AHRQ Tools Help Patients and Clinicians Manage Binge-Eating Disorder

AHRQ Stats: Coordinating Children’s Care Among Providers

The percentage of doctors who inquired about their pediatric patients’ prior treatment by other health care providers increased from 71 percent in 2002 to 76 percent in 2013. (Source: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2015 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report, Chartbook on Healthy Living.)

Today's Headlines

1. AHRQ Tools Help Patients and Clinicians Manage Binge-Eating Disorder.
2. Special Issue of Health Services Research Examines Public Reporting on Health Care Providers.
3. Register Now for Webinar on Using Health Information Technology To Improve Primary Care.
4. New Research and Evidence From AHRQ.
5. Featured Case Study: California Foundation Uses AHRQ Guide To Reduce Hospital Readmissions.
6. AHRQ in the Professional Literature.

1. AHRQ Tools Help Patients and Clinicians Manage Binge-Eating Disorder

New evidence-based tools from AHRQ are available to help adult patients work with their health care providers to make informed treatment decisions for binge-eating disorder. A research summary for clinicians and a companion plain-language brochure for patients outline the benefits and harms of various treatment options, including psychotherapy and medications. To enhance shared decision-making, the clinician publication includes talking points, and the consumer brochure offers sample questions to ask clinicians. In addition, a new continuing medical education module is available at no cost and provides health care providers with information and skills to support shared decision-making. The new tools are based on a systematic review that evaluated the evidence on the effectiveness, comparative effectiveness and adverse effects of treatment options for patients with binge-eating disorder.

2. Special Issue of Health Services Research Examines Public Reporting on Health Care Providers

A new AHRQ-sponsored special issue of Health Services Research explores how to improve public reporting systems, the resources that aim to help consumers get the most value from their health care dollars by comparing health care providers. With wide variations in safety and quality among providers in virtually every area of health care, public reports have tremendous potential to help consumers select providers that offer high-quality, affordable care. However, current reports don’t necessarily help consumers as intended. The research featured in this issue shows how public reports can be improved by incorporating evidence-based best practices. Access the table of contents for abstracts of special issue articles:

• Introduction: New Evidence on What Works in Effective Public Reporting
• Choosing a Nursing Home: What Do Consumers Want to Know, and Do Preferences Vary across Race/Ethnicity?
• Understanding Consumer Perceptions and Awareness of Hospital-Based Maternity Care Quality Measures
• The Nursing Home Compare Report Card: Perceptions of Residents and Caregivers Regarding Quality Ratings and Nursing Home Choice
• Improving Medicare’s Hospital Compare Mortality Model
• Breaking Narrative Ground: Innovative Methods for Rigorously Eliciting and Assessing Patient Narratives
• Using Social Media, Online Social Networks, and Internet Search as Platforms for Public Health Interventions: A Pilot Study
• Changes in Consumer Demand Following Public Reporting of Summary Quality Ratings: An Evaluation in Nursing Homes

3. Register Now for Webinar on Using Health Information Technology To Improve Primary Care

Registration is open for a June 22 webinar that will highlight how primary care practices can use health information technology (IT) to improve quality and patient outcomes, especially related to heart health. The event is part of AHRQ’s EvidenceNOW program, a grant initiative dedicated to helping thousands of small- and medium-sized primary care practices use current evidence to improve cardiovascular care for millions of Americans nationwide. Despite its potential to improve care, health IT is currently underused in primary care practices. Webinar presenters will highlight incentives and effective tools that support the use of health IT in quality improvement, as well as challenges that may arise in implementation. In addition, an EvidenceNOW grantee will discuss how health IT can support adoption of the “ABCS” of heart health – aspirin use by high-risk individuals, blood pressure control, cholesterol management and smoking cessation.

4. New Research and Evidence From AHRQ

• Newer Medications for Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms Attributed to Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia: A Review
• Disparities Within Serious Mental Illness
• Medical Office User Comparative Database Reports

5. Featured Case Study: California Foundation Uses AHRQ Guide To Reduce Hospital Readmissions

Blue Shield of California Foundation used evidence-based strategies from AHRQ’s Hospital Guide to Reducing Medicaid Readmissions (PDF) to significantly cut hospital readmissions among adult Medicaid patients. Read the case study.

6. AHRQ in the Professional Literature

Healthcare coverage for HIV provider visits before and after implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Berry SA, Fleishman JA, Yehia BR, et al. Clin Infect Dis. 2016 May 3 [Epub ahead of print]. Access the abstract in PubMed®.

Impact of single-incision laparoscopic cholecystectomy (SILC) versus conventional laparoscopic cholecystectomy (CLC) procedures on surgeon stress and workload: a randomized controlled trial. Abdelrahman AM, Bingener J, Yu D, et al. Surg Endosc. 2016 Mar;30(3):1205-11. Epub 2015 Jul 21. Access the abstract in PubMed®.

Medical legal partnership and health informatics impacting child health: Interprofessional innovations. Downs SM. J Interprof Care. 2015;29(6):564-9. Epub 2015 Jun 29. Access the abstract in PubMed®.

Changes in medication management after a diagnosis of cancer among Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes. Stuart BC, Davidoff AJ, Erten MZ. J Oncol Pract. 2015 Nov;11(6):429-34. Epub 2015 Jun 23. Access the abstract in PubMed®.

The effect of health information technology on health care provider communication: a mixed-method protocol. Manojlovich M, Adler-Milstein J, Harrod M, et al. JMIR Res Protoc. 2015 Jun 11;4(2):e72. Access the abstract in PubMed®.

Reliable implementation of evidence: a qualitative study of antenatal corticosteroid administration in Ohio hospitals. Kaplan HC, Sherman SN, Cleveland C. BMJ Qual Saf. 2016 Mar;25(3):173-81. Epub 2015 Jun 8. Access the abstract in PubMed®.

Treatment of ankyloglossia for reasons other than breastfeeding: a systematic review. Chinnadurai S, Francis DO, Epstein RA, et al. Pediatrics. 2015 Jun;135(6):e1467-74. Epub 2015 May 4. Access the abstract in PubMed®.

How does geographic access affect in-hospital mortality for veterans with acute ischemic stroke? Ripley DC, Kwong PL, Vogel WB, et al. Med Care. 2015 Jun;53(6):501-9. Access the abstract in PubMed®.