System errors, not patient factors, are responsible for most hospital medication errors
Smoking Cessation
Health and economic benefits are substantial when pregnant women stop smoking
Heart Disease/Stroke
Lipid-lowering drugs are underused in patients hospitalized with recurrent heart attacks
Specialists and generalists working together provide the best care for heart disease patients
Men are four times more likely than women to suffer a stroke due to large-vessel atherosclerosis
Evidence shows that warfarin is the drug of choice to prevent stroke in certain patients with atrial fibrillation
Clinical Decisionmaking
Physicians in HMOs should more aggressively manage hypertension
Bilingual asthma scale can help clinicians assess symptoms in Latino children
Routine medical testing before cataract surgery usually is not necessary
Less than 10 percent of medical decisions are made with participation of a fully informed patient
Primary Care
Race and ethnicity play an important role in patient satisfaction with primary care physicians
Having an ongoing relationship with a doctor greatly reduces ER visits by elderly patients
Doctors' psychological traits have little if any bearing on their referral decisions
Primary care providers often fail to cover the most significant injury prevention issues during well-child visits
Quality of Care
Patient satisfaction with hospital care depends in part on the degree of symptom improvement during the stay
Elderly patients' satisfaction with doctor visits does not necessarily indicate quality of care
Patients base their satisfaction with pharmacy care on their social interaction with the pharmacist, not technical quality
Health Care Costs and Financing
Cost does not appear to be the main factor in insurers' drug coverage decisions
Worker preference may contribute to poorer health insurance coverage by small firms
Significant State-to-State differences found in health insurance offer rates, choice of plans, and premiums
Medicaid programs provide a safety net for the uninsured, but they also crowd out private insurance
Managed Care
Financial incentives based on patient insurance may have unintended consequences
Local leaders and circumstances determine how the arrival of managed care will be received in rural communities
Health Care Delivery/Access
Mandating longer hospital stays for newborns may not be the best way to prevent readmissions for jaundice
Barriers to quality cancer care persist
Providing a written appointment for followup care improves visit compliance among patients after hospital discharge
Case managers help people with HIV obtain home health care, emotional counseling, and other support services
Nursing Research
Researchers are studying the relationship between nurse staffing levels and nursing-sensitive patient outcomes
AHRQ News and Notes
National Guideline Clearinghouse™ more than triples in size
AHRQ releases Nation's most current hospital discharge data
Announcements
AHRQ announces new grant opportunities in health services research education
AHRQ to cosponsor second annual meeting for child health services researchers
Correction
Announcing a New, Enhanced HCUPnet
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