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������ƵStats: Trends in Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia by Hospital Type

Overall, the rate of ventilator-associated pneumonia increased by more than 100 percent between 2019 and 2021 regardless of hospital type. This increase ranged from 133.9 percent at critical access hospitals to 377.7 percent at small hospitals. (Source: ������ƵHealthcare Cost and Utilization Project Statistical Brief #314,  [PDF,  388 KB].)

Today’s Headlines

• Two New Issue Briefs Examine Diagnosis Improvement and Healthcare Excellence.
• AHRQ-Funded Study Compares Human and AI-Generated Perspectives on Technology Adoption in Long-Term Care.
• New Research and Evidence From AHRQ.
• Updates to ������ƵData Resources.
• Recording of Digital Healthcare Research Program’s AI Tools Webinar Now Available.
• Register for April 21 Informational Webinar on ������ƵSafety Program for HAI Prevention: CLABSI.
• ������Ƶin the Professional Literature.

Two New Issue Briefs Examine Diagnosis Improvement and Healthcare Excellence

������Ƶhas released two new issue briefs on improving diagnosis and healthcare delivery. Exploration of Foundational Terminology and Paradigms for Improving Diagnosis examines varying terms and perspectives that describe successful or failed diagnoses. It provides a historical context for these terms, their pros and cons and usage guidance. Four Pillars for Sustainable Centers of Excellence provides recommendations for Centers of Excellence on how to create sustainability plans that help them to succeed long-term. These centers, part of healthcare organizations, aim to improve care and research on complex topics, such as diagnostic safety. The brief highlights key factors for lasting success, including strong leadership, teamwork and alignment with larger goals. 

AHRQ-Funded Study Compares Human and AI-Generated Perspectives on Technology Adoption in Long-Term Care

An AHRQ-funded project explored how different qualitative analysis methods shape our understanding of technology use in long-term and post-acute care. Published in the Journal of Gerontological Nursing,  asked both human analysts and a ChatGPT-4.0 tool to identify insights from focus group sessions held during the 2024 International Summit on Innovation and Technology for the Care of Older People. While both approaches identified similar themes regarding technology design, ethics, training needs and patient-centered care, human and ChatGPT-based analysis diverged in focus and framing. Human analysts emphasized abstract concepts such as humanity, conceptual frameworks and policy-level determinants, while the ChatGPT analyses offered detailed, technology-centered summaries with practical and future-oriented insights. Approaches that combine human and AI analyses could enhance understanding of challenges and opportunities in technology for older adult care. 

New Research and Evidence From AHRQ

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• Systematic Review: .
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• Rapid Evidence Product: .
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• Systematic Review (draft open for comment through May 5): .
• Systematic Review (draft open for comment through May 5): .
• Technical Brief: .
• Systematic Review (draft open for comment through May 30): .

Updates to ������ƵData Resources

In the United States, the top 5 percent of spenders typically account for nearly half of all total healthcare expenditures. A new from AHRQ’s compares characteristics of these spenders and conditions associated with high spending in 2022 with previous years, highlighting changing trends from 2020 to 2022. AHRQ’s Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project has also released updated data through and , with tools exploring topics from children’s hospitalizations to severe maternal morbidity all now featuring 2022 data. 

Recording of Digital Healthcare Research Program’s AI Tools Webinar Now Available

AHRQ’s Digital Healthcare Research Program hosted the March 18 webinar “Artificial Intelligence Tools to Improve Provider Effectiveness and Patient Outcomes.” Expert panelists from Johns Hopkins, University of Virginia and University of California, Los Angeles, discussed their research on leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) tools to improve provider effectiveness and patient outcomes in clinical settings. Speakers answered audience questions on ways to get buy-in for placing AI in a provider’s workflow, the most challenging aspects of implementing an AI-informed decision support tool and areas of uncertainty in the AI-informed decision support tool space. Access the for this event. 

Register for April 21 Informational Webinar on ������ƵSafety Program for HAI Prevention: CLABSI

• April 21, noon to 12:30 p.m. ET: The will explain how participants of the program will receive expert support to prevent infections and promote safety culture.

������Ƶin the Professional Literature 

Food security and mental health in the United States: evidence from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. McClellan CB, Zuvekas SH. J Ment Health Policy Econ 2024 Dec 1;27(4):115-28. Access the  on PubMed®.

Intravenous antibiotics for urinary tract infections in children with neurologic impairment. Starnes LS, Hall M, Williams DJ, et al. J Hosp Med 2024 Jul;19(7):572-80. Epub 2024 Apr 1. Access the  on PubMed®.

The development and testing of a single-arm feasibility and acceptability study of a whole foods diet intervention for adults with prediabetes and their offspring. Sneed NM, Kelley R, Turner H, et al. Pilot Feasibility Stud 2024 Oct 23;10(1):130. Access the  on PubMed®.

Evaluating the impact of the work environment on job outcomes among registered nurses working in outpatient dialysis centers: a cross-sectional study. Iroegbu C, Lasater KB, Brooks-Carthon M. Nephrol Nurs J 2025 Jan-Feb;52(1):23-31. Access the  on PubMed®.

Integrating out-of-pocket costs into shared decision-making for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction: a stepped-wedge trial (POCKET-COST-HF). Dickert NW, Speight CD, Balser M, et al. Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes 2025 Jan;18(1):e011273. Epub 2024 Dec 3. Access the  on PubMed®.

Availability of behavioral health crisis care and associated changes in emergency department utilization. Burns A, Vest JR, Menachemi N, et al. Health Serv Res 2025 Apr;60(2):e14368. Epub 2024 Aug 8. Access the  on PubMed®.

Comparative effectiveness of buprenorphine adherence with telemedicine vs. in-person for rural and urban patients. Reese TJ, Padi-Adjirackor NA, Griffith KN, et al. J Am Pharm Assoc 2025 Mar-Apr;65(2):102318. Epub 2024 Dec 27. Access the  on PubMed®.

Evaluation of Measure Dx, a resource to accelerate diagnostic safety learning and improvement. Bradford A, Tran A, Ali KJ, et al. J Gen Intern Med 2025 Mar;40(4):782-9. Epub 2024 Oct 22. Access the  on PubMed®.