March 10, 2006
This weekly compilation of articles appearing in recently released journals and newsletters includes: articles funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) or authored by AHRQ researchers; articles mentioning or discussing AHRQ staff, activities, and publications/products; articles related to AHRQ-funded Evidence-based Practice Centers; articles related to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force or Put Prevention into Practice program; articles mentioning the National Healthcare Disparities Report and National Healthcare Quality Report and other research using AHRQ data or products.
American Heart Journal
Sedrakyan A, Zhang H, Treasure T, et al. Recursive partitioning-based preoperative risk stratification for atrial
fibrillation after coronary artery bypass surgery. Am Heart J 2006 Mar; 151(3):720-5. [First author is researcher
in AHRQ's Center for Outcomes and Evidence.]
American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Kuo FY, Ostir GV, Granger CV, et al. Examination of follow-up therapy in patients with stroke. Am J Phys Med Rehabil
2006 Mar; 85(3):192-200. [Supported by Grant No. HS11618.]
Medical Care Research and Review
McNamara P. Foreword: Payment matters? The next chapter. Med Care Res Rev 2006 Feb; 63(1 Supp):5S-13S. [Author is
researcher in AHRQ's Center for Delivery, Organization, and Markets; introduces special AHRQ-supported supplement on
pay for performance.]
Bokhour BG, Burgess JF Jr, Hook JM, et al. Incentive implementation in physician practices: a qualitative study of practice executive perspectives on pay for performance. Med Care Res Rev 2006 Feb; 63(1 Supp):73S-95S. [Supported by AHRQ, no grant number given.]
Weiner BJ, Alexander JA, Baker LC, et al. Quality improvement implementation and hospital performance on patient safety indicators. Med Care Res Rev 2006 Feb; 63(1):29-57. [Supported by Grant No. 5 R01 HS11317-02.]
Adams EK, Bronstein JM, Florence CS. Effects of primary care case management (PCCM) on Medicaid children in Alabama and Georgia: provider availability and race/ ethnicity. Med Care Res Rev 2006 Feb; 63(1):58-87. [Supported by Grant No. HS10435.]
Bourbonnier M, Feng Z, Angelelli J, et al. The use of contract licensed nursing staff in U.S. nursing homes. Med Care Res Rev 2006 Feb; 63(1):88-109. [Supported by Grant No. HS00011-16.]
Morales LS, Elliot M, Weech-Maldonado R, et al. The impact of interpreters on parents' experiences with ambulatory care for their children. Med Care Res Rev 2006 Feb; 63(1):110-28. [Supported by Grant No. 5 U18 HS000924.]
Pediatrics
Guise JM, Austin D, Morris CD. Review of case-control studies related to breastfeeding and reduced risk of childhood
leukemia. Pediatrics 2005 Nov; 116(5):e724-31. [Supported by Grant No. K08 HS11338-01.]
Lee GM, Gortmaker SL, McIntosh K, et al. Quality of life for children and adolescents: impact of HIV infection and antiretroviral treatment. Pediatrics 2006 Feb; 117(2):273-83. [Supported by Grant No. K08 HS013908-01A1.]
Szilagyi PG, Dick AW, Klein JD, et al. Improved asthma care after enrollment in the State Childrens Health Insurance Program in New York. Pediatrics 2006 Feb; 117(2):486-96. [Supported by Grant No. HS10450; acknowledges the assistance of Cindy Brach, researcher in AHRQ's Center for Delivery, Organization, and Markets. See also articles by Moy, et al. (Am Ind Alaska Native Ment Health Res, 2006), Whitlock, et al. (Pediatrics, 2005), and Nelson (Pediatrics, 2006).]
American Health Line
Research: Library of medicine, Congress push for more public access. Am Health Line 2006 Mar 10; Item No. 6.
[Notes introduction of bill requiring recipients of grants from AHRQ, NIH, and CDC to post final manuscripts within
six months of publication.]
American Journal of Public Health
Baker DW, Cameron KA, Feinglass J, et al. A system for rapidly and accurately collecting patients race and ethnicity.
Am J Public Health 2006 Mar; 96(3):532-7. [Cites AHRQ-funded article by Fiscella, et al. (JAMA, 2000) and AHRQ-authored
articles by Bierman (former AHRQ researcher), et al. (Health Aff, 2002) and Weinick (former AHRQ researcher), et al. (Med Care, 2004).]
