Articles of Interest

September 15, 2006


This weekly compilation of articles appearing in recently released journals and newsletters includes:


AHRQ-Funded/Authored Articles

American Journal of Psychiatry
Zuvekas SH, Vitiello B, Norquist GS. Recent trends in stimulant medication use among U.S. children. Am J Psychiatry 2006 Apr; 163(4):579-85. [First author is researcher in AHRQ's Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends.]

Archives of Surgery
Kwaan MR, Studdert DM, Zinner MJ, et al. Incidence, patterns, and prevention of wrong-site surgery. Arch Surg 2006 Apr; 141(4):353-8. [Supported by Grant No. HS011886-03.]

Diabetes Educator
Miller CD, Ziemer DC, Kolm P, et al. Use of a glucose algorithm to direct diabetes therapy improves A1C outcomes and defines and approach to assess provider behavior. Diabetes Educ 2006 Jul-Aug; 32(4):533-45. [Supported by Grant No. HS07922.]

Health Affairs
Bradford WD, Kleit AN, Nietert PJ, et al. How direct-to-consumer television advertising for osteoarthritis drugs affects physicians' prescribing behavior. Health Aff 2006 Sep-Oct; 25(5):1371-7. [Supported by Grant No. 1 R01 HS011326-01A1.]

Zhan C, Friedman B, Mosso A, et al. Medicare payment for selected adverse events: building the business case for investing in patient safety. Health Aff 2006 Sep-Oct; 25(5):1386-93. [First two authors are researchers in AHRQ's Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety and Center for Delivery, Organization, and Markets, respectively; uses data from AHRQ's Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) from 2002.]

Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Vitiello B, Zuvekas SH, Norquist GS. National estimates of antidepressant medication use among U.S. children, 1997-2002. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2006 Mar; 45(3):271-9. [Second author is researcher in AHRQ's Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends.]

Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association
Ray MN, Houston TK, Yu FB, et al. Development and testing of a scale to assess physician attitudes about handheld computers with decision support. J Am Med Inform Assoc 2006 Sep-Oct; 13(5):567-72. [Supported by Grant No. R18 HS11820.]

Journal of Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics
Linder JA, Chan JC, Bates DW. Appropriateness of antiviral prescribing for influenza in primary care: a retrospective analysis. J Clin Pharm Ther 2006 Jun; 31(3):245-52. [Supported by Grant No. R03 HS014420.]

Journal of Mental Health Policy and Economics
Zuvekas SH, Meyerhoefer CD. Coverage for mental health treatment: do the gaps still persist? J Ment Health Policy Econ 2006 Sep; 9(3):155-63. [Authors are researchers with AHRQ's Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends.]

Southern Medical Journal
Tsao JC, Dobalian A, Wiens BA, et al. PTSD and substance use: unrecognized sequelae of bioterrorism in primary care providers. South Med J 2006 Aug; 99(8):817-22. [Supported by Grant No. 7 U01 HS14355.]

AHRQ-Related Articles

American Journal of Nursing
Mennick F. Two expanded cautions for pregnant women. Am J Nurs 2006 Sep; 106(9):22. [Summarizes findings of AHRQ-funded study by Cooper, et al., Vanderbilt Center for Education and Research on Therapeutics (CERTs), on increased risk of birth defects related to first trimester use of ACE inhibitors (N Engl J Med, 2006).]

BMC Health Services Research
Phillips CD. What do you do for a living? Toward a more succinct definition of health services research. BMC Health Serv Res 2006 Sep 13; 6(1):117. [Cites authors participation in a recent meeting and series of exchanges supported by AHRQ concerning the development of competencies for a doctoral degree in health services research.]

BMC Medical Research Methodology
Poolman RW, Struijs PA, Krips R, et al. Does a Level I Evidence rating imply high quality of reporting in orthopaedic randomised controlled trials? BMC Med Res Methodol 2006 Sep 11; 6(1):44. [Cites AHRQ-authored article by David Atkins (researcher in AHRQ's Center for Outcomes and Evidence), et al. (BMC Health Serv Res, 2004).]

