AHRQ Views: New Quality Indicator Aimed at Addressing Maternal Morbidities

AHRQ Stats: Long COVID Rates by Sex

As of spring 2023, 16.5 percent of women who had been diagnosed with COVID-19 reported having developed Long COVID, compared with 10.5 percent of men. (Source: AHRQ Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Statistical Brief #557 – Prevalence of Long COVID Among Adults Who Have Ever Had COVID-19, by Selected Demographic and Socioeconomic Characteristics, U.S. Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population, Spring 2023.)

Today's Headlines:

• AHRQ Views: New Quality Indicator Aimed at Addressing Maternal Morbidities.
• Examining How Climate Change Affects Health and What the Healthcare Industry Can Do About It.
• Study Examines Effects of Same-Day Follow-Up After an Abnormal Mammogram.
• Register for Upcoming AHRQ Webinars.
• Highlights From AHRQ’s Patient Safety Network.
• AHRQ Research Will Be Highlighted at American Medical Informatics Association Meeting.
• Contribute to AHRQ’s Effective Health Care Program.
• Explore Careers at AHRQ.
• AHRQ in the Professional Literature.

AHRQ Views: New Quality Indicator Aimed at Addressing Maternal Morbidities

AHRQ’s maternal health improvement efforts, including development of quality indicators for analyzing severe maternal morbidity trends, are the subject of an AHRQ Views blog post. An estimated 60,000 U.S. women are affected each year by serious pregnancy-related complications. The crisis is particularly acute for Black women, Native women and women in rural communities. The new Maternal Health Indicators (MHI) software module, currently in testing phase, allows state organizations, payers, researchers, healthcare providers and others to track maternal morbidity trends, develop improvement strategies and conduct research using administrative (billing or claims) data—an important option for groups without access to clinical data. The tool exemplifies AHRQ’s maternal health improvement efforts, which include data analyses and a toolkit to advance perinatal safety. Access the blog post, authored by AHRQ Health Statistician Whitney Schott, Ph.D., and Judy George, Ph.D., program lead for AHRQ’s Quality Indicators Program. To receive all blog posts, submit your email address.

Examining How Climate Change Affects Health and What the Healthcare Industry Can Do About It

Improving diagnostic practices can reduce diseases linked to climate change while also reducing waste and emissions, according to an AHRQ-supported article that examined diagnostic excellence in the context of climate change. The article, published in The American Journal of Medicine, observed that climate change has led to a rise in heat-related illnesses and the spread of diseases, causing worse physical and mental health outcomes. At the same time, the healthcare industry is responsible for about 4.6 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Practices like overtesting and overdiagnosis are not only unnecessary but also add to emissions and waste, the authors said. The authors called for a shift in how clinicians approach diagnosis, especially as new or more common diseases emerge due to climate change. Access the article.

Study Examines Effects of Same-Day Follow-Up After an Abnormal Mammogram

Using an artificial intelligence–aided interpretation tool for same-day review after an abnormal screening mammogram to reduce patient anxiety increased patient wait times and created higher patient volume in diagnostic centers, according to an AHRQ-funded study published in AMIA Joint Summits of Translational Science. To determine potential consequences of introducing this workflow in a high-volume breast imaging center, the authors conducted a simulation using three days of scheduling data, one year of productivity data and time-motion data obtained during clinic shadowing. They recommended potential ways to mitigate these changes, including extending the operating hours of the imaging center or purchasing new imaging equipment, alongside hiring new technologists. Access the abstract.

Register for Upcoming AHRQ Webinars

• Nov. 7, noon to 12:30 p.m. ET: Implementing the Toolkit for Engaging Patients in Diagnostic Safety will highlight AHRQ’s Implementing Diagnostic Excellence Across Systems (IDEAS) project, which is recruiting healthcare organizations to use the Toolkit for Engaging Patients To Improve Diagnostic Safety as well as resources such as Calibrate Dx and Measure Dx.
• Nov. 12, noon to 1 p.m. ET: Addressing Healthcare Workforce Burnout, sponsored by the National Action Alliance for Patient and Workforce Safety, will explore factors that contribute to burnout and highlight evidence-based interventions to address these challenges.
• Nov. 14, 2:30 to 4 p.m. ET: Implementing Urinary Incontinence Management in Primary Care, part of AHRQ’s EvidenceNOW: Managing Urinary Incontinence initiative, will highlight nonsurgical interventions in primary care settings, focusing on provider education, feedback loops and workflow integration.

