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Context: Inappropriate medication use is a major patient safety concern, especially for the elderly population. Using explicit criteria, prior studies have found that 23.5% and 17.5% of the US community-dwelling elderly population used at least 1 of 20 potentially inappropriate medications in 1987 and 1992, respectively.Objectives: To determine the prevalence of potentially inappropriate medication use in community-dwelling elderly persons in 1996, to assess trends over 10 years, categorize inappropriate medication use according to explicit criteria, and to examine risk factors for inappropriate medication use.Design, Setting, and Participants: Respondents aged 65 years or older (n = 2455) to the 1996 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, a nationally representative survey of the US noninstitutionalized population were included. A 7-member expert panel was convened to categorize inappropriate medications.Main Outcome Measure: Prevalence of use of 33 potentially inappropriate medications.Results: In 1996, 21.3% (95% confidence interval [CI], 19.5%-23.1%) of community-dwelling elderly patients in the United States received at least 1 of 33 potentially inappropriate medications. Using the expert panel's classifications, about 2.6% of elderly patients (95% CI, 2.0%-3.2%) used at least 1 of the 11 medications that should always be avoided by elderly patients; 9.1% (95% CI, 7.9%-10.3%) used at least 1 of the 8 that would rarely be appropriate; and 13.3% (95% CI, 11.7%-14.9%) used at least 1 of the 14 medications that have some indications but are often misused. Use of some inappropriate medications declined between 1987 and 1996. Persons with poor health and more prescriptions had a significantly higher risk of inappropriate medication use.Conclusions: Overall inappropriate medication use in elderly patients remains a serious problem. Despite challenges in using explicit criteria for assessing inappropriate medications for elderly patients, such criteria can be applied to population-based surveys to identify opportunities to improve quality of care and patient safety. Enhancements of existing data sources to include dosage, duration, and indication may augment national improvement and monitoring efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on a federal initiative to develop a CAHPS (The Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) survey to measure residents' experiences with quality-of-care and quality-of-life in nursing homes (known as NHCAHPS). We focus on how we created and tested questions for inclusion in the instrument and tested a possible cognitive screener to determine which residents could participate in a NHCAHPS interview. The major lessons learned were: (1) In contrast to other CAHPS surveys, ratings were more useful than reports because of the difficulty that residents had with summarizing over time and people; (2) consistent with other CAHPS surveys, the 0 to 10 response scale appeared to work well with nursing home residents for many of the quality-of-care questions; however, a different response scale was needed for many of the quality-of-life items; and (3) in contrast with typical survey methodology and other CAHPS surveys where explicit time reference periods are used, a non-specific present reference period in questions seemed to work best. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The purpose of this study was to use 2003 nationwide United States data to determine the incidences of primary total hip replacement, partial hip replacement, and revision hip replacement and to assess the short-term patient outcomes and factors associated with the outcomes.Methods: We screened more than eight million hospital discharge abstracts from the 2003 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Nationwide Inpatient Sample and approximately nine million discharge abstracts from five state inpatient databases. Patients who had undergone total, partial, or revision hip replacement were identified with use of International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) procedure codes. In-hospital mortality, perioperative complications, readmissions, and the association between these outcomes and certain patient and hospital variables were analyzed.Results: Approximately 200,000 total hip replacements, 100,000 partial hip replacements, and 36,000 revision hip replacements were performed in the United States in 2003. Approximately 60% of the patients were sixty-five years of age or older and at least 75% had one or more comorbid diseases. The in-hospital mortality rates associated with these three procedures were 0.33%, 3.04%, and 0.84%, respectively. The perioperative complication rates associated with the three procedures were 0.68%, 1.36%, and 1.08%, respectively, for deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism; 0.28%, 1.88%, and 1.27% for decubitus ulcer; and 0.05%, 0.06%, and 0.25% for postoperative infection. The rates of readmission, for any cause, within thirty days were 4.91%, 12.15%, and 8.48%, respectively, and the rates of readmissions, within thirty days, that resulted in a surgical procedure on the affected hip were 0.79%, 0.91%, and 1.53%. The rates of readmission, for any cause, within ninety days were 8.94%, 21.14%, and 15.72%, and the rates of readmissions, within ninety days, that resulted in a surgical procedure on the affected hip were 2.15%, 1.61%, and 3.99%. Advanced age and comorbid diseases were associated with worse outcomes, while private insurance coverage and planned admissions were associated with better outcomes. No consistent association between outcomes and hospital characteristics, such as hip procedure volume, was identified.Conclusions: Total hip replacement, partial hip replacement, and revision hip replacement are associated with different rates of postoperative complications and readmissions. Advanced age, comorbidities, and nonelective admissions are associated with inferior outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patient assessment surveys have established a primary role in health care quality measurement as evidence has shown that information from patients can affect quality improvement for practitioners and lead to positive marketwide changes. This article presents findings from the recently released National Healthcare Disparities Report revealing that although most clinical quality and access indicators show superior health care for non-Hispanic whites compared with blacks and Hispanics, blacks and Hispanics assess their interactions with providers more positively than non-Hispanic whites do. The article explores possible explanations for these racial/ethnic differences, including potential pitfalls in survey design that draw biased responses by race/ethnicity. The article then suggests strategies for refining future research on racial/ethnic disparities based on patient assessment of health care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Social marketing techniques such as consumer testing have only recently been applied to develop effective consumer health insurance information. This article discusses lessons learned from consumer testing to create consumer plan choice materials.Data Sources/study Setting: Data were collected from 268 publicly and privately insured consumers in three studies between 1994 and 1999.Study Design: Iterative testing and revisions were conducted to design seven booklets to help Medicaid, Medicare, and employed consumers choose a health plan.Data Collection Methods: Standardized protocols were used in 11 focus groups and 182 interviews to examine the content, comprehension, navigation, and utility of the booklets.Principal Findings: A method is suggested to help consumers narrow their plan choices by breaking down the process into smaller decisions using a set of guided worksheets.Conclusion: Implementing these lessons is challenging and not often done well. This article gives examples of evidence-based approaches to address cognitive barriers that designers of consumer health insurance information can adapt to their needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The availability of patient assessment data collected by all Medicare- and Medicaid-certified nursing homes (NHs) (the Minimum Data Set [MDS]) and home health agencies (HHAs) (the Outcome and Assessment Information Set [OASIS]) provides an opportunity to measure quality of care in these settings.Objective: The objective of this study was to examine methodologic issues encountered as these datasets are used to report the nation's health care in the National Healthcare Quality Report (NHQR) at national and state levels.Findings: Although the reliability of most data elements from MDS and OASIS are considered acceptable in research studies, mixed evidence exists for the reliability and validity of the quality measures themselves. Detection bias can affect the quality measures, particularly for pain and pressure ulcers. Although risk adjustment is used for all measures, effectiveness varies among measures and methods. Additional quality measures such as patient satisfaction, quality of life, and structural measures would be desirable but will require additional data collection efforts. Although the NH measures represent most NH residents, the HHA measures only apply to Medicare and Medicaid patients served by Medicare-certified agencies. Finally, the absence of clinical benchmarks limits the interpretation of the NHQR HHA and NH measures.Conclusions: Further developmental work is needed to address many of these issues to improve the usefulness of these quality measures in future NHQR reports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large sample of all 2011 home healthcare users in traditional Medicare was analyzed to identify the risk indicators at start-of-care that were associated with the highest probability of readmission (N = 597,493). Thirty-five patient characteristics found in Outcome and Assessment Information Set, claims history, or other administrative data were associated with a 30-day readmission risk 30% to 100% above the average in the sample. Most of these characteristics were associated with a 30-day readmission probability of approximately 1 in 5, and several were associated with a readmission probability approaching 1 in 10 during the first 7 days. A majority of the high-risk characteristics were uncommon, and they tended not to occur together, suggesting they can be useful flags for clinicians in prioritizing cases to reduce readmissions. Readmission risk grows most quickly early in the episode of care; typically one-third of the readmissions in the first 30 days occurred by the end of 7 days. High-risk markers at 7 and 30 days were substantially the same, illustrating the importance of the early days at home in influencing the 30-day outcome. A variety of domains and characteristics are represented among the highest-risk markers, suggesting challenges to home healthcare clinicians in maintaining the knowledge and skills needed to address readmission prevention. We suggest possible responses to this problem as strategies to consider, and also discuss implications for assessment practices in home healthcare.

