Hospitalized pneumonia patients who have abnormal vital signs, mental confusion, problems with eating or drinking in the 24 hours prior to discharge are more likely not to be able to resume normal activities, and face a greater chance of hospital readmission or death.
Education and lifestyle changes can reduce disability, control costs, and have a positive influence on the quality of life of elderly Americans, even in patients with heart disease, hypertension or arthritis.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force now finds sufficient evidence to encourage primary care clinicians to screen their adult patients formally for depression. Clinicians should have systems in place to assure accurate diagnosis, effective treatment, and follow-up.
Women with mild to moderate pelvic inflammatory disease - a leading cause of infertility - who are treated as outpatients have recovery and reproductive outcomes similar to those for women treated in hospitals.
Black and Hispanic HIV patients are only about half as likely as non-Hispanic whites to participate in clinical trials of new medications designed to slow the progression of the disease.
Patients who take beta blockers--drugs to slow the heart rate and reduce contractions of the heart muscle--prior to bypass surgery appear to have improved survival and fewer complications during and after the procedure, according to a new study from AHRQ.
Elderly patients who had any of 14 high-risk cardiovascular or cancer operations in hospitals performing a high volume of their particular procedure were more likely to survive than those who went to hospitals with a low volume of their type of surgery.
A bioterrorism Web site sponsored by AHRQ is being expanded to help 265,000 primary care physicians across the country learn how to diagnose and treat rare infections and exposures to bioterrorist agents such as smallpox and anthrax.
Use of stimulants and antidepressant medications to treat ADHD and depression in children and adolescents increased steadily from 1995 to 1999, according to a new study funded by AHRQ.
Slightly more than half of Americans age 18 and older always received urgent medical care as soon as they wanted it in calendar year 2000. However, only 41.2 percent of Hispanics reported always receiving urgent care when they wanted it according to new data from MEPS.
The percentage of patients with heart disease who report taking aspirin regularly increased between 1995 and 1999. But additional patients could benefit from this inexpensive and effective treatment that reduces deaths from heart disease, recurrent heart attacks, and strokes.
Americans now are more likely to see a dentist to get their teeth examined and cleaned than they are to get them filled or removed. Sixty-five percent of all procedures reported in 1996 were described as either diagnostic (exams and x-rays) or preventive (cleanings, fluoride and sealants), up from 56 percent in 1987.
The rate of hysterectomy for various non-cancerous uterine conditions was virtually unchanged from 1990 through 1997 despite some new therapeutic techniques. At the same time, more of these procedures were performed laparoscopically rather than abdominally, according to new research from AHRQ.
AHRQ and the Office of Medical Applications of Research at NIH have entered into a partnership to ensure that the panelists of NIH Consensus Development Conferences have the latest scientific evidence to support their deliberations.
Healthy adults who are at increased risk of heart attacks may benefit from taking aspirin regularly. But since taking aspirin also can have serious side effects, the US Preventive Services Task Force says no one should take aspirin without talking to their doctor first.
A new interactive Web site funded by AHRQ teaches hospital-based physicians and nurses how to diagnose and treat rare infections and exposures to bioterrorist agents such as anthrax and smallpox.
About one fifth of the approximately 32 million elderly Americans not living in nursing homes in 1996 used one or more of 33 prescription medicines considered potentially inappropriate. Nearly one million elderly used at least one of 11 medications that should always be avoided by the elderly.
Researchers have designed a new predictive tool that helps identify nursing home residents at relatively low risk for death from lower respiratory infection, such as pneumonia, which means patients may be treated safely without transferring them to a hospital.
The available scientific evidence is insufficient to recommend for or against routine screening of newborns for hearing loss, according to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an independent panel of experts funded by AHRQ.
HHS Secretary announced the release of $50M to fund 94 new research grants, contracts and other projects to reduce medical errors and improve patient safety. HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality will administer the grants.
AHRQ announces the availability of a free, new publication in Spanish containing advice on what the average person can do to increase his or her likelihood of receiving good quality medical care and avoid medical errors.
African-American Medicare beneficiaries are far less likely than white beneficiaries to receive flu shots, regardless of whether they are enrolled in managed care or fee-for-service plans.
Increasing activity and physical exercise may help ease the symptoms of fatigue in some patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, improving their quality of life and ability to function, says a new evidence report released by AHRQ.
Nursing home expenditure data show that, from 1987 to 1996, the total annual expenses for nursing home care increased from $28 billion to $70 billion, a 150 percent increase. This and other data from AHRQ's MEPS are available in Q&A and chart form.