BNAs Health Care Policy Report
State Senate clears patient safety program funded by providers, lawyers. BNA Health Care Policy Rep 2006 Mar 6;
14(10):316. [Notes provision in bill report stipulating that at least two of the projects must implement
recommendations of the AHRQ-funded Institute of Medicine report, Keeping Patients Safe: Transforming the Work
Environment of Nurses.]
BNAs Health Plan and Provider Report
Rising benefit costs forcing trade-offs between wages and benefits, GAO says. BNA Health Plan Provider Rep 2006
Mar 8; 12(10):298-9. [Cites AHRQ's Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) as a source of 1990-2005 data for
the GPO report.]
Family Practice News
Worcester S. For GERD, PPIs as effective as surgery, study finds. Fam Pract News 2006 Feb 1:4. [Reviews findings
from AHRQ report, Comparative Effectiveness of Management Strategies for Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease, 2005.]
Hospitals and Health Networks
Solovy A. Taking inventory. Hosp Health Netw 2006 Feb; 80(2):2, 32. [Cites AHRQ collaboration in development of
Most Wired Survey and Benchmarking Study survey questions.]
Internal Medicine News
Kilgore C. Success of electronic medical records varies with cardiology practice size. Intern Med News 2006 Feb
15; 39(4):65. [Cites AHRQ sponsorship of the Heart IT Summit.]
Journal of Clinical Epidemiology
Nuttall M, van der Muelen J, Emberton M. Charlson scores based on ICD administrative data were valid in assessing
comorbidity in patients undergoing urological cancer surgery. J Clin Epidemiol 2006 Mar; 59(3):265-73. [Cites
AHRQ-authored article by Elixhauser, et al. (Med Care, 1998).]
Journal of General Internal Medicine
Cooper LA, Beach MC, Johnson RL, et al. Delving below the surface: understanding how race and ethnicity influence
relationships in health care. J Gen Intern Med 2006 Jan; 21(Suppl 1):S21-7. [Cites AHRQ-authored article by Moy
(researcher in AHRQ's Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety) and Bartman (JAMA, 1995); cites AHRQ-funded
articles by Safran, et al. (J Fam Pract, 2001) and Schulman, et al. (N Engl J Med, 1999).]
Weiner M, Biondich P. The influence of information technology on patient-physician relationships. J Gen Intern Med 2006 Jan; 21(Suppl 1):S35-9. [Cites AHRQ-funded article by Poon, et al. Arch Intern Med, 2004) and McDonald, et al. (MD Comput, 1992).]
Journal of Neuroscience Nursing
Stewart-Amidei C. Why bother with practice guidelines? J Neurosci Nurs 2006 Feb; 38(1):3. [Cites AHRQ guidelines
as examples of the utility of practice guidelines for common diseases.]
Medical Care Research and Review
Nahra TA, Reiter KL, Hirth RA. Cost-effectiveness of hospital pay-for-performance incentives. Med Care Res Rev
2006 Feb; 63(1 Supp):49S-72S. [Notes AHRQ's collaboration with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan to implement a
quality incentive program.]
Galvin RS. Evaluating the performance of pay for performance. Med Care Res Rev 2006 Feb; 63(1 Supp):126S-130S. [Cites creation of the Strategic Framework Board by the Presidents Commission on Quality (President's Advisory Commission on Consumer Protection and Quality in the Health Care Industry; states that the effectiveness of AHRQ's attempt to accelerate the application of research findings into practice will depend initially on the quality and usefulness of the research.]
Medical Clinics of North America
Winters ME, Kluetz P, Zilberstein J. Back pain emergencies. Med Clin N Am 2006 May; 90(3):505-23. [Cites AHRQ
guideline, Acute Low Back Problems in Adults, 1995.]
Modern Healthcare
Romano M. Combining doc data. Mod Healthc 2006 Mar; 367(10):7. [Notes AHRQ funding of new national pilot
program of quality measurement.]
Conn J. Big in Rhode Island: docs in the state are going into the EMR business. Mod Healthc 2006 Mar; 367(10):30. [Notes work on a five-year, $5 million grant from AHRQ to the Rhode Island Department of Health to develop a prototype RHIO.]
