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´óÏóÊÓƵStats: Race-Related Disparities in Emergency Department and Inpatient Visits for COVID-19 in 2020

In 2020, 32.5 percent of Black non-Hispanic Americans who were treated for COVID-19 had an emergency department visit or inpatient stay, significantly higher than the 17.1 percent and 17.2 percent of White non-Hispanic and Hispanic Americans, respectively. (Source: ´óÏóÊÓƵMedical Expenditure Panel Survey Statistical Brief #549, .)

Today's Headlines:

• AHRQ-Funded Studies Highlight Dental Antibiotic Prescribing Trends.
• Highlights From ´¡±á¸é²Ï’s Patient Safety Network.
• Report From National Academy of Medicine Supports Whole-Person Care.
• Register Now: Sept. 13 Webinar on Addressing Emerging Needs for Patient Experience Measurement and Improvement.
• ´óÏóÊÓƵUpdates Software for Quality Indicators.
• Explore Careers at AHRQ.
• ´óÏóÊÓƵin the Professional Literature.

AHRQ-Funded Studies Highlight Dental Antibiotic Prescribing Trends

Although overall dental antibiotic prescribing remained steady across the United States between 2012 and 2019, an AHRQ-funded in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology has found that antibiotic prescribing rose by 1,313 antibiotics per every 1,000 dentists annually in the Northeast. Antibiotic prescribing rates increased significantly among oral and maxillofacial surgeons, prosthodontists, endodontists and periodontists, and for amoxicillin. In a second review in BMC Infectious Diseases, a  of guideline-concordant prescribing for antibiotic prophylaxis among patients with cardiac conditions and prosthetic joints at Veterans Affairs and non-Veterans Affairs settings between 2015 and 2017 determined that VA dental sites had greater guideline adherence when prescribing for those with prosthetic joints. VA settings were slightly better at assessing errors in antibiotic duration or dosing. The exact causes require additional review, the authors suggested. 

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:

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

Report From National Academy of Medicine Supports Whole-Person Care

A new special publication from the National Academy of Medicine explores opportunities to transform the current health and healthcare system to one that promotes whole-person and whole-population health. , partially funded by AHRQ, emphasizes the need for sustainable financing strategies to prioritize health and well-being for all. It highlights the importance of building a movement to prioritize health, repairing systemic failures, holding stakeholders accountable, controlling health care costs, incentivizing health promotion, adopting collaborative financing and policymaking approaches and empowering individuals and communities in health decision-making.

Register Now: Sept. 13 Webinar on Addressing Emerging Needs for Patient Experience Measurement and Improvement

Registration is open for a webinar on Sept.13 from noon to 1 p.m. ET about how ´¡±á¸é²Ï’s Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS®) program is addressing stakeholders’ emerging needs for patient experience measurement and improvement. Speakers will discuss recent survey updates, the development of new surveys to address current information needs and the use of survey results to improve patient experience.

´óÏóÊÓƵUpdates Software for Quality Indicators

´óÏóÊÓƵhas released its latest version (v2023) of the , the agency’s standardized, evidence-based measures of healthcare quality that can be used with hospital inpatient administrative data to measure and track clinical performance and outcomes. The QIs allow healthcare organizations to measure quality in patient safety, prevention, inpatient care and pediatric care. about the measures and access the free software: , and .

Explore Careers at AHRQ

Join the team that strives to improve healthcare for all Americans by investing in health systems research, creating strategies to support practice improvement and providing data and analytics to identify opportunities for improvement. Current vacancies include:

• , Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety. Application deadline: Aug. 31.

´óÏóÊÓƵin the Professional Literature

Diagnostic stewardship to support optimal use of multiplex molecular respiratory panels: a survey from the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America Research Network. Baghdadi JD, O'Hara LM, Johnson JK, et al. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2023 May 2. [Epub ahead of print.] Access the on PubMed®.

"Low-value" glycemic outcomes among older adults with diabetes cared for by primary care nurse practitioners or physicians: a retrospective cohort study. Schuttner L, Richardson C, Parikh T, et al. Int J Nurs Stud 2023 Sep;145:104532. Epub 2023 May 22. Access the on PubMed®.

Comparative adherence trajectories of oral disease-modifying agents in multiple sclerosis. Earla JR, Li J, Hutton GJ, et al. Pharmacotherapy 2023 Jun;43(6):473-84. Epub 2023 May 22. Access the on PubMed®.

Evaluating the implementation of patient-reported outcomes in heart failure clinic: a qualitative assessment. Brown-Johnson C, Calma J, Amano A, et al. Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes 2023 May;16(5):e009677. Epub 2023 Apr 28. Access the on PubMed®.

Late postpartum coverage loss before COVID-19: implications for Medicaid unwinding. Eliason E, Admon LK, Steenland MW, et al. Health Aff 2023 Jul;42(7):966-72. Access the on PubMed®.

The impact of nurse practitioner care and accountable care organization assignment on skilled nursing services and hospital readmissions. Meddings J, Gibbons JB, Reale BK, et al. Med Care 2023 Jun;61(6):341-8. Epub 2023 Mar 15. Access the on PubMed®.

Continuity of care versus language concordance as an intervention to reduce hospital readmissions from home health care. Squires A, Engel P, Ma C, et al. Med Care 2023 Sep;61(9):605-10. Epub 2023 Aug 10. Access the on PubMed®.

Standardizing and improving care for pediatric agitation management in the emergency department. Hoffmann JA, Pergjika A, Liu L, et al. Pediatrics 2023 Jul 1;152(1):e2022059586. Access the on PubMed®.