Celebrating AHRQ's 20th Anniversary

AHRQ Stats: Healthcare Premiums and Workforce Age

In 2018, average single-employee healthcare premiums were $6,377 per year in companies where workers age 50 or older represented less than a quarter of the workforce. By comparison, average premiums were $7,470 when three-quarters or more of the workforce were 50 or older. (Source: AHRQ, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Statistical Brief #527: Premiums and Employee Contributions to Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance by Workforce Age and Firm Size, Private Industry, 2018.) 

Today's Headlines:

• Celebrating AHRQ's 20th Anniversary.
• Breast Cancer Follow-Up Exams Influenced by Social Determinant Factors.
• Register Now: Dec. 17 Webinar on Stabilizing Individual Health Insurance Markets.
• Highlights From AHRQ's Patient Safety Network.
• Apply Now for AHRQ Funding To Improve Quality of Care and Patient Outcomes During Care Transitions.
• New Research and Evidence From AHRQ.
• AHRQ in the Professional Literature.

Celebrating AHRQ's 20th Anniversary

As part of its 20th-anniversary kickoff celebration this week, AHRQ began highlighting two decades of advancing excellence in healthcare while looking toward a future of supporting science and research for 21st-century healthcare. AHRQ's contributions have helped shape the healthcare system by improving the culture of medicine, changing how providers think about care and understanding how policies affect care on the front lines. Listen to HHS Secretary Alex Azar congratulate the agency on 20 years of health services research. Follow us as we continue our work by helping the healthcare system improve diagnosis, care for the chronically ill and increase data analytics capacity. Learn more and read AHRQ Director Gopal Khanna's latest blog post.  

Breast Cancer Follow-Up Exams Influenced by Social Determinant Factors

In a study of women whose mammogram results were probably normal but included a small chance of cancer, only about three of four received appropriate follow-up three to nine months after their exam. The analysis of about 3,000 women who scored 3 on the 6-point Breast Imaging Reporting and Database System showed that women who previously received cancer treatment were most likely to receive appropriate follow-up. Researchers concluded future interventions should target women less likely to receive follow-up, including those who are younger, unmarried, Hispanic, lacking insurance and without a history of breast cancer. Access the abstract of the study, published in the Journal of the American College of Radiology. 

Webinar on Stabilizing Individual Health Insurance Markets

In a webinar on Dec. 17 from noon to 1 p.m. ET, experts will discuss the effects of federal and state levers intended to strengthen infrastructure in the individual health insurance market. The webinar will be hosted by AcademyHealth, which is managing the AHRQ-funded Research Insights project. Webinar presenters will explore issues such as what approaches have been shown to effectively strengthen the individual health insurance market, what changes in the market are signs of destabilization and what questions are most urgent for future research. 

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:

• Developing health care organizations that pursue learning and exploration of diagnostic excellence: An action plan.
• Smart pumps improve medication safety but increase alert burden in neonatal care.
• A systematic review of clinical outcomes associated with intrahospital transitions.

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). 

Apply Now for AHRQ Funding To Improve Quality of Care and Patient Outcomes During Care Transitions

A new Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) seeks applicants to test promising health information technology solutions to improve communication and care coordination during care transitions. Poorly managed transitions can lead to costly, unsafe and low-quality care. The new initiative is aimed at improving care transitions between multiple providers and different institutional care settings with a focus on patients, their families and their communities. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis; the first due date is Feb. 5. 

New Research and Evidence From AHRQ

• Achieving Health Equity in Preventive Services.

AHRQ in the Professional Literature

Assessing provider and racial/ethnic variation in response to the FDA antidepressant box warning. Cook BL, Wang Y, Sonik R, et al. Health Serv Res 2019 Feb;54 Suppl 1:255-62. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

The presence of companions during emergency department evaluation and its impact on perceptions of clinician-patient communication. Cornelius T, Moise N, Birk JL, et al. Emerg Med J 2018 Nov;35(11):701-3. Epub 2018 Aug 21. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Quality improvement in ambulatory surgery centers: a major national effort aimed at reducing infections and other surgical complications. Davis KK, Mahishi V, Singal R, et al. J Clin Med Res 2019 Jan;11(1):7-14. Epub 2018 Dec 3. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Does a transition to accountable care in Medicaid shift the modality of colorectal cancer testing? Davis MM, Shafer P, Renfro S, et al. BMC Health Serv Res 2019 Jan 21;19(1):54. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Usability evaluation of a dashboard for home care nurses. Dowding D, Merrill JA, Barrón Y, et al. Comput Inform Nurs 2019 Jan;37(1):11-19. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

How frequently are hospitalized patients colonized with carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) already on contact precautions for other indications? Goodman KE, Simner PJ, Klein EY, et al. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2018 Dec;39(12):1491-3. Epub 2018 Oct 1. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

A controlled trial of mobile short message service among participants in a rural cardiovascular disease prevention program. Gore MO, Krantz MJ, Albright K, et al. Prev Med Rep 2018 Nov 30;13:126-31. eCollection 2019 Mar. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Obesity and severity of acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Goto T, Hirayama A, Faridi MK, et al. Ann Am Thorac Soc 2018 Feb;15(2):184-91. Access the abstract on PubMed®.