Background: Neurologic prognostication after cardiac arrest relies on clinical examination findings derived before the advent of therapeutic hypothermia (TH). We measured the association between clinical examination findings at hospital arrival, 24, and 72 h after cardiac arrest in a modern intensive care unit setting., Methods: Between 1/1/2005 and 3/31/2009, hospital charts were reviewed in 272 subjects for neurologic examination findings (Glasgow Coma Score--motor examination, pupil response, corneal response) at hospital arrival, 24, and 72 h following cardiac arrest. Primary outcome was survival to hospital discharge. Secondary outcome was "good outcome," defined as discharge to home or acute rehabilitation facility., Results: Mean age was 61 years; 155 (57%) were male. Most were treated with TH (N=161; 59%) and 100 subjects (37%) were in ventricular fibrillation/ventricular tachycardia. Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest was common (N=169; 62%). Ninety-one (33%) survived, with 54 (20%) experiencing a good outcome. In subjects with a GCS Motor score < or = 3 at 24 and 72 h survival was 17% (13/76; 95% CI 7.9-26.2%) and 20% (6/27; 95% CI 6.3-33.6%), respectively. Subjects with a GCS Motor score < or = 2 at 24 and 72 h survived in 14% (9/66; 95% CI 4.6-22.6%) and 18% (6/33; 95% CI 3.5-32.8%), respectively. Absent pupil reactivity on arrival did not exclude survival (7/65; 11%; 95% CI 2.4-19%). A lack of pupil reactivity or corneal response at 72 h was associated with death (pupil: 0/17; 95% CI 0, 2.9%; corneal: 0/21; 95% CI 0, 2.4%)., Conclusions: GCS Motor score < or = 3 or < or = 2 at 24 or 72 h following cardiac arrest does not exclude survival or good outcome. However, absent pupil or corneal response at 72 h appears to exclude survival and good outcome., (Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: There is growing recognition that the health care delivery system in the United States must make major changes. Intervention projects focusing on quality and patient safety offer the potential for reshaping the future of medicine. Sustainability of the Partnerships for Quality (PFQ) projects and other patient safety and quality improvement projects that provide evidence of effectiveness is essential if progress is to be made., Methods: For the purposes of these projects, a conceptual framework and a checklist for sustainability were developed. The framework consists of two dimensions: (1) the goals--what is to be sustained--and (2) elements for sustainability--infrastructure, incentives, incremental opportunities for involvement, and integration. The checklist is designed to trigger planning for sustainability early in a project's design. Specific questions about each of the elements can cue planners and project leaders to build in the goals for sustainability and change processes., Results: A pilot test showed that the framework and checklist are relevant and helpful across a variety of projects., Discussion and Conclusion: Two extended examples of planning and action for sustainability from the PFQ projects are described. It is too early to claim sustainability for these project. However, continued monitoring for at least three years with the checklist could result in valuable national data with which to design and implement future projects.

