Tobacco Users in Medicaid Expansion States More Likely To Get Help To Quit

AHRQ Stats: Common Mental and Substance Use Disorders

In 2016, one in five hospitalizations for mental and substance use disorders was for alcohol disorders and schizophrenia. (Source: AHRQ, Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Statistical Brief #249: Inpatient Stays Involving Mental and Substance Use Disorders, 2016.) 

Today's Headlines

• Tobacco Users in Medicaid Expansion States More Likely To Get Help To Quit.
• Baylor Scott & White Health Is Featured in Case Study Series on Learning Health Systems.
• Highlights From AHRQ’s Patient Safety Network.
• AHRQ in the Professional Literature.

Tobacco Users in Medicaid Expansion States More Likely To Get Help To Quit

Tobacco users in states that expanded Medicaid had a one-third higher chance of quitting tobacco and a one-half greater chance of getting the medication they needed compared with tobacco users in states that didn’t expand Medicaid, according to an AHRQ-funded study. Using electronic health record data from more than 300 community health centers (CHCs) in 10 states that expanded Medicaid in January 2014 and six states that did not, researchers found patients in expansion states were 35 percent more likely to quit, had a 53 percent greater chance of having a tobacco cessation medication ordered, and had 34 percent higher odds of having six or more follow-up CHC visits compared with patients in nonexpansion states. Increased access to insurance through the Medicaid expansion likely led to higher tobacco quit rates among patients who get their care through CHCs, according to the article. Access an abstract of the article, published in Nicotine & Tobacco Research.

Baylor Scott & White Health Is Featured in Case Study Series on Learning Health Systems

Baylor Scott & White Health (PDF, 247 KB) is featured in AHRQ’s series of four real-world case studies that look at different aspects of learning health systems. Headquartered in Dallas, Baylor Scott & White Health has 48 hospitals and is the largest nonprofit healthcare system in Texas and one of the largest in the United States. An emphasis on preventive care has helped the system hold medical and pharmacy spending flat for the past five years. “A learning health system is one that can acquire data from day-to-day clinical operations to generate new insights that are then applied toward care improvement efforts,” says Andrew Masica, M.D., vice president and chief clinical effectiveness officer. AHRQ developed these case studies to help health system executives better understand what it takes to create a learning health system and highlight the value of making investments in transformation. Learn more about AHRQ’s support of learning health systems. 

Highlights From AHRQ’s Patient Safety Network

AHRQ’s Patient Safety Network (PSNet) highlights journal articles, books and tools related to patient safety. Articles featured this week include:

• Exposure to incivility hinders clinical performance in a simulated operative crisis.
• Magnitude and modifiers of the weekend effect in hospital admissions: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
• An opportunity to engage obstetrics and gynecology patients through shared visit notes.

Review additional new publications in PSNet’s current issue or access recent cases and commentaries in AHRQ’s WebM&M (Morbidity and Mortality Rounds on the Web).

AHRQ in the Professional Literature

Multi-stakeholder informed guidelines for direct admission of children to hospital. Leyenaar JK, Shevenell M, Rizzo PA, et al. J Pediatr 2018 Jul;198:273-8.e7. Epub 2018 Apr 25. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Has inpatient hospital treatment before and after age 65 changed as the difference between private and Medicare payment rates has widened? Selden TM, Karaca Z, Decker S. Int J Health Econ Manag 2018 Dec;18(4):409-23. Epub 2018 Apr 25. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

The catch to confidentiality: the use of electronic health records in adolescent health care. Stablein T, Loud KJ, DiCapua C, et al. J Adolesc Health 2018 May;62(5):577-82. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Failure-to-rescue after acute myocardial infarction. Silber JH, Arriaga AF, Niknam BA, et al. Med Care 2018 May;56(5):416-23. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

A taxonomy and cultural analysis of intra-hospital patient transfers. Rosenberg A, Campbell Britton M, Feder S, et al. Res Nurs Health 2018 May 2. [Epub ahead of print.] Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Opportunities to improve informed consent with AHRQ training modules. Shoemaker SJ, Brach C, Edwards A, et al. Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf 2018 Jun;44(6):343-52. Epub 2018 May 3. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Racial/ethnic disparities in readmissions in US hospitals: the role of insurance coverage. Basu J, Hanchate A, Bierman A. Inquiry 2018 Jan-Dec;55:46958018774180. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Finding meaning in medication reconciliation using electronic health records: qualitative analysis in safety net primary and specialty care. Matta GY, Khoong EC, Lyles CR, et al. JMIR Med Inform 2018 May 7;6(2):e10167. Access the abstract on PubMed®.