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Electronic Newsletter

December 10, 2010

AHRQ News and Numbers

The number of people admitted to the hospital because of dog bites increased by 86 percent — from 5,100 to 9,500 hospital stays — between 1993 and 2008. Treating patients admitted for dog bites cost hospitals an average of $18,200 per patient and $54 million overall. [Source: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, HCUP, Statistical Brief #101: Emergency Department Visits and Inpatient Stays Involving Dog Bites, 2008.] (PDF File, Plugin Software Help)

Today's Headlines

  1. AHRQ begins project to develop a registry of patient registries database
  2. AHRQ's new report highlights successes in health IT is available
  3. New AHRQ resource for developing or improving public reporting Web sites available
  4. Archive of Webcast 'Integrating Comparative Effectiveness Research into Everyday Practice' is available
  5. New guides on radiotherapy treatments for head and neck cancer are available
  6. Health Services Research theme issue explores payment reform
  7. U.S. Preventive Services Task Force seeks public comments on screening for bladder cancer
  8. AHRQ seeks public comments on priorities for the CHIPRA Pediatric Quality Measures program
  9. New AHRQ evidence report on the relationship of alcohol consumption to breast and colorectal cancer
  10. AHRQ 2010 annual conference plenary session videos are available
  11. CDC spotlights global efforts to address antibiotic resistance
  12. AHRQ in the professional literature

1. AHRQ Begins Project to Develop a Registry of Patient Registries Database

AHRQ has recently begun a new project to develop a Registry of Patient Registries (RoPR) database. The RoPR database will provide a searchable central listing of patient registries in the United States to enable interested parties to identify registries in a particular area. The goal of the RoPR database is to promote collaboration, reduce redundancy, and improve transparency for patient registries. Stakeholder participation in this project is critical to ensure that we design a system that is responsive to user needs. The Outcome DEcIDE Center, under contract to AHRQ, will be designing and developing the RoPR database in close collaboration with a broad set of stakeholders representing different potential types of users of the Web site. Over the next six months, stakeholders will be asked to participate in a limited number of conference calls and/or attend in-person meetings in the Washington, DC area. If you are interested in learning about opportunities to participate in this project as a stakeholder (which will involve one or more teleconferences or in-person meetings), please contact the Outcome DEcIDE Center at ropr@outcome.com by December 15. Please include your name, title, organization, current role, areas of expertise, and any experience with patient registries, as well as your email, phone, and address. To ensure that the stakeholder panel represents a broad range of perspectives, stakeholders will be selected to participate based on their areas of expertise and experience with registries.

2. AHRQ’s New Report Highlights Successes in Health IT Is Available

AHRQ released a new report, Using Health IT: Eight Quality Improvement Stories, highlighting the successes of eight projects funded under the Transforming Healthcare Quality through Information Technology program. These projects demonstrate how health IT applications can be used to improve care for vulnerable populations, improve health care delivery, improve the quality of care, and increase access to health care. Select to access the report. (PDF File, Plugin Software Help)

3. New AHRQ Resource for Developing or Improving Public Reporting Web Sites Available

AHRQ has a free new resource designed to help organizations that report provider performance develop Web sites or improve existing ones. Model Public Report Elements: A Sampler includes samples from public reporting Web page and highlights their most effective elements, such as the landing page, presentation of measure ratings, consumer engagement tools, and a place for consumer input on the Web site design. Additional examples illustrate functional possibilities of Web sites and demonstrate how to facilitate use by consumers in their care. The 81-page Sampler was developed by researchers led by R. Adams Dudley, M.D., of the University of California, San Francisco. Select to access the Sampler.

4. Archive of Webcast 'Integrating Comparative Effectiveness Research into Everyday Practice' Is Available

Presentations from the October 12 Web conference, "Integrating Comparative Effectiveness Research into Everyday Practice,” are available on the AHRQ Effective Health Care Web site. Presenters highlighted AHRQ's existing patient-centered outcomes research and ways that it can be used by clinicians to make decisions in their practices.

5. New Guides on Radiotherapy Treatments for Head and Neck Cancer Are Available

AHRQ's Effective Health Care Program released new summary guides on Comparative Effectiveness and Safety of Radiotherapy Treatments for Head and Neck Cancer and Understanding Radiotherapy for Head and Neck Cancer: A Guide for Adults and Their Caregivers. The new guides are based on a recent AHRQ comparative effectiveness review on the effectiveness of different types of radiotherapy to treat head and neck cancers. That report, published in May, found that an advanced type of radiation called intensity-modulated radiation therapy leads to fewer cases of xerostomia, commonly known as dry mouth, than other types of radiation, but it is unknown whether the treatment is better or worse at reducing the size of tumors. The report was prepared by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, Technology Evaluation Center in Chicago for AHRQ's Effective Health Care Program. In addition, a CME activity and a slide talk are also available.

6. Health Services Research Theme Issue Explores Payment Reform

The December issue of Health Services Research, published in cooperation with AHRQ, presents research on payment reform, which will play a critical role in efforts to improve the quality and value of health care under the Affordable Care Act. The goal of this theme issue is to provide new information about how to best design and implement payment reforms, focusing particularly on structuring payment bundles that reduce regional variation without harming quality; selecting performance measures that really do measure performance; fine-tuning pay-for-performance models; and taking into account external market factors. The issue's seven papers address when and under what circumstances a payment system works to achieve certain objectives. In brief, the authors found that potentially avoidable hospitalizations for chronic illnesses add 30 percent to employers' health care spending for certain chronic conditions; more aggressive hospital care costs more but saves lives; composite measures can successfully assess the quality of physician preventive and chronic care services; surveys can make an effective contribution to risk-adjustment for children with chronic conditions; payment initiatives from one payer affect patients with other payers; and the impact of quality incentives varies with the competitiveness of the market. Select to access the Health Services Research: Part II, December 2010. Exit Disclaimer

7. U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Seeks Public Comments on Screening for Bladder Cancer

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is inviting public comments on its draft recommendation statement on screening for bladder cancer. This draft recommendation is an update of the Task Force 2004 recommendation on screening for bladder cancer in adults. The deadline to provide comments is December 28.

