Research Activities

January 2009, No. 341

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Contents

About Research Activities

Feature Story

Doctor's use of e-prescribing systems linked to formulary data can boost drug cost savings

Health Information Technology

Community pharmacists and technicians are mostly satisfied with e-prescribing
New clinical decision support system eliminates many grievances about their usefulness

Patient Safety and Quality

Rates of adverse medical events and motor vehicle incidents are unchanged among U.S. resident pediatric physicians despite duty hour limit standards
Statewide collaborative effort to improve patient safety in intensive care units greatly enhanced unit safety culture
Patients reveal adverse events in the hospital that are not documented in the medical records

Child/Adolescent Health

Immunization of infants with pneumococcal conjugate vaccine has wide preventive effects
Doctors tend to overprescribe antibiotics for children with upper respiratory infections
Less than half of consumer Web sites are updated to reflect new recommendations on antibiotic use for ear infections

Women's Health

Some pregnancy-related complications are minimized for women who have had weight-loss surgery
More women than men are hospitalized for chest pain with no known cause

Elderly/Long-term Care

Inpatient treatment for elderly nondementia psychiatric illnesses is shifting into less expensive settings
Culturally appropriate interventions raise flu and pneumonia vaccine rates at inner-city health centers

Emergency Medicine

Emergency medicine consensus conference examines the role of health care simulation in developing clinical expertise

Pharmaceutical Research

Researchers identify possible genetic component of penicillin allergy

Health Care Costs and Financing

Cost-effectiveness of pertussis vaccine in adults confirmed in U.S. and German studies
X-ray of patients undergoing emergency surgery is cost-effective in preventing retained surgical sponges

Acute Care/Hospitalization

Repeated immunoassays are not helpful in diagnosing an infectious form of colitis and diarrhea
Daily hemodialysis is cost-effective for intensive care patients with acute kidney injury
Use of mesh for repair of an incisional hernia varies with the surgeon's style, not the patient's condition

Agency News and Notes

Integrated mental and physical health services may help people with depression
Pressure ulcers are increasing among hospital patients

Announcements

Final rule issued for Patient Safety Organizations
New report recommends strategies to reduce medical resident fatigue-related errors and improve training
Improved healthfinder.gov makes health information quicker to find and easier to use
New inventory of HHS quality measures to improve public- and private-sector performance measurement efforts have been released
New Web resource aims to connect primary care, public health providers, and patients
New Spanish-language guide explains safe and effective use of the blood clot prevention drug, Coumadin®/warfarin

Research Briefs

Research Briefs
Visit the AHRQ Patient Safety Network Web Site

AHRQ Publication No. 09-RA004
Current as of January 2009

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Internet Citation:

Research Activities Newsletter. January 2009, No. 341. AHRQ Publication No. 09-RA004. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/research/jan09/

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