AHRQ Views Blog: Using Telemedicine to Make Accurate, Timely Diagnoses

Today's Headlines:

• AHRQ Views Blog: Using Telemedicine to Make Accurate, Timely Diagnoses.
• Patient-Centered Medical Homes More Likely to Provide Preventive Counseling to Pediatric Patients.
• Highlights From AHRQ’s Patient Safety Network.
• Featured Impact Case Study: AHRQ Tools Help ChristianaCare Expedite Care for Stroke Patients, Reduce Bloodstream Infections.
• AHRQ in the Professional Literature.

AHRQ Views Blog: Using Telemedicine to Make Accurate, Timely Diagnoses

While AHRQ has long supported research about telemedicine, the COVID-19 crisis has transformed telemedicine from an attractive option to a necessity. The potential of telemedicine to support safe and effective diagnosis is the subject of a new AHRQ Views blog post by Jeffrey Brady, M.D., M.P.H., director of the Agency’s Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety. A new AHRQ issue brief provides a definition of telediagnosis while identifying potential advantages, such as increased access for racial and ethnic groups, as well as challenges that may result from reductions in in-person exams. As Dr. Brady notes, increasing reliance on telemedicine for several aspects of care underscores the need for the research community to come together and help ensure telemedicine is as safe and effective as possible. Access the blog post. To receive all blog posts, submit your email address and select “AHRQ Views Blog.” 

Patient-Centered Medical Homes More Likely to Provide Preventive Counseling to Pediatric Patients

Children and adolescents receiving care at patient-centered medical homes (PCMHs) are generally more likely to receive preventive counseling services, according to an AHRQ-funded study in Academic Pediatrics. The PCMH model is defined as providing care that is comprehensive, patient-centered, coordinated, accessible and committed to quality and safety. Drawing on data from AHRQ’s Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, researchers analyzed 4,814 pediatric patients who received care at a PCMH or a non-PCMH provider. Compared with patients who received care from non-PCMH providers that undertook only one of two quality-related activities, PCMH patients were 10 percentage points more likely to receive counseling against smoking, 13 percentage points more likely to receive counseling on healthy eating, and 12 percentage points more likely to receive counseling on exercise. 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:

• Classification of opioid dependence, abuse, or overdose in opioid-naive patients as a "Never Event".
• Missed breast cancer: effects of subconscious bias and lesion characteristics.
• Fighting a common enemy: a catalyst to close intractable safety gaps.

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). 

Featured Impact Case Study: AHRQ Tools Help ChristianaCare Expedite Care for Stroke Patients, Reduce Bloodstream Infections

Find out how ChristianaCare, a teaching health system headquartered in Delaware, used AHRQ’s TeamSTEPPS® to speed emergency care for stroke patients and reduce central line-associated bloodstream infections after using AHRQ’s Comprehensive Unit-based Safety Program (CUSP). Access the details in this new Impact Case Study.

AHRQ in the Professional Literature

Connecting the docs: telemedicine support during in-hospital cardiac arrest resuscitation. Barbash IJ. Ann Am Thorac Soc 2020 Mar;17(3):278-9. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Multilevel risk factors for hospital readmission among patients with opioid use disorder in selected US States: role of socioeconomic characteristics of patients and their community. Basu J. Health Serv Res Manag Epidemiol 2020 Jan-Dec;7:2333392820904240. Epub 2020 Jun 1. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Impact of respiratory viral polymerase chain reaction testing on de-escalation of antibiotic therapy in children who require chronic positive pressure ventilation. Beltran Ale G, Benscoter D, Hossain MM, et al. Pediatr Pulmonol 2020 Aug;55(8):2150-5. Epub 2020 Jun 11. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Emergency ultrasound literature and adherence to standards for reporting of diagnostic accuracy criteria. Thiessen M, Vogel JA, Byyny RL, et al. J Emerg Med 2020 Apr;58(4):636-46. Epub 2019 Nov 7. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Physician-nurse practitioner teamwork in primary care practices in New York: a cross-sectional survey. Poghosyan L, Ghaffari A, Liu J, et al. J Gen Intern Med 2020 Apr;35(4):1021-8. Epub 2020 Jan 6. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Longitudinal, strain-specific Staphylococcus aureus introduction and transmission events in households of children with community-associated meticillin-resistant S aureus skin and soft tissue infection: a prospective cohort study. Mork RL, Hogan PG, Muenks CE, et al. Lancet Infect Dis 2020 Feb;20(2):188-98. Epub 2019 Nov 26. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Post-operative complications and readmissions associated with smoking following bariatric surgery. Yuce TK, Khorfan R, Soper NJ, et al. J Gastrointest Surg 2020 Mar;24(3):525-30. Epub 2019 Dec 17. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Finding the value in personal protective equipment for hospitalized patients during a pandemic and beyond. Steuart R, Huang FS, Schaffzin JK, et al. J Hosp Med 2020 May;15(5):295-8. Access the abstract on PubMed®.