8. AHRQ Seeks Public Comments on Priorities for the CHIPRA Pediatric Quality Measures Program

AHRQ is seeking public comments on priorities measure topics and methodological enhancements in health care services affecting children's health including perinatal measures for the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009; PL 111-3 (CHIPRA) Pediatric Quality Measures Program (PQMP). Select to read the December 3 Federal Register notice. Comments are due January 14, 2011 and should be sent to CHIPRAqualitymeasures@AHRQ.hhs.gov.

9. New AHRQ Evidence Report on the Relationship of Alcohol Consumption to Breast and Colorectal Cancer

Alcoholic beverages, drunk by more than half of all American adults at least once a month, are suspected of increasing risk of breast or colorectal cancer because of findings from human, animal, and cell studies. A new AHRQ evidence report, Alcohol Consumption and Cancer Risk: Understanding Possible Causal Mechanisms for Breast and Colorectal Cancers, points to several potential mechanisms by which alcohol may influence the development of these cancers but the importance of any one mechanism is not apparent at this time. Most studies examining the mechanisms connecting alcohol to cancer risk use animal models, which may not be directly applicable to humans. The researchers, Olu Oyesanmi, M.D., M.P.H, and David Snyder, Ph.D., of AHRQ's ECRI Institute Evidence-based Practice Center noted that although the majority of the epidemiology studies reported that alcohol was associated with an increased risk of both breast and colorectal cancers, they could not discount the influence of other factors, such as diet and lifestyle. The evidence review was requested by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Select to access the full report.

10. AHRQ 2010 Annual Conference Plenary Session Videos Are Available

The videos from AHRQ's 2010 Annual Conference plenary sessions, 21st Century Health Care: What Does it Mean to Achieve Success in Quality, Value, and Access to Care? and Transformation and Change: Making a Complex System Safe and Right are available. Select to access the videos.

11. CDC Spotlights Global Efforts to Address Antibiotic Resistance

Antibiotic resistance is one of the world's most pressing public health threats. To bring attention to this increasing problem, CDC and other government partners observed the third annual "Get Smart About Antibiotics Week" on November 15-21. The national campaign highlighted the coordinated efforts of CDC, State and local health departments, and non-profit and for-profit partners to educate the public about antibiotic resistance and the importance of appropriate antibiotic use in both community and health care settings. CDC also unveiled its new "Get Smart for Healthcare" program to complement the existing "Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work" program. The goal of the program is to ensure that hospitals and nursing homes are using antibiotics wisely by implementing proven strategies. Select to access CDC's press release. CDC's activities are a part of an HHS-wide effort to address strategies outlined within the HHS Action Plan to Prevent HAIs. Partners across HHS, including AHRQ, CMS, and NIH, have been working together to achieve the prevention goals in the Action Plan.

12. AHRQ in the Professional Literature

We are providing the following hyperlinks to journal abstracts through PubMed® for your convenience. Unfortunately, some of you may not be able to access the abstracts because of firewalls or specific settings on your individual computer systems. If you are having problems, you should ask your technical support staff for possible remedies.

Osborn CY, Davis TC, Bailey SC, et al. Health literacy in the context of HIV treatment: introducing the Brief Estimate of Health Knowledge and Action (BEHKA)-HIV version. AIDS Behav 2010 Feb; 14(1):181-8. Select to access the abstract on PubMed®.

Persell SD, Dolan NC, Friesema EM, et al. Frequency of inappropriate medical exceptions to quality measures. Ann Intern Med 2010 Feb 16; 152(4):225-31. Select to access the abstract on PubMed®.

Allareddy V, Ward MM, Allareddy V, et al. Effect of meeting Leapfrog volume thresholds on complication rates following complex surgical procedures. Ann Surg 2010 Feb; 251(2):377-83. Select to access the abstract on PubMed. ®

Wisnivesky JP, Lorenzo J, Feldman JM, et al. The relationship between perceived stress and morbidity among adult inner-city asthmatics. J Asthma 2010 Feb; 47(1):100-4. Select to access the abstract on PubMed®.

Tejani N, Dresselhaus TR, Weinger MB. Development of a hand-held computer platform for real-time behavioral assessment of physicians and nurses. J Biomed Inform 2010 Feb; 43(1):75-80. Select to access the abstract on PubMed®.

Wong ML, Carey S, Mader TJ, Wang HE, et al. Time to invasive airway placement and resuscitation outcomes after inhospital cardiopulmonary arrest. Resuscitation 2010 Feb; 81(2):182-6. Select to access the abstract on PubMed®.

Fiske CT, Griffin MR, Erin H, et al. Black race, sex, and extrapulmonary tuberculosis risk: an observational study. BMC Infect Dis 2010 Jan 22; 10:16. Select to access the abstract on PubMed. ®

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Current as of December 2010

Internet Citation:

AHRQ Electronic Newsletter, December 10, 2010, Issue #301. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/news/enews/enews301.htm
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