AHRQ announces the availability of an evidence report summary on the management of specific breast abnormalities. The report found strong evidence for performing an excisional biopsy following a stereotactic core needle biopsy diagnosis of atypical ductal hyperplasia (ADH).
In early 2000, 16.1 percent of the U.S. civilian non-institutionalized population (44 million people) had no health insurance coverage, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's 2000 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.
If Massachusetts reflects the nation, physicians' satisfaction with their professional lives has declined substantially in the last 15 years, according to research from AHRQ.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality released new evidence on practices that could improve patient safety throughout the nation's health care system.
AHRQ announced the availabilty of the Kids' Inpatient Database, developed to make national and regional estimates of children's treatment, including surgery and other procedures, and for estimating treatment outcomes and hospital charges.
AHRQ announced it has awarded a 2-year grant aimed at improving the way organ transplant centers serve living organ donors. Living donation is the fastest-growing source of organs, especially kidneys, at a time when the need for organs far exceeds the available supply.
People often do not have all the information they need to make decisions about donating a family member's organs nor do they have a clear understanding of the donation process. They may be refusing consent for organ donation even though donation was the deceased wishes.
Three articles about AHRQ research are published in JAMA: Improving the Quality of Diabetes Followup Care; Improving the Appropriateness of Care for Patients with Atrial Fibrillation; and Improving Care at the End of Life for HIV Patients.
Many children enrolled in the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) in two states do not stay in the program for long, which may leave some of them without any coverage at certain times.
A new study could help acute and post-acute care medical staff improve the outcomes of the approximately 350,000 hip fractures that occur annually in the U.S. by focusing efforts on reducing the risks that often leave patients unable to walk or lead to death from complications.
Preliminary findings from an ongoing three-year study funded by AHRQ show that a new classification system could help hospitals identify areas where they need to improve care and could provide them with key information to improve the overall care and outcomes of their patients.
Less than a third of black and Hispanic Children had a dental visit at any time during 1996. Overall, less than half of all children visited a dentist in 1996.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has announced that it is seeking proposals for developing a Web-based National Quality Measures ClearinghouseË™.
AHRQ announces the availability of MEPSnet/IC, a new, Web-based and interactive tool that provides quick access to national and state level statistics and trends about health insurance offered by private establishments and state and local governments, including cost of coverage.
Epoetin alfa, a synthetic hormone developed to replace the natural hormone erythropoietin, reduces the need for transfusions in cancer patients with chemotherapy-induced anemia, according to a report from AHRQ.
The incidence of drug-induced complications and even death in elderly residents could be reduced, without increasing their pain and disability, by training nursing home doctors and nursing staff to treat chronic pain through safer means than NSAIDS, according to a new study from AHRQ.
HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced the formal establishment of a new Patient Safety Task Force within the Department of Health and Human Services that will coordinate a joint effort among several department agencies to improve existing systems to collect data on patient safety.
Use of the antifungal medication fluconazole may help prevent the development of oral candidiasis, a common infection of the mucous membranes of the mouth also known as "thrush," in patients with HIV or AIDS, according to a report from AHRQ that looked at dental management of people living with HIV/AIDS.
Children under age three who have tubes inserted in their eardrums to drain fluid from the middle ear as soon as it is discovered have no measurable advantage over children who wait for the surgery, with regard to speech, language, cognitive, or psychosocial development.
Industries with large minority work forces have lower percentages of workers enrolling in employer-paid health insurance than do businesses dominated by white employees, and the gap is widening, according to a new study supported by AHRQ.
Over 70 percent of all children under age 18 had at least one office visit for health care during 1996. In contrast, less than half of all children (42.5 percent) had a dental visit. This and other data are available from AHRQ.
The USPSTF recommends that primary care clinicians screen all sexually active women ages 25 and younger, as well as older women at risk for chlamydia -- a common, but easily treated, sexually transmitted disease -- as part of regular health care visits.
An AHRQ evidence report found that bone density measured at the hip by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is the best predictor of hip fracture. However, it does not recommend repeating bone density tests within the first year of treatment.
Oral infections, mouth ulcers and other severe dental conditions associated with HIV infections go untreated more than twice as often as other health problems related to the disease, according to a new study supported by AHRQ. (J. of Public Health Dentistry)
The Child Health Toolbox, a research-based online resource from AHRQ, is up and running. The Toolbox provides information on how performance measurement can be used to measure the quality of health care in programs designed for children.
Statistics from the 1999 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey show that, in the first half of 1999, 15.8 percent of people in the U.S., or 42.8 million people, were without health insurance coverage. Among people under 65, 17.9 percent, or 42.6 million people, were uninsured.
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