As the proportion of the population age 65 and over continues to grow--to a projected 20.5% or 77.2 million by the year 2040--tracking the quality, access, and receipt of care for older women becomes more important, since the majority of older citizens are women. This article establishes a rough baseline for the quality of care, primarily preventive care, received by older women compared to older men, using selected measures and data of the 2004 National Healthcare Quality Report and National Healthcare Disparities Report. It highlights significant differences between women and men, as well as differences for racial, ethnic, and educational subgroups. Generally, older non-Hispanic white women frequently score higher than their Hispanic and non-Hispanic black counterparts, and more educated women often score significantly higher than their less-educated peers on several measures of quality of care. Compared to their male counterparts, older women are significantly less likely to have any colorectal screening test, to keep high blood pressure under control, and to receive aspirin or beta-blockers upon hospital admission or discharge for acute myocardial infarction. Results are mixed for the process measures related to diabetes, but improvements are clearly needed toward increased rates of eye and foot examinations. Rates of influenza and pneumococcal vaccinations are low but can be improved through Medicare-covered services. We also found that older women are screened less often for breast cancer than those ages 40 to 64. There is still a pervasive lack of knowledge in the research and clinical communities about the unique health care needs of and appropriate processes of care for older adults. More research needs to focus on the quality of care for this growing population in order to allow the development of geriatric-based quality measures and models of care that will set the standards of healthcare for older adults in general, and older women in particular.

