Medication Reconciliation Intervention Reduces Drug Discrepancies

AHRQ Stats: Doctor-Patient Communication by Race/Ethnicity

In 2019, 13.9 percent of non-Hispanic Asian patients, 11.5 percent of Hispanic patients and 9.1 percent of non-Hispanic Black patients reported that their healthcare provider sometimes or never explained things in a way they could understand. Just 6.8 percent of non-Hispanic White patients experienced the same communication gaps. (Source: AHRQ 2023 Chartbook on Patient Safety [PDF, 4 MB].)

Today's Headlines:

• Medication Reconciliation Intervention Reduces Drug Discrepancies.
• Highlights From AHRQ’s Patient Safety Network.
• AHRQ Supports Mental Health Awareness Month.
• Register Now for May 24 Webinar on Using Large Datasets in Primary Care Research.
• Feedback Sought on Federal Effort To End Hunger, Increase Healthy Eating and Physical Activity.
• AHRQ in the Professional Literature.

Medication Reconciliation Intervention Reduces Drug Discrepancies

Taking a best possible medication history while a patient is still in the hospital emergency department (ED) along with reconciling medications upon discharge is the most effective combination in reducing medication discrepancies, compared with other strategies alone, according to an AHRQ-funded study. Discrepancy types were unintended and included wrong dose, wrong frequency, omissions and others. Researchers further analyzed data from the Multi-center Medication Reconciliation Quality Improvement Study, which provided a medication reconciliation toolkit and mentored implementation to approximately 17 U.S. hospitals and involving about 5,000 patients. Among seven patient-level strategies, researchers found that the largest reduction in discrepancy rates was associated with patients who received a best possible medication history in the ED, followed by reconciliations upon admission and discharge. Access the abstract.

Highlights From AHRQ’s Patient Safety Network

AHRQ’s Patient Safety Network (PSNet) highlights journal articles, books and tools related to patient safety. Articles featured this week include:

• Diagnostic error among vulnerable populations presenting to the emergency department with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular or neurological symptoms: a systematic review.
• Using a learning system approach to improve safety for prone-position ventilation patients.
• A cluster randomized trial of two implementation strategies to deliver audit and feedback in the EQUIPPED medication safety program.

Review additional new publications in PSNet’s current issue or access recent cases and commentaries in AHRQ’s WebM&M (Morbidity and Mortality Rounds on the Web).

AHRQ Supports Mental Health Awareness Month

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, an annual observance to increase awareness about the vital role mental health plays in our overall health and well-being. AHRQ offers a variety of resources to help clinicians, researchers and policymakers better understand and address mental health-related conditions. For example, the AHRQ Academy for Integrating Behavioral Health and Primary Care offers resources to support treatment and care for patients with mental health conditions and address substance abuse:

• Integrating Behavioral Health and Primary Care Playbook is a guide to integrate behavioral health in primary care and other ambulatory care settings to help improve healthcare delivery and outcomes.
• Substance Use Resources provides tools for primary care and ambulatory practice providers treating substance use disorders.
• Topic Briefs provides timely information in succinct formats to address emerging topics for those working in integrated behavioral health as well as primary and ambulatory care settings.

Register Now for May 24 Webinar on Using Large Datasets in Primary Care Research

Registration is open for the first in a webinar series, Strengthening Primary Care Research, sponsored by AHRQ’s National Center for Excellence in Primary Care Research. The webinar, on May 24 from 1:30 to 2:45 p.m. ET, is titled “Using Large Datasets in Primary Care Research.” Three primary care researchers will discuss large datasets they used and their rationale and methods for using them. A question-and-answer session will follow the presentations. Access more information about the speakers and how to register. Topics for future webinars on primary care will be announced.

Feedback Sought on Federal Effort To End Hunger, Increase Healthy Eating and Physical Activity

A new Request for Information (RFI) from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) requests public input on “Food is Medicine Research Opportunities,” a governmentwide collaboration that includes 12 federal agencies, including AHRQ, as well as numerous NIH institutes, centers and offices. The RFI from NIH’s Office of Nutrition Research invites input on five topic areas: research; community outreach and engagement; education and training; provision of services and activities; and coverage for services. The RFI aligns with the Biden-Harris Administration National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health (PDF, 776 KB), which targets ending end hunger and increasing healthy eating and physical activity, while reducing related disparities by 2023. Accomplishing these goals would reduce the number of Americans who experience diet-related diseases like type 2 diabetes, obesity and heart disease. The RFI deadline for comments is June 30.

AHRQ in the Professional Literature

Pediatric home blood pressure monitoring: feasibility and concordance with clinic-based manual blood pressure measurements. Brady TM, Goilav B, Tarini BA, et al. Hypertension 2022 Oct;79(10):e129-e131. Epub 2022 Aug 19. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Variation in second breast cancer risk after primary invasive cancer by time since primary cancer diagnosis and estrogen receptor status. Lowry KP, Ichikawa L, Hubbard RA, et al. Cancer 2023 Apr 15;129(8):1173-82. Epub 2023 Feb 15. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

A clinically-guided unsupervised clustering approach to recommend symptoms of disease associated with diagnostic opportunities. Miller AC, Arakkal AT, Koeneman SH, et al. Diagnosis 2023 Feb;10(1):43-53. Epub 2022 Sep 21. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Mixed-methods process evaluation of a respiratory-culture diagnostic stewardship intervention. Chiotos K, Marshall D, Kellom K, et al. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2023 Feb;44(2):191-9. Epub 2023 Jan 3. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Cross-sectional association of patient language and patient-provider language concordance with video telemedicine use among patients with limited English proficiency. Hsueh L, Huang J, Millman AK, et al. J Gen Intern Med 2023 Feb;38(3):633-40. Epub 2022 Nov 10. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Patient perspectives on the drivers and deterrents of antibiotic treatment of acute rhinosinusitis: a qualitative study. Smith SS, Caliendo A, Cheng BT, et al. J Gen Intern Med 2023 Feb;38(3):683-90. Epub 2022 Oct 18. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Impact of electronic health record-coaching features in weight change: a secondary analysis from the MAINTAIN-pc randomized trial. Cedillo M, Kukhareva PV, Larsen SM, et al. Obesity 2023 Jan;31(1):31-6. Epub 2022 Dec 7. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

A qualitative exploration of experiences accessing community and social services among pregnant low-income people of color during the COVID-19 pandemic. Blebu BE, Kuppermann M, Coleman-Phox K, et al. Womens Health 2023 Jan-Dec;19:17455057231156792. Access the abstract on PubMed®.