Highlights From AHRQ’s Patient Safety Network

AHRQ’s Patient Safety Network (PSNet) highlights journal articles, books and tools related to patient safety. Articles featured this week include:

• Artificial intelligence-powered chatbots in search engines: a cross-sectional study on the quality and risks of drug information for patients.
• Medicine communication from hospital to residential aged care facilities: a cross-sectional survey of aged care facility staff.
• From reporting to improving: how root cause analysis in teams shape patient safety culture.

Review additional new publications in PSNet’s current issue, including recent cases and commentaries and AHRQ’s WebM&M (Morbidity and Mortality Rounds on the Web).

AHRQ Research Will Be Highlighted at American Medical Informatics Association Meeting

The American Medical Informatics Association annual meeting in San Francisco, Nov. 9 to 13, will include 30 presentations or posters on AHRQ-funded research. AHRQ grantees will address topics ranging from optimizing artificial intelligence to advancing clinical decision support. AHRQ staff will moderate or participate in panel discussions on the 20th anniversary of AHRQ’s Digital Healthcare Research program, the future of healthcare informatics, digital healthcare equity and efforts to reduce clinician burden. Access more information (PDF, 339 KB) on AHRQ presentations. 

Contribute to AHRQ’s Effective Health Care Program

AHRQ encourages the public to participate in the agency’s Effective Health Care (EHC) Program, which conducts evidence reviews to inform healthcare decision-making on drugs, devices, surgeries and approaches to healthcare delivery. Since 2003, the EHC Program has published more than 300 systematic reviews and 200 research reports along with numerous research methods guides and white papers. These have been used by clinicians, policymakers and patients to inform clinical guidance, coverage decisions and future research. Suggest a research topic, comment on key research questions and draft reports or submit supplemental evidence and data.

Explore Careers at AHRQ

Join the team that strives to improve healthcare for all Americans by investing in health systems research, creating strategies to support practice improvement and providing data and analytics to identify opportunities for improvement. Current vacancies include:

• Health Scientist Administrator. Application deadline: Nov. 14.
• Health Scientist Administrator. Application deadline: Nov. 14.
• Program Analyst. Application deadline: Nov. 12.
• Supervisory Health Scientist Administrator. Application deadline: Nov. 6.

AHRQ in the Professional Literature

Rate of change in cardiac magnetic resonance imaging measures is associated with death in Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Starnes JR, Xu M, George-Durrett K, et al. J Am Heart Assoc 2024 May 7;13(9):e032960. Epub 2024 Apr 30. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Life-stage and contextual factors of advance care planning among older adults with limited income. Kimpel CC, Lauderdale J, Schlundt DG, et al. J Appl Gerontol 2024 Aug;43(8):1144-55. Epub 2024 Feb 13. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Identifying barriers and facilitators to Veterans Affairs whole health integration using the updated consolidated framework for implementation research. Kimpel CC, Myer EA, Cupples A, et al. J Healthc Qual 2024 May-Jun;46(3):137-49. Epub 2023 Dec 14. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Handing off electronic prescription data from prescribers to community pharmacies: a qualitative analysis of pharmacy staff perspectives. Whitaker M, Lester C, Rowell B. J Patient Saf 2024 Sep 1;20(6):397-403. Epub 2024 May 15. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Family medicine presence on labor and delivery: effect on safety culture and cesarean delivery. VanGompel EW, Singh L, Carlock F, et al. Ann Fam Med 2024 Sep-Oct;22(5):375-82. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

The impact of design factors on user behavior in a virtual hospital room to explore fall prevention strategies. Seddighi N, Chen YC, Merryweather AS, et al. HERD 2024 Jul;17(3):124-43. Epub 2024 Apr 9. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Exploring home healthcare clinicians' needs for using clinical decision support systems for early risk warning. Xu Z, Evans L, Song J, et al. J Am Med Inform Assoc 2024 Nov;31(11):2641-50. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Factors associated with tracheostomy-associated infection treatment: a multicenter observational study. Morrison JM, Kono N, Rush M, et al. Pediatr Pulmonol 2024 Nov;59(11):2761-71. Epub 2024 Jun 11. Access the abstract on PubMed®.