Business Economics
Scheffler RM, Felton MC. Consumer-driven health plans: new development and the long road ahead. Bus Econ 2006 Jul; 41(3):44-8. [States that first author is co-director of the Health Services and Health Policy Research Training Program funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.]

Clinical and Investigative Medicine
Berra K. Computers in medicine. Virtual rehabilitation: dream or reality? Clin Invest Med 2006 Aug; 29(4):187-92. [Cites AHRQ guideline, Cardiac Rehabilitation as Secondary Prevention, 1995.]

Health Affairs
Tunis SR, Pearson SD. Coverage options for promising technologies: Medicare coverage with evidence development. Health Aff 2006 Sep-Oct; 25(5):1218-30. [Cites statute under which AHRQ conducts Medicare coverage studies.]

Carino T, Williams RD II, Colbert AM, et al. Medicare's coverage of colorectal cancer drugs: a case study in evidence development and policy. Health Aff 2006 Sep-Oct; 25(5):1231-9. [Cites AHRQ/CMS collaboration to implement a comparative effectiveness research under the Medicare Modernization Act.]

Paterson JM, Laupacis A, Bassett K, et al. Using pharmacoepidemiology to inform drug coverage policy: initial lessons from a two-province collaborative. Health Aff 2006 Sep-Oct; 25(5):1436-43. [Cites AHRQ's Developing Evidence to Inform Decisions about Effectiveness (DEcIDE) Network in AHRQ Web site publication, Effective Health Care: Projects in Progress; cites AHRQ-funded article by Schneeweiss, et al. (N Engl J Med, 2002).]

Hospital Peer Review
Study: why are wrong-site surgeries still occurring? Hosp Peer Rev 2006 Jul; 31(7):94, 99-100. [Reports on findings from AHRQ-funded study by Kwaan, et al. (Arch Surg, 2006) cited in AHRQ-Funded/Authored Articles.]

JAMA
Hampton T. Health research funding losing ground. JAMA 2006 Sep 13; 296(10):1219-20. [Notes that the proposed fiscal year 2007 budget includes flat-funding for AHRQ.]

Spiro DM, Tay K-Y, Arnold DH, et al. Wait-and-see prescription for the treatment of acute otitis media. JAMA 2006 Sep 13; 296(10):1235-41. [Cites AHRQ-funded article by Finkelstein, et al. (Pediatrics, 2005).]

Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety
Rose JS, Thomas CS, Tersigni A, et al. A leadership framework for culture change in health care. Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf 2006 Aug; 32(9):433-42.

Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association
Schade CP, Sullivan FM, de Lusignan S, et al. e-Prescribing, efficiency, quality: lessons from the computerization of U.K. family practice. J Am Med Inform Assoc 2006 Sep-Oct; 13(5):470-5. [Cites AHRQ-authored article by Clancy (AHRQ Director), et al. (Health Serv Res, 2003).]

Richesson RL, Andrews JE, Krischer JP. Use of SNOMED CT to represent clinical research data: a semantic characterization of data items on case report forms in vasculitis research. J Am Med Inform Assoc 2006 Sep-Oct; 13(5):536-46. [Cites AHRQ-authored article by Humphreys, Hole, McCray, and Fitzmaurice (researcher in AHRQ's Office of the Director) (J Am Med Inform Assoc, 1996).]

Campbell EM, Sittig DF, Ash JS, et al. Types of unintended consequences related to computerized provider order entry. J Am Med Inform Assoc 2006 Sep-Oct; 13(5):547-56. [Cites AHRQ-funded article by Bates, et al. ( J Med, 1999).]

Podichetty VK, Varley E. e-Talking to patients: connecting with the health care consumer. J Am Med Inform Assoc 2006 Sep-Oct; 13(5):579-80. [Cites AHRQ-funded article by Bates, et al. (MA, 1997).] Cites AHRQ-authored article by Thomas, Studdert, Burstin (director of AHRQ's Center for Primary Care, Prevention, and Clinical Partnerships) (Med Care, 2000)

Modern Healthcare
Sloane T. No simple answers: without political will for comprehensive change, access problem will worsen. Mod Healthc 2006 Sep 4; 36(35):22. [Mentions statistics from Robert Wood Johnson Foundation study using Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) data to compare the number of U.S. workers eligible for employer-sponsored health insurance enrolled in 1998 and 2003.]