The NCQHC and NQF join forces: Janet Corrigan to lead the newly formed organization. Mod Healthc 2006 Mar; (10):N5-N7. [Notes membership of AHRQ Director Carolyn Clancy and Senior Advisor Nancy Wilson on the 2005 Board of Jurors.]
A hurdle is only a hurdle for the unprepared. Mod Healthc 2006 Mar; (10):13. [Advertisement for company providing Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) administration services.]
Public Health Reports
Ayadi MF, Adams EK, Melvin CL, et al. Costs of a smoking cessation counseling intervention for pregnant women:
comparison of three settings. Public Health Rep 2006 Mar-Apr; 121(2):120-6. [Cites PHS guideline, Treating
Tobacco Use and Dependence, 2000.]
Koh HK, Shei AC, Bataringaya J, et al. Building community-based surged capacity through a public health and academic collaboration: the role of community health centers. Public Health Rep 2006 Mar-Apr; 121(2):211-6. [Notes AHRQ's definition of surge capacity as given in AHRQ Web site publications, Surge Capacity and Health System Preparedness, Optimizing Surge Capacity: Regional Efforts in Bioterrorism Readiness, and Use of Former (Shuttered) Hospitals to Expand Surge Capacity.]
Washington Health Policy Week in Review (Commonwealth Fund) (selected stories from CQ Healthbeat) AHRQ report finds hospital admissions increasing in for surgical, medical care complications. Wash Health Policy Week Rev (Commonw Fund) 2006 Mar 6; Item No. 6. [Summarizes findings from data obtained from AHRQ's Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS).]
American Family Physician
Physicians who do not follow screening guidelines. Am Fam Physician 2006 Jan 1; 73(1):161-2. [States that
the [USPSTF.] screening guidelines are conservative and are considered to be the standard for prevention;
cites USPSTF list of screening guidelines on AHRQ Web site and USPSTF recommendation, Screening for Cervical
Cancer, on AHRQ Web site.]
Freelove R, Walling AD. Pancreatic cancer: diagnosis and management. Am Fam Physician 2006 Feb 1; 73(3):485-92. [Cites USPSTF recommendation on screening for pancreatic cancer, Guide to U.S. Preventive Services, 3rd ed., as posted on AHRQ Web site.]
Annals of Internal Medicine
Pignone M, Earnshaw S, Tice JA, et al. Aspirin, statins, or both drugs for the primary prevention of coronary
heart disease events in men: a cost-utility analysis. Ann Intern Med 2006 Mar 7; 144(5):326-36. [Cites USPSTF
recommendations on aspirin for the primary prevention of cardiovascular events (Ann Intern Med, 2002), screening
and treating adults for lipid disorders (Am J Prev Med, 2001), and cites AHRQ publication, Healthcare Cost
and Utilization Project (HCUP), 1988-2001: A Federal-State-Industry Partnership in Health Data.]
Eisinger F, Horsman DE. Genetic risk assessment and BRCA mutation testing. Ann Intern Med 2006 Mar 7; 144(5):376-7. [Responds to USPSTF recommendations on genetic risk assessment and BRCA mutation testing for breast and ovarian cancer susceptibility (Ann Intern Med, 2005), noting that as usual, the USPSTF carried out an outstanding and comprehensive assessment of health services; includes response by Ned Calonge and Diana B. Petitti, USPSTF Chair and Vice Chair, respectively.]
JAMA
Taylor WC. A 71-year-old woman contemplating a screening colonoscopy. JAMA 2006 Mar 8; 295(10):1161-7.
[Cites USPSTF recommendations on screening for colorectal cancer (Ann Intern Med, 2002, 2 articles).]
Pediatrics
U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Screening and interventions for overweight in children and adolescents:
recommendation statement. Pediatrics 2005 Jul; 116(1):205-9. [Summarizes USPSTF recommendations on screening
and interventions for overweight in children and adolescents, based on review by Whitlock, et al. (Pediatrics, 2005)
cited below.]
Moyer Va, Klein JD, Ockene JK, et al., Childhood Obesity Working Group, US Preventive Services Task Force. Screening for overweight in children and adolescents: where is the evidence? A commentary by the Childhood Obesity Working Group of the US Preventive Services Task Force. Pediatrics 2005 Jul; 116(1):235-8. [Comments on findings presented in previous article.]
