SciCombinator

To estimate the relationship between breach remediation efforts and hospital care quality.

To compare differences in opioid prescription, health care utilization, and costs among patients with low back pain (LBP) who saw a physical therapist (PT) at the first point of care, at any time during the episode or not at all.

To examine whether randomization to permanent supportive housing (PSH) versus usual care reduces the use of acute health care and other services among chronically homeless high users of county-funded services.

To identify factors that account for variation in complication rates across hospitals and surgeons performing lumbar spinal fusion surgery.

OBJECTIVE: Examine the mediating effect of injectable drugs in the relationship between dialysis facility organizational status and patient mortality. STUDY SETTING: Medicare dialysis population. STUDY DESIGN: Data from the U.S. Renal Data System (USRDS) were used to identify 3,884 freestanding dialysis facilities and 37,942 Medicare patients incident to end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in 2006. The role of injectable medications was evaluated during a 2-year follow-up period by mediational analyses using mixed-effect regression models. DATA COLLECTION: USRDS data were matched with Dialysis Facility Report data from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and census data. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: There was a strong association found between organizational status and use of injectable drugs. Large for-profit chains used significantly higher injectable medications compared with nonprofit chains and independent facilities. However, the relationship between facility organizational status and patient mortality was not found to be mediated through the higher use of injectable drugs. CONCLUSIONS: Large for-profit chain facilities administered higher IV epoetin, iron, and vitamin D dosages, but this did not result in improved survival. Given the associated costs and lack of a survival benefit, the overuse of injectable medications among the U.S. dialysis patients will likely end under the recent bundling of injectable medications without jeopardizing patient outcomes.

To assess whether patient choice of physician or health plan was affected by physician tier-rankings.

To estimate a commercially available ambulatory electronic health record’s (EHR’s) impact on workflow and financial measures.

To understand hospital- and county-level factors for rural obstetric unit closures, using mixed methods.

To conduct a systematic literature review of selected major provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) pertaining to expanded health insurance coverage. We present and synthesize research findings from the last 5 years regarding both the immediate and long-term effects of the ACA. We conclude with a summary and offer a research agenda for future studies.

To utilize functional status (FS) outcomes to benchmark outpatient therapy clinics.