| December 8, 2020, Issue #742 The cost of hospital stays among patients at least 65 years old with Medicare Advantage as the expected primary payer climbed 68 percent from 2009 to 2017 ($20 billion to $33 billion). During the same time, costs for hospital stays with traditional Medicare as expected primary payer fell 2 percent ($68 billion to $67 billion), despite a 12 percent drop in the number of these stays. (Source: AHRQ, Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Statistical Brief #262: Medicare Advantage Versus the Traditional Medicare Program: Costs of Inpatient Stays, 2009-2017.)  Two winners have been awarded $50,000 each in AHRQ's Cross-Sectional Innovation to Improve Rural Postpartum Mental Health Challenge. St. Peter's Health Maternal Mental Health Program, from St. Peter's Health in Helena, Montana, was recognized for a strategy to connect at-risk women to appropriate care early in pregnancy by screening for alcohol, substance use, depression, anxiety and social determinants of health. Pack Health in Birmingham, Alabama, developed a plan to enhance a digital health coaching platform combining person-to-person engagement with a health advisor and delivery of evidence-based content via text, email, or mobile application. In addition to these winners, $25,000 was awarded to three competitors for notable success stories: the Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Program for Mom; the Postpartum Resource Group, from Flathead County, Montana; and the Art Heals Wellness Workshops for Postpartum Women, built from a partnership in Linn, Benton and Lincoln counties in Oregon. Access more information about the challenge winners as well as a new HHS action plan to reduce maternal deaths and disparities that put women at risk before, during and after pregnancy. | A collaboration between AHRQ and Google in which Google is piloting an online tool to help patients plan for medical visits is the subject of a new AHRQ Views blog post by Jeff Brady, M.D., M.P.H., director of AHRQ's Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety. The Google visit planning tool, built on the same evidence behind AHRQ's QuestionBuilder app, makes it easy for patients and those who care for them to privately list and prioritize their questions in preparation for a medical visit. When people use Google to search for a healthcare provider, they will have the option to create their own private visit plan. Asking the right questions has been central to AHRQ's "Questions are the Answer" public education campaign. Launched in 2007 through a series of public service announcements, the Questions Are the Answer initiative underscores the vital role patients and families play as part of their healthcare team. Access the blog post. To receive all blog posts, submit your email address and select "AHRQ Views Blog." A new Web M&M (Morbidity & Mortality Rounds on the Web) from AHRQ's Patient Safety Network (PSNet) includes expert analyses of two cases in which medical errors severely compromised patient care. One spotlight case, which is available for continuing education credit, describes how an error contributed to the death of a 60-year-old man who experienced a brain hemorrhage after exercise. In the other case, a 26-year-old woman's cesarean section delivery was complicated by a missed diagnosis. In addition to the most recent Web M&M, PSNet regularly highlights journal articles, books and tools related to patient safety. Articles featured this week include: Review additional new publications in PSNet's current issue or access recent cases and commentaries in AHRQ's WebM&M. Registration is open for a webinar on Dec 15 from 1 to 1:30 ET that will provide an overview of AHRQ's Surveys on Patient Safety Culture™ (SOPS®).Webinar speakers will describe the SOPS program, the surveys and databases, and will highlight upcoming activities. SOPS surveys ask healthcare providers and staff about the extent to which their organizational culture supports patient safety. | AHRQ in the Professional Literature Are EMS bypass policies effective implementation strategies for intravenous alteplase for stroke? Harris AHS, Barreto NB, Trickey AW, et al. Implement Sci Commun. 2020 Jun 5;1(50). Access the abstract on PubMed®. Use of QT prolonging medications by hemodialysis patients and individuals without end-stage kidney disease. Assimon MM, Wang L, Pun PH, et al. J Am Heart Assoc. 2020 Jul 7;9(13):e015969. Epub 2020 Jun 24. Access the abstract on PubMed®. Physician agreement with recommendations contained in a national guideline for the management of incidental pulmonary nodules: a case study. Kapoor N, Lacson R, Hammer M, et al. J Am Coll Radiol. 2020 Nov;17(11):1437-42. Epub 2020 Aug 9. Access the abstract on PubMed®. Understanding variation in post-acute care: developing rehabilitation service areas through geographic mapping. Reistetter TA, Eschbach K, Prochaska J, et al. Am J Phys Med Rehabil. 2020 Aug 26. [Epub ahead of print.] Access the abstract on PubMed®. Using electronic health record portals to improve patient engagement: research priorities and best practices. Lyles CR, Nelson EC, Frampton S, et al. Ann Intern Med. 2020 Jun 2;172(11 Suppl):S123-s9. Access the abstract on PubMed®. Evaluation of a patient-centered fall-prevention tool kit to reduce falls and injuries: a nonrandomized controlled trial. Dykes PC, Burns Z, Adelman J, et al. JAMA Netw Open. 2020 Nov 2;3(11):e2025889. Access the abstract on PubMed®. Pathways for improving inpatient pediatric asthma care (PIPA): a multicenter, national study. Kaiser SV, Jennings B, Rodean J, et al. Pediatrics. 2020 Jun;145(6):e20193026. Epub 2020 May 6. Access the abstract on PubMed®. Effect of transfer status on outcomes of emergency general surgery patients. Philip JL, Yang DY, Wang X, et al. Surgery. 2020 Aug;168(2):280-6. Epub 2020 May 23. Access the abstract on PubMed®. Contact Information For comments or questions about AHRQ News Now, contact Bruce Seeman, (301) 427-1998 or Bruce.Seeman@ahrq.hhs.gov. |
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