AHRQ Stats: Trends in Prevalence of Common Healthcare-Associated Infections

Rates of several common healthcare-associated infections—including central line-associated bloodstream infections, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections and Clostridioides difficile infections—decreased by between 10.6 and 32.8 percent between 2016 and 2019. (Source: AHRQ Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Statistical Brief #313, Prevalence and Burden of Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs), 2016-2021 [PDF, 1 MB].)

Today's Headlines:

• Recent Evidence Indicates a Flourishing Market for Biosimilar Drugs.
• Grantee Profile Highlights Work of Karen B. Lasater, Ph.D., R.N., To Study Nurse Staffing in a Public Health Emergency.
• State Opioid Limits Have Minimal Impact on Postpartum Prescriptions.
• AHRQ Signals Interest in Research on Menopause, Ageism and Emergency Department Boarding.
• Surveys Show Mixed Results on Patient and Workplace Safety Culture in Hospitals.
• Highlights From AHRQ’s Patient Safety Network.
• Register for Upcoming AHRQ Webinars.
• New Research and Evidence From AHRQ.
• AHRQ in the Professional Literature.

Recent Evidence Indicates a Flourishing Market for Biosimilar Drugs

An AHRQ-supported article in Health Affairs discusses the potential of biosimilar drugs to unlock lower drug prices for patients. Biosimilars are much more affordable versions of comparable brand-name biologic drugs. Even after a disappointing economic performance in the decade following the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009, the biosimilar drug market has overcome patent hurdles and achieved remarkable progress, according to the authors. They examined adalimumab, the biosimilar alternative to Humira®, as a case study of the growing success of the biosimilar drug market in recent years. They suggested adjustments to the existing regulations to continue to boost production of biosimilar drugs and create cost savings across healthcare systems. Access the abstract.

Grantee Profile Highlights Work of Karen B. Lasater, Ph.D., R.N., To Study Nurse Staffing in a Public Health Emergency

AHRQ grantee Karen B. Lasater, Ph.D., R.N., associate professor of nursing at the University of Pennsylvania, is studying the impact that adequate nurse staffing in hospitals has on meeting the public’s healthcare needs both in ordinary times and during public health emergencies. Dr. Lasater, a senior fellow at Penn’s Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, received a three-year AHRQ grant in 2022 to assess the preparation, response and recovery of hospital nurses and patient outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic. She and her colleagues are evaluating the extent to which hospital nursing resources (such as staffing) affected nurses’ performance and job satisfaction, and whether changes in patient outcomes paralleled changes in nurse outcomes and hospital nursing resources. Access more information about Dr. Lasater’s work as a first-time grantee, as well as profiles of other AHRQ grantees.

State Opioid Limits Have Minimal Impact on Postpartum Prescriptions

An AHRQ-supported study published in JAMA Health Forum found that state-mandated restrictions on opioid prescriptions did little to reduce the prescribing of these medications to help women manage pain after birth. The authors examined postpartum claims data from 1,572,338 deliveries between 2014 and 2021. Cesarean deliveries, which are more likely than vaginal births to be associated with pain management medications, accounted for 32.3 percent of the deliveries studied. Researchers found that state limits were associated with only a statistically insignificant reduction in opioids prescribed, regardless of the type of delivery. These findings are consistent with those of other studies, demonstrating the ineffectiveness of state opioid limits for this vulnerable patient population. The authors suggested a need for more research and a more effective approach to protecting postpartum women from the risks associated with opioid use. Access the article.

AHRQ Signals Interest in Research on Menopause, Ageism and Emergency Department Boarding

Recently released notices from AHRQ highlight the agency’s interest in supporting research in key areas:

• A Special Emphasis Notice signals the agency’s interest in receiving grant applications for health services research on improving the diagnosis, treatment and management of perimenopause and menopausal symptoms. While safe and effective nonpharmacological and pharmacologic interventions are available to address menopausal symptoms, many are underutilized.
• A Request for Information seeks information from the public to understand the effects of ageism on healthcare services and outcomes. AHRQ seeks evidence, insights or perspectives on the impact of ageism on care delivery and quality to identify barriers and explore opportunities to address age-related biases. Responses will inform future research priorities and studies, policies and initiatives