Benko LB. Weighty concerns: bariatric surgery programs on the rebound after initial complications. Mod Healthc 2006 Sep 11; 36(36):38-42. [Cites findings from AHRQ-authored article by Encinosa- et al. (Med Care, 2006) as summarized in AHRQ press release, "Obesity Surgery Complication Rates Higher Over Time," July 2006; cites statistics on hospital charges for bariatric surgery from AHRQ's HCUP data.]

Romano M. Residents still overworked? Studies' findings show polar-opposite conclusions. od Healthc 2006 Sep 11; 36(36):44. [Cites findings from AHRQ-funded study by Landrigan, et al. (JAMA, 2006), and quotes remarks by AHRQ Director Carolyn Clancy.]

Nursing Economics
Web-based patient safety education curriculum incorporates suggestions from physicians, nurses, and patients. Nurs Econ 2006 Jul-Aug; 24(4):220-21. [Reports on AHRQ-supported development of new Web-based patient safety education curriculum.]

U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF)/Put Prevention Into Practice (PPIP)-Related Articles

BMC Health Services Research
Zimmerman RK, Nowalk MP, Tabbarah M, et al. Predictors of colorectal cancer screening in diverse primary care practices. BMC Health Serv Res 2006 Sep 13: 6(1):116. [Cites USPSTF guidelines Screening—Colorectal Cancer, Update, 2002, as published on AHRQ Web site.]

Evidence-based Practice Centers-Related Articles

Health Affairs
Cotter D, Thamer M, Narasimhan K, et al. Translating epoetin research into practice: the role of government and the use of scientific evidence. Health Aff 2006 Sep-Oct; 25(5):1249-55. [Cites AHRQ Evidence Report/Technology Assessment, Use of Epoetin for Anemia in Chronic Renal Failure, 2001, and AHRQ publication, Methodology Perspectives, 1994.]

International Journal for Quality in Health Care
Grupper A, Grupper A, Rudin D, et al. Prevention of perioperative venous thromboembolism and coronary events: differential responsiveness to an intervention program to improve guidelines adherence. Int J Qual Health Care 2006 Apr; 18(2):123-6. [Examines hospital staff adherence to AHRQ priority safety practices detailed in AHRQ Evidence Report/Technology Assessment, Making Health Care Safer: A Critical Analysis of Patient Safety Practices, 2001.]

Southern Medical Journal
Lanham JS. The evaluation of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder in family medicine residency programs. South Med J 2006 Aug; 99(8):793-4. [Cites AHRQ technical review, Diagnosis of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, 1999.]

National Healthcare Quality Report (NHQR)/National Healthcare Disparities Report (NHDR)-Related Articles

Case Management Advisor
Tool enables state quality comparisons. Case Manage Advisor 2006 Jul. [Reports on interview with Dwight McNeil, researcher in AHRQ's Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety, describing development of AHRQ's State Snapshot tool to break down data from the National Healthcare Quality Report, 2005, and the National Healthcare Disparities Report, 2005.]

Research By Others Using AHRQ Data or Products

Health Services and Outcomes Research Methodology
Liang S-Y, Phillips KA, Wang H-C. Selection bias into health plans with specific characteristics: a case study of endogeneity of gatekeeper requirements and mammography utilization. Health Serv Outcomes Res Methodol 2004; 5(2):103-18. [Uses 2002 MEPS data linked to 1998-1999 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data.]

Journal of Pediatrics
Seid M, Varni JW, Cummings L, et al. The impact of realized access to care on health-related quality of life: a two-year prospective cohort study of children in the California State Childrens Health Insurance Program. J Pediatrics 2006 Sep; 149(3):354-61. [Uses survey question and response options from AHRQ's Consumer Assessment of Health Providers and Systems (CAHPS®) 2.0 Questionnaires, 1998.]


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