´óÏóÊÓƵ

´óÏóÊÓƵStats: Hypertension Hospitalizations Among Black Americans

In 2018, there were nearly 213 hypertension-related hospitalizations among every 100,000 Black Americans, compared to just under 70 per every 100,000 Hispanic Americans and under 40 for every 100,000 White Americans. (Source: AHRQ, 2021 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report, D-27 [PDF, 8.1 MB])

Today's Headlines:

• Dental Opioid Prescriptions Associated With Adverse Outcomes.
• ´óÏóÊÓƵReleases Toolkit To Prevent Infections in Intensive Care Units.
• Grantee Profile Highlights the Research of Xiao Xu, Ph.D., To Provide High-Quality, High-Value Care.
• AHRQ-Supported Journal Supplement Highlights Lessons Learned From Pediatric Quality Measures Program.
• ´óÏóÊÓƵReleases Nursing Home Guide for Staff Vaccination Programs.
• Highlights From ´¡±á¸é²Ï’s Patient Safety Network.
• Job Opportunities at AHRQ.
• ´óÏóÊÓƵin the Professional Literature.

Dental Opioid Prescriptions Associated With Adverse Outcomes

When dentists prescribe opioid medications to their patients, it can lead to adverse outcomes and persistent opioid use, even when it is done within prescribing guidelines, a new ´óÏóÊÓƵstudy has found. The study, published this week in the journal PAIN, found that found that 2.6 percent of patients experienced an adverse outcome, such as emergency department visits or a new diagnosis of substance use disorder within 30 days, and 16.6 percent had persistent opioid use. Researchers analyzed records from more than 633,000 dental visits for patients with private insurance who filled opioid prescriptions between 2011 and 2018 to draw the conclusion. NSAIDs often are considered superior to opioids in dental pain management. Researchers called for efforts to improve analgesic prescribing in dentistry, especially among patients at high risk of opioid-related adverse outcomes. Access the .

´óÏóÊÓƵReleases Toolkit To Prevent Infections in Intensive Care Units

The new ´óÏóÊÓƵToolkit for Preventing CLABSI and CAUTI in ICUs offers customizable tools and training resources to prevent central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) and catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) in intensive care units (ICUs). Its unique design provides resources to assess current clinical and safety practices, implement a reduction plan and overcome common cultural and technical challenges in infection reduction efforts. The toolkit also includes a Playbook on how to apply ´¡±á¸é²Ï’s proven Comprehensive Unit-based Safety Program (CUSP) to prevent CLABSI and CAUTI by adjusting policies and daily procedures in ICUs. 

Grantee Profile Highlights the Research of Xiao Xu, Ph.D., To Provide High-Quality, High-Value Care

´óÏóÊÓƵhas posted a grantee profile featuring Xiao Xu, Ph.D., an associate professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at Yale School of Medicine. Her research is aimed at helping patients receive care that is safe, equitable, efficient and cost effective. Dr. Xu studies and identifies strategies to promote high-quality and high-value care, particularly for women and the elderly. Access Dr. Xu’s profile and profiles of other ´óÏóÊÓƵgrantees.

AHRQ-Supported Journal Supplement Highlights Lessons Learned From Pediatric Quality Measures Program

A new supplement in the journal Academic Pediatrics describes insights from the Pediatric Quality Measures Program (PQMP) 2.0 that aimed to advance quality measurement and improvement in pediatric care delivery with a specific focus on children in Medicaid. PQMP 2.0 assessed usability and feasibility of child health measures among state Medicaid programs, health plans, hospitals and providers. The supplement identifies real-world successes, challenges and lessons learned from using pediatric measures across diverse settings to drive improvements in care, and highlights contributions from the PQMP learning collaborative model that synthesized knowledge across the six PQMP Centers of Excellence. Pediatric quality measures play a vital role in state Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Programs and other public and private entities to focus efforts on improving the quality of children’s healthcare and advancing health equity. Access the .

´óÏóÊÓƵReleases Nursing Home Guide for Staff Vaccination Programs

´óÏóÊÓƵhas created a guide for nursing home leaders as they implement COVID-19 vaccination programs among staff members. The resource identifies important factors to consider from planning to implementation, including guidance on updating policies and procedures to communicating vaccination plans with staff. Access the guide (PDF, 315 KB) and additional resources in ´¡±á¸é²Ï’s COVID-19 Resources Catalog for Nursing Homes.

Highlights From ´¡±á¸é²Ï’s Patient Safety Network

´¡±á¸é²Ï’s highlights journal articles, books and tools related to patient safety. Articles featured this week include:

• .
• .
• .

Review additional new publications in PSNet’s or access recent in ´¡±á¸é²Ï’s WebM&M (Morbidity and Mortality Rounds on the Web).

Job Opportunities at AHRQ

´óÏóÊÓƵis seeking a supervisory physician to serve as Director of the Division of Healthcare-Associated Infections in the agency’s Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety. The chosen applicant will provide advanced clinical expertise in healthcare-associated infections, research, antimicrobial resistant bacteria and antibiotic stewardship in health services research related to healthcare-associated infections. The application deadline is April 15. Learn more about and others at AHRQ:

• , Office of Management Services. Application deadline: April 14.
• , Office of the Director. Application deadline: April 18.

´óÏóÊÓƵin the Professional Literature

Follow-up after asthma emergency department visits and its relationship with subsequent asthma-related utilization. Bardach NS, Harder VS, McCulloch CE, et al. Acad Pediatr 2022 Apr;22(3S):S125-32. Access the on PubMed®.

Growth in health information exchange with ACO market penetration. Apathy NC, Holmgren AJ, Werner RM. Am J Manag Care 2022 Jan;28(1):e7-e13. Access the on PubMed®.

Assessing the influence of patient language preference on 30 day hospital readmission risk from home health care: a retrospective analysis. Squires A, Ma C, Miner S, et al. Int J Nurs Stud 2022 Jan;125:104093. Epub 2021 Oct 1. Access the on PubMed®.

An evidence-based, structured, expert approach to selecting essential indicators of primary care quality. Hysong SJ, Arredondo K, Hughes AM, et al. PLoS One 2022 Jan 18;17(1):e0261263. Access the on PubMed®.

Workflow integration analysis of a human factors-based clinical decision support in the emergency department. Salwei ME, Carayon P, Hoonakker PLT, et al. Appl Ergon 2021 Nov;97:103498. Epub 2021 Jun 26. Access the on PubMed®.

Comparing health care system and physician practice influences on social risk screening. Frehn JL, Brewster AL, Shortell SM, et al. Health Care Manage Rev 2022 Jan-Mar;47(1):E1-e10. Access the on PubMed®.

Consumer selection and home health agency quality and patient experience stars. Schwartz ML, Rahman M, Thomas KS, et al. Health Serv Res 2022 Feb;57(1):113-24. Epub 2021 Oct 18. Access the on PubMed®.

Trends in anticoagulation prescription spending among Medicare Part D and Medicaid beneficiaries between 2014 and 2019. Duvalyan A, Pandey A, Vaduganathan M, et al. J Am Heart Assoc 2021 Dec 21;10(24):e022644. Epub 2021 Dec 10. Access the  on PubMed®.