Research Activities

March 2006, No. 307

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Contents

About Research Activities

Feature Story

AHRQ's Quality Indicators can be used as a screening tool to identify potential quality of care problems

Patient Safety and Quality

Frequent potential medication dosing errors occur during outpatient pediatric visits
Close-call reporting systems may be underutilized in identifying potential medical errors
Patient responses to medical errors depend on the timeliness and quality of the physician's communication about the event
Some for-profit Medicare health plans provide lower quality of care than not-for-profit plans

Disparities/Minority Health

Interpreters are an effective communication option for patients with limited English proficiency
Minority children living in public housing are more likely to suffer from chronic health problems
Recruitment of Hawaiians and Filipinos for clinical trials should address informed consent, research safeguards, and benefits
Fewer visits to the doctor contribute to the higher mortality rates among black Medicare patients in Tennessee
Stroke rehabilitation outcomes differ for blacks, whites, and Asian Americans
Colorectal cancer screening rates are low among Latinos and people with little education

Child/Adolescent Health

Do-not-resuscitate orders for terminally ill children may not be honored by public schools
Doctors still prescribe antibiotics for over half of children with sore throats
Adding cognitive behavioral therapy to treatment plans reduces depressive symptoms among adolescents
Discontinuing growth hormone therapy is influenced by physiological factors, family preferences, and physician attitudes

Women's Health

Women need information about alternatives, risks, and benefits of hormone therapy for osteoporosis to make an informed decision
Ectopic pregnancy rates in California are declining, but the decline is slower among black women

Health Information Technology

Computerized medication alert systems may need to be more specific for home health care patients
Computerized alerts and professional collaboration improve laboratory monitoring of outpatients starting new medications

Primary Care Research

Better communication and coordination of care could reduce frustration experienced by patients with chronic diseases
Obese patients are treated differently during primary care visits

Acute Care/Hospitalization

Ventilator-associated pneumonia is a serious and costly side effect of mechanical ventilation
Fear of malpractice prompts emergency physicians to practice defensive medicine with potential heart attack patients

Access to Care

Inmates who are released from prison often join the ranks of the homeless

Health Care Costs and Financing

The cost-effectiveness threshold for medical interventions may depend on the context of the circumstances
SCHIP significantly decreases uninsurance and increases public insurance for children in low-income families
Medi-Cal changes in the 1990s shifted newborn deliveries from large public hospitals to smaller community hospitals

Agency News and Notes

AHRQ receives the American College of Cardiology Presidential Citation
AHRQ Director Carolyn M. Clancy, M.D., receives the AMA's Nathan Davis Award
AHRQ releases update of a report on telemedicine
Save the date

Announcements

AHRQ announces new program: Accelerating Change and Transformation in Organizations and Networks
AHRQ launches new Web-based tool for States to measure performance on the quality of health care
New evidence report on the management of adnexal mass is available
AHRQ Pediatric Quality Indicators Software and Documentation Is Available
Research Briefs

Current as of March 2006
AHRQ Publication No. 06-0033

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Internet Citation:

Research Activities Newsletter. March 2006, No. 307. AHRQ Publication No. 06-0033. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/research/mar06/

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