ahrq news from FierceHealthcare

If they're to make any real progress in fighting hospital-associated infections, HHS agencies will need to work together more closely, according to the Government Accountability Office. GAO director Read more...

As we've detailed here in the past, disparities in care between whites and ethnic minorities continue to exist Read more...

It looks like hospitals have made some real progress in treating common potentially fatal conditions over the past 10 years. According to a new report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Read more...

If Americans had better primary care, better access to treatment and made some important lifestyle changes, about 4.4 million hospitalizations per year could be avoided, according to a new report Read more...

Primary care costs much less than specialty care, but insurers aren't necessarily taking that into account, according to a new study. The study, by HHS's Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, noted that while orthopedist fees averaged $210 per visit, and cardiologists $232 per visit, primary care physicians typically charge $100 per visit. But insurers still penalize primary care, requiring patients to pay an average of 20 percent of PCP costs out-of-pocket. Despite higher costs, …

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A group of ranking U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee members are asking HHS for a new study of the relationship between physician schedules and medical errors. The group, which has been conducting ongoing research into preventable medical errors, includes committee chairman John Dingell (D-MI), ranking member Joe Barton (R-TX), and Reps. Bart Stupak (D-MI.) and Ed Whitfield (R-KY). The legislators are asking the HHS Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to fund an Institute of …

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Right now, either hospital medical records departments or medical group practice administrators typically end up collecting quality data, a costly and time-consuming exercise which only gets more taxing from year to year as health plans, state and federal regulators demand more. According to a new study by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the right information technology could ease the strain, but only if all of the stakeholders agree on common data standards. In the …

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According to a new study, efforts to improve the quality of care for diabetes, asthma and hypertension have improved processes of care for these conditions. However, this was not found to improve intermediate clinical outcomes. The study was designed to improve healthcare for urban and rural low-income patients receiving care in community health centers.

As a result of the effort, there was a 21 percent increase in foot examinations for patients with diabetes, a 14 percent increase …

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Press Release: Cardiovascular Drugs, Four Other Therapeutic Classes of Drugs Dominate the Market

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New research by the HHS Agency for Health Research and Quality has found that as of two years ago, Americans spent by far the most on cardiovascular drugs. The new study, which named the top five drug spending categories in 2004, the most recent year for which data was available, noted that U.S. adults spent $32 billion on these drugs. Second in the list was hormones, at $25 billion, followed by $24 million on central nervous system medications. The last two categories on the list, …

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