AHRQ

• AHRQ Health Care Innovations Exchange: Innovations in Women's Health Care.

5. Register Now: Webinar on Missing Data in Patient Registries

Registration is open now for a webinar on December 14 from noon to 1 p.m. ET that will describe the major reasons why nearly all patient registries have some missing data, which can affect the accuracy of conclusions by reducing power and introducing bias. Data are often missing or incomplete in observational studies, such as losses to follow-up and censoring. Registry design and operational strategies that can help minimize missing data will be discussed. Presenters will also describe methods for analyzing datasets with missing data, ways to document the extent of missing data, and the importance of transparency to allow audiences to appropriately interpret and apply registry findings. This webinar is part of a series hosted by AHRQ's Registry of Patient Registries project, a central, searchable database of patient registries that is integrated with ClinicalTrials.gov.

6. 2015 National Quality Strategy Annual Progress Report Highlights Improvements From AHRQ Report

The 2015 Annual Progress Report on the National Quality Strategy for Improvement in Health Care uses data from the AHRQ National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report (QDR) to report on improvement for each of the six National Quality Strategy priorities that address the most common health concerns that Americans face. For one of those six priorities, patient safety, half of the QDR patient safety measures improved, led by a 17 percent reduction in rates of hospital-acquired conditions. This improvement is demonstrated through initiatives such as Partnership for Patients and the Children's Hospital of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Learn more about the National Quality Strategy.

7. Featured Case Study: Buffalo Hospital Uses AHRQ Training To Improve Safety of Pediatric Patients

Women and Children's Hospital of Buffalo significantly reduced the average number of days that children with bronchiolitis spent on ventilators or in intensive care after implementing AHRQ's TeamSTEPPS® patient safety training program. Read the case study.

8. AHRQ in the Professional Literature

Are long-term cancer survivors and physicians discussing health promotion and healthy behaviors? Kenzik K, Pisu M, Fouad MN, et al. J Cancer Surviv 2015 Jul 26. Select to access the abstract on PubMed®.

Twelve recommendations for integrating existing systematic reviews into new reviews: EPC guidance. Robinson KA, Chou R, Berkman ND, et al. J Clin Epidemiol 2015 Aug 7. pii: S0895-4356(15)00369-8. Select to access the abstract on PubMed®.

Electrocardiogram in preparticipation athletic evaluations among insured youths. Burns KM, Encinosa WE, Pearson GD, et al. J Pediatr 2015 Oct;167(4):804-9.e1. Epub 2015 Jul 3. Select to access the abstract on PubMed®.

The role of severe dementia in nursing home report cards. Konetzka RT, Brauner DJ, Coca Perraillon M, et al. Med Care Res Rev 2015 Oct;72(5):562-79. Epub 2015 May 27. Select to access the abstract on PubMed®.

Association of adverse pregnancy outcomes with glyburide vs insulin in women with gestational diabetes. Camelo Castillo W, Boggess K, Sturmer T, et al. JAMA Pediatr 2015 May; 169(5):452-8. Select to access the abstract on PubMed®.

Monitoring suicidal patients in primary care using electronic health records. Anderson HD, Pace WD, Brandt E, et al. J Am Board Fam Med 2015 Jan-Feb; 28(1):65-71. Select to access the abstract on PubMed®.

Improving breast and colon cancer screening rates: a comparison of letters, automated phone calls, or both. Phillips L, Hendren S, Humiston S, et al. J Am Board Fam Med 2015 Jan-Feb; 28(1):46-54. Select to access the abstract on PubMed®.

Insights into inpatients with poor vision: a high value proposition. Press VG, Matthiesen MI, Ranadive A, et al. J Hosp Med 2015 May; 10(5):311-3. Epub 2015 Mar 9.