| August 19, 2014, Issue #437 AHRQ StatsHospital costs for mental health care increased most rapidly from 2003 to 2011 for adults age 18 to 64, and this trend is projected to continue. (Source: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Statistical Brief #176: Trends and Projections in U.S. Hospital Costs by Patient Age, 2003-2013.) Today's Headlines:AHRQ Offers Guide To Reduce Medicaid Hospital Readmissions A guide to help hospitals expand efforts to reduce readmissions among Medicaid patients is now available from AHRQ. The "Hospital Guide to Reducing Medicaid Readmissions" can help acute care facilities adapt or expand existing Medicaid readmission reduction efforts; develop Medicaid readmission reduction strategies using the guide's roadmap featuring 13 customizable online tools; comply with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' Conditions of Participation requirements for standard, improved and transitional care for all patients; and develop partnerships across other settings. The guide is the only federal tool available that is tailored to the adult Medicaid population. Hospitals at different stages of readmission reduction efforts can benefit from implementing this guide. It can be viewed or downloaded from the AHRQ website. Free copies also are available via email or phone, (800) 358-9295. 2012 Kids' Inpatient Database (KID) Now Available The Kids' Inpatient Database (KID), featuring 2012 data, has been released by AHRQ's Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP). The KID is the only all-payer dataset in the United States designed specifically to study hospital use, charges and outcomes in the population of patients younger than 21. It has been released every three years since the 1997 data year. The new KID includes data from approximately 3 million pediatric discharges from 44 states. Weighted, it estimates roughly 7 million hospitalizations. Researchers and policymakers can use the data to identify, track and analyze national trends in pediatric health care. The sample design of the KID enables analyses of rare conditions, such as congenital anomalies, and uncommon treatments, such as organ transplantation. The 2012 KID can be purchased through the HCUP Central Distributor, and statistics can be accessed via HCUPnet, a free, online query system. Additional information on the KID is available on the HCUP-US website. Cardiac Troponin Elevations Indicate Worse Prognosis for Kidney Disease Patients A research review from AHRQ finds that among patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), higher levels of the protein cardiac troponin are associated with a worse prognosis for patients with and without suspected acute coronary syndrome (ACS). In particular, for dialysis patients without suspected ACS, increased troponin T or I, which measure heart enzymes, is a strong predictor of death, according to the review, "Cardiac Troponins Used as Diagnostic and Prognostic Tests in Patients With Kidney Disease." However, there is insufficient evidence to conclude whether elevated troponin provides strong incremental predictive value over and above carefully assessed clinical risk factors for coronary artery disease and mortality. For this research to be effective, troponin assays and cutpoints need to be standardized and harmonized so that results can be pooled, compared and applied in practice, the review indicated. E-Book Version of New Guide to Clinical Preventive Services Released For the first time, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has released an e-book version of its Guide to Clinical Preventive Services. The e-book is compatible with many readers, including Kindle, Nook, iBook, and Kobo. The new "Guide to Clinical Preventive Services, 2014" is a comprehensive resource that can help primary care clinicians and patients decide together which preventive services are right for a patient's needs. It includes all active Task Force evidence-based recommendations since 2004, including 28 new and updated recommendations since the 2012 guide, in a format meant for use at the point of patient care. It also includes information about topics in development, clinical summary tables and additional resources. In addition to the e-book, the guide can be viewed and downloaded online or a print copy can be ordered from the AHRQ Publications Online Store. Bulk orders can be made via email or phone, (800) 358-9295. Register Now: August 26 Webinar on Reducing Medication Errors With Health IT AHRQ is hosting a free webinar, "Using Health IT to Reduce Medication Errors and Improve Patient Safety," August 26 from 2:30 to 4 p.m. ET. Speakers will review research to improve medication management strategies to reduce errors and improve outcomes through (1) implementation of the "Medication Metronome" project to support between-visit medication safety monitoring and dose adjustment for patients with chronic conditions, (2) evaluation of the potential severity of specific Look-Alike, Sound-Alike drug name substitution errors in pediatric ambulatory practice to flag potential errors and (3) implementation of a medication reconciliation program that seeks to demonstrate how electronic facilitation of medication reconciliation alters the incidence of medication errors in ambulatory care. Participants who attend the entire webinar and complete the online evaluation will be eligible to receive 1.5 continuing education credits. Registration is open. AHRQ's Innovations Exchange Focuses on Innovative Approaches To Promote Breastfeeding The latest issue of AHRQ's Health Care Innovations Exchange features three programs that used various approaches to promote breastfeeding. One of the featured profiles describes Latch On NYC, a citywide initiative of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene that asks public and private maternity hospitals to make concrete commitments to support mothers who choose to breastfeed and eliminate practices that interfere with that choice. Participating hospitals must put in place policies to ensure compliance with state regulations. Hospitals also must implement systems for tracking and storing formula, discontinue distribution of free infant formula and prohibit the display and distribution in the hospital of promotional materials for formula. Preliminary data suggest that the program has resulted in an increase in the number of women choosing to breastfeed exclusively during their hospital stay, an important determinant for exclusive breastfeeding after discharge. About 73 percent of the city's maternity hospitals participate in the Latch On NYC program. | AHRQ in the Professional Literature Motzkus-Feagans C, Pakyz AL, Ratliff SM, et al. Statin use and infections in Veterans with cirrhosis. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2013 Sep;38(6):611-18. Epub 2013 Jul 29. Select to access the abstract on PubMed®. Howren MB, Christensen AJ, Hynds Karnell L, et al. Influence of pretreatment social support on health-related quality of life in head and neck cancer survivors: results from a prospective study. Head Neck. 2013 Jun;35(6):779-87. Epub 2012 Jun 19. Select to access the abstract on PubMed®. Glance LG, Osler TM, Mukamel DB, et al. Effectiveness of nonpublic report cards for reducing trauma mortality. JAMA Surg. 2014 Feb;149(2):137-43. Select to access the abstract on PubMed®. Callegari LS, Darney BG, Godfrey EM, et al. Evidence-based selection of candidates for the levonorgestrel intrauterine device (IUD). J Am Board Fam Med. 2014 Jan-Feb;27(1):26-33. Select to access the abstract on PubMed®. Creswell PD, Wisk LE, Litzelman K, et al. Parental depressive symptoms and childhood cancer: the importance of financial difficulties. Support Care Cancer. 2014 Feb;22(2):503-11. Epub 2013 Oct 8. Select to access the abstract on PubMed®. Wu TC, Lyerly MJ, Albright KC, et al. Impact of telemedicine on access to acute stroke care in the state of Texas. Ann Clin Transl Neurol. 2014 Jan 1;1(1):27-33. Select to access the abstract on PubMed®. Barocas DA, Alvarez J, Koyama T, et al. Racial variation in the quality of surgical care for bladder cancer. Cancer. 2014 Apr 1;120(7):1018-25. . Epub 2013 Dec 11. Select to access the abstract on PubMed®. Goldberg DG, Beeson T, Kuzel AJ, et al. Team-based care: a critical element of primary care practice transformation. Popul Health Manag. 2013 Jun;16(3):150-6. Epub 2013 Feb 13. Select to access the abstract on PubMed®. Contact Information Please address comments and questions about the AHRQ Electronic Newsletter to Jeff Hardy at: (301) 427-1802 or Jeff.Hardy@ahrq.hhs.gov. |
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