AHRQ Views Blog: Observing Efforts To Improve Heart Health During American Heart Month

AHRQ Stats: Disparities in Anemia

The percentage of U.S. hemodialysis patients with hemoglobin below 10 gm/dL (grams per deciliter) in 2015 was 19.0 percent among blacks; 15.6 percent among whites; 13.8 percent among Asians; and 13.7 percent among Alaskan Indians/Alaska Natives (AI/ANs). Anemia occurs when hemoglobin levels are less than 13.0 gm/dL for males and 12.0 gm/dL for females. (AHRQ Data Spotlight: Anemia Increasing in Hemodialysis Patients, Especially for Blacks, December 2019 [PDF]).

Today's Headlines:

• AHRQ Views Blog: Observing Efforts To Improve Heart Health During American Heart Month.
• Outcomes Better When Stroke Patients Receive Inpatient Rehab Care.
• Asking Heart Attack Patients About Post-Discharge Care Helps Reduce Follow-Up Emergency Department Visits.
• Highlights From AHRQ’s Patient Safety Network.
• New Technology Assessments From AHRQ.
• AHRQ in the Professional Literature.

AHRQ Views Blog: Observing Efforts To Improve Heart Health During American Heart Month

AHRQ’s new initiative to increase heart attack patients’ participation in cardiac rehabilitation is among agency efforts highlighted during American Heart Month in a blog post by Bob McNellis, M.P.H., senior advisor for primary care, and Michael Harrison, senior social scientist. The TAKEheart initiative will provide evidence-based strategies to increase rates of cardiac rehabilitation as well as support peer-to-peer learning about strategies such as home-based rehabilitation and reduction of disparities inrehabilitation rates. The initiative aligns with AHRQ’s EvidenceNOW project, which has helped promote evidence-based strategies in cardiac care among more than 1,500 small- and medium-sized primary care practices. AHRQ also offers a variety of resources on topics such as blood pressure and cholesterol control and smoking cessation to help people either prevent heart disease or manage an existing condition. Access the blog post. To receive all blog posts, submit your email address and select "AHRQ Views Blog."

Outcomes Better When Stroke Patients Receive Inpatient Rehab Care

Stroke patients who received care at inpatient rehabilitation facilities were more likely to experience better mobility and improved self-care than stroke patients at skilled nursing facilities, according to a study funded by AHRQ and the National Institutes of Health. Researchers examined records of nearly 100,000 Medicare patients who received post-acute care following strokes in 2013 and 2014. Two-thirds received inpatient rehabilitation care while the remaining received care at skilled nursing facilities. Researchers asserted that the findings raise questions about the value of policies that reimburse inpatient facilities and nursing facilities at the same rate. Access the abstract of the study published in JAMA Network Open.

Asking Heart Attack Patients About Post-Discharge Care Helps Reduce Follow-Up Emergency Department Visits

Older heart attack patients who were asked whether they had help at home before being discharged from the hospital were significantly less likely to make a subsequent emergency department visit, an AHRQ study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine found. Transitions from hospital to home are high-risk events, especially for older patients. Researchers studied responses from more than 2,100 patients aged 75 and older to questions from the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey. The survey, developed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and AHRQ, is used in CMS’ value-based purchasing program. Patients who said they were asked whether they had sufficient help at home were significantly less likely to use the emergency department within 30 days of discharge. Access the abstract.

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:

• Adverse events during intrahospital transport of critically ill children: a systematic review.
• Association of default electronic medical record settings with health care professional patterns of opioid prescribing in emergency departments: A randomized quality improvement study.
• Time series evaluation of improvement interventions to reduce alarm notifications in a paediatric hospital.

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).

New Technology Assessments From AHRQ

• Skin Substitutes for Treating Chronic Wounds (PDF, 2.2 MB).
• Noninvasive Positive Pressure Ventilation in the Home (PDF, 1.4 MB).

AHRQ in the Professional Literature

Beliefs associated with pharmacy-based naloxone: a qualitative study of pharmacy-based naloxone purchasers and people at risk for opioid overdose. Donovan E, Case P, Bratberg JP, et al. J Urban Health 2019 Jun;96(3):367-78. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Spirometry measurement of peak inspiratory flow identifies suboptimal use of dry powder inhalers in ambulatory patients with COPD. Duarte AG, Tung L, Zhang W, et al. Chronic Obstr Pulm Dis 2019 Jul 24;6(3):246-55. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Total duration of antimicrobial therapy resulting from inpatient hospitalization. Dyer AP, Dodds Ashley E, Anderson DJ, et al. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2019 Aug;40(8):847-54. Epub 2019 May 28. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Preoperative risk evaluation for pancreatic fistula after pancreaticoduodenectomy. Ellis RJ, Brock Hewitt D, Liu JB, et al. J Surg Oncol 2019 Jun;119(8):1128-34. Epub 2019 Apr 5. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Healthcare-associated urinary tract infections with onset post hospital discharge. Elman MR, Williams CD, Bearden DT, et al. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2019 Aug;40(8):863-71. Epub 2019 Jun 20. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Antimicrobial resistance prevalence, rates of hospitalization with septicemia and rates of mortality with sepsis in adults in different US states. Goldstein E, MacFadden DR, Karaca Z, et al. Int J Antimicrob Agents 2019 Jul;54(1):23-34. Epub 2019 Mar 6. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Evidence review conducted for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality safety program for improving surgical care and recovery: focus on anesthesiology for bariatric surgery. Grant MC, Gibbons MM, Ko CY, et al. Anesth Analg 2019 Jul;129(1):51-60. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Do health insurance and hospital market concentration influence hospital patients' experience of care? Hanson C, Herring B, Trish E. Health Serv Res 2019 Aug;54(4):805-15. Epub 2019 May 16. Access the abstract on PubMed®.