Krebs NF. Screening for overweight in children and adolescents: a call to action. Pediatrics 2005 Jul; 116(1):238-9. [Reviews and comments on USPSTF recommendations given in USPSTF recommendation statement cited above.]
Whitlock EP, Williams SB, Gold R, et al. Screening and interventions for childhood overweight: a summary of evidence for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Pediatrics 2005 Jul; 116(1):e125-44. [Supported by Contract No. 290-02-0024, Task Order 2) to Oregon Evidence-based Practice Center; cites Guide to Clinical Preventive Services, 1996.]
Hauck FR, Omojokun OO, Siadaty MS. Do pacifiers reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome? A meta-analysis. Pediatrics 2005 Nov; 116(5):e716-23. [Cites Guide to Clinical Preventive Services, 1996.]
Nelson HD, Nygren P, Walker M, et al. Screening for speech and language delay in preschool children: systematic evidence review for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Pediatrics 2006 Feb; 117(2):298-319. [Supported by Contract No. 290-02-0024, Task Order 2) to Oregon Evidence-based Practice Center; cites Guide to Clinical Preventive Services, 1996.]
U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Screening for speech and language delay in preschool children: recommendation statement. Pediatrics 2006 Feb; 117(2):497-501. [Summarizes USPSTF recommendations for screening for speech and language delay in preschool children.]
Journal of General Internal Medicine
Safran DG, Miller W, Beckman H. Organizational dimensions of relationship-centered care. J Gen Intern Med
2006 Jan; 21(Suppl 1):S9-15. [Cites AHRQ Evidence Report/Technology Assessment, Making Health Care Safer: A
Critical Analysis of Patient Safety Practices, 2001; also cites AHRQ-funded articles by Safran, et al. (J Gen Intern
Med, 2000 and J Fam Pract, 2001), Knaus, et al. (Ann Intern Med, 1986), Shortell, et al. (Med Care, 2000), and
Miller, et al. (J Fam Pract, 2001).]
Journal of Neuroscience Nursing
Starkweather A. Posterior lumbar interbody fusion: an old concept with new techniques. J Neurosci Nurs 2006
Feb; 38(1):13-20, 30. [Cites AHRQ Evidence Report/Technology Assessment, Deep Venous Thrombosis and Pulmonary
Embolism, Diagnosis, and Treatment, 2003.]
Medical Care Research and Review
Beich J, Ulbrecht J, Ford EW, et al. The role of disease management in pay-for-performance programs for improving
the care of chronically ill patients. Med Care Res Rev 2006 Feb; 63(1 Supp):96S-116S. [Cites Shojania, et al.,
Closing the Quality Gap: A Critical Analysis of Quality Improvement Strategies. Volume 2. Diabetes Mellitus Care,
2004, from Stanford University-UCSF Evidence-based Practice Center, as posted on AHRQ Web site. See also articles by Whitlock, et al. (Pediatrics, 2005) and Nelson (Pediatrics, 2006) cited in U.S. Preventive
Services Task Force (USPSTF)/Put Prevention into Practice (PPIP)/Related Articles.]
American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Research
Moy E, Smith CR, Johansson P, Andrews R. Gaps in data for American Indians and Alaska Natives in the National
Healthcare Disparities Report. Am Ind Alaska Native Ment Health Res 2006; 13(1):52-69. [First author is researcher
in AHRQ's Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety, third author is former AHRQ researcher, and fourth author
is researcher in AHRQ's Center for Delivery, Organization, and Markets; examines measures from AHRQ's NHDR, 2004.]
Arthritis and Rheumatism
Chakravarty EF, Nelson L, Krishman E. Obstetric hospitalizations in the United States for women with systemic
lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis Rheum 2006 Mar; 54(3):899-907. [Uses 2002 data from
AHRQ's HCUP NIS.]
Journal of School Health
Mears CJ, Charlebois NM, Holl JL. Medication adherence among adolescents in a school-based health center. J School Health 2006 Feb; 76(2):52-6. [Adapts response choices about the cost of medication and questions about
medication names and corresponding conditions from AHRQ's Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) (MEPS Household
Component Survey Instruments: Rounds 1-5, charge payment (CP) and prescribed medicine (PM), on AHRQ Web site.]
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