Objectives: To assess the prevalence and correlates of potentially harmful drug-drug combinations and drug-disease combinations prescribed for elderly patients at outpatient settings., Design: Retrospective analysis of the 1995-2000 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) and the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS)., Setting: Physician offices and hospital outpatient departments., Participants: Outpatient visits by patients aged 65 and older in the NAMCS and NHAMCS (n=70,203)., Measurements: Incidences of six drug-drug combinations and 50 drug-disease combinations that can place elderly patients at risk for adverse events according to expert consensus panels., Results: Overall, 0.74% (95% confidence interval (CI)=0.65-0.83) of visits with two or more prescriptions had at least one inappropriate drug-drug combination, and 2.58% (95% CI=2.44-2.72) of visits with at least one prescription had one or more inappropriate drug-disease combinations. Of visits with a prescription of warfarin, 6.60% (95% CI=5.46-7.74) were prescribed a drug with potentially harmful interaction. Of patients with benign prostatic hypertrophy, 4.06% (95% CI=3.06-5.06) had at least one of six drugs that should be avoided. The number of drugs prescribed is most predictive of inappropriate drug-drug and drug-disease combinations., Conclusion: Potentially harmful drug-drug and drug-disease combinations occur in various degrees in outpatient care in the elderly population. Targeting combinations such as those involving warfarin that are high in prevalence and potential harm offers a practical approach to improving prescribing and patient safety.

Background: Prior studies have documented significant racial and ethnic disparities in health and healthcare, but data about disparities from consumer assessments of care are inconsistent., Objective: To examine racial/ethnic differences in consumer assessments and explore variation in such differences across health plans., Methods: Data included 160694 Consumer Assessment of Health Plans Surveys (CAHPS) responses from 307 commercial health plans and 177 489 Medicare beneficiaries in 308 Medicare+Choice managed care plans collected in 1999. We compared adjusted mean CAHPS global rating and composite scores as well as access to and use of care reported by whites, blacks, Hispanics, and Asians. We assessed variation in the differences between plan means for whites and blacks and between whites and Hispanics., Results: Three minority groups rated their health plans higher than whites on at least 1 measure. Blacks rated their care and doctors higher than whites, while Asians rated their care and doctors lower than whites. Blacks reported better experience with care than whites, but Hispanics and Asians reported worse experience than whites. However, all minority groups reported significantly larger problems with access to and less use of healthcare. The differences between blacks and whites, and blacks and Hispanics in CAHPS measures and access/use measures varied greatly from plan to plan., Conclusions: Significant race/ethnic differences in experience with, access to, and use of care exist in health plans. Substantial variation in racial differences suggests compromised quality of healthcare and opportunities for quality improvement.

Many Medicare beneficiaries have limited knowledge of the Medicare program and related health insurance options. This is due in part to the complexity of the Medicare program and supplemental health insurance market. A recent congressional mandate through the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 called for broad dissemination of information to educate beneficiaries about their health plan options and to encourage informed health plan decision-making. In response, the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) launched the National Medicare Education Program (NMEP) to support the educational objectives of the BBA. This paper provides an overview of the components of the NMEP information campaign. We also review lessons learned from our experience in designing and testing a prototype consumer handbook that explains the different health plan options to Medicare beneficiaries. Through our discussion of the handbook, we highlight several ways to communicate information effectively about a complex publicly funded program to an older adult population.

The premise that competition will improve health care assumes that consumers will choose plans that best fit their needs and resources. However, many consumers are frustrated with currently available plan comparison information. We describe results from 22 focus groups in which Medicare beneficiaries, Medicaid enrollees, and privately insured consumers assessed the usefulness of indicators based on consumer survey data and Health Employer Data Information Set (HEDIS)-type measures of quality of care. Considerable education would be required before consumers could interpret report card data to inform plan choices. Policy implications for design and provision of plan information for Medicare beneficiaries and Medicaid enrollees are discussed.

This overview discusses articles published in this issue of the Health Care Financing Review, entitled "Consumer Information in a Changing Health Care System." The overview describes several trends promoting more active consumer participation in health decisions and how consumer information facilitates that role. Major issues in developing consumer information are presented, stressing how orientation to consumer needs and use of social marketing techniques can yield improvement. The majority of the articles published in this issue of the Review discuss different aspects of information for choice of health plan, ranging from consumer perspectives on their information needs and their comprehension of quality indicators, to methods used for providing such information, such as direct counseling and comparative health plan performance data. The article concludes with thoughts on how we will know if we succeed in developing effective consumer health information.

The availability of informational materials to aid consumer health care purchasing decisions is increasing. Organizations developing and disseminating materials include public- and private-sector employers, providers, purchasing cooperatives, State agencies, counseling programs, and accreditation bodies. Based on case study interviews with 24 organizations, we learned that 10 included consumer satisfaction ratings and performance measures based on medical records. An additional four organizations developed materials with consumer satisfaction ratings exclusively. Printed materials were the most common medium used to convey information to consumers. However, other mechanisms for conveying the information were also employed. On the whole, the materials have not been rigorously evaluated. Evaluations are needed to determine if consumers find the information useful and how different individuals prefer to receive the information.

Objectives: To compare the differences in outcomes of Medicare patients discharged from hospital to two types of nursing homes, rehabilitative and regular, and to rehabilitative facilities., Design: Criteria for distinguishing rehabilitative nursing homes (RNHs) from ordinary nursing homes (NH), based on staffing criteria, were developed by an expert panel and validated on a national sample of nursing homes. Those criteria that significantly discriminated the two types of NHs were then applied to a sample of nursing homes from a study of the outcomes of care for more than 2500 Medicare patients to classify the nursing homes in which patients were discharged. Actual discharge outcomes were compared with optimal outcomes based of predictive equations for different types of treatment (ordinary NH care, RNH care, and formal rehabilitative care)., Participants: Medicare patients with strokes an hip fractures discharged from 52 hospitals in three cities., Measurements: A disability scale that weights components of ADL measures was used as the primary outcome indicator. Nursing homes were classified as rehabilitative on the basis of the extent of staffing in rehabilitative areas., Results: Patients discharged to various types of care varied on several parameters. After adjusting for these differences, stroke patients fared better when treated in rehabilitative facilities; there was no substantial benefit for RNH care over NH care. Healthier hip fracture patients who received RNH care fared better, but functional change for sicker hip fracture patients was not different among the three groups., Conclusions: The study suggests that at least a preliminary distinction among NHs can be made on the basis of staffing patterns and that the benefits of the additional staffing may vary with the problem under consideration. More work is needed to establish just what sorts of patients are most likely to benefit from the higher level of NH care.

In this article, data from a recent study funded by the Health Care Financing Administration are used to examine the level of knowledge about health care insurance coverage among Medicare beneficiaries. Two related categories of this knowledge are analyzed: knowledge of the Medicare program itself and knowledge of supplemental health insurance policies owned by program beneficiaries. The results indicate that Medicare beneficiaries typically do not have high levels of knowledge either about Medicare or about their supplemental health insurance. Also analyzed are the factors that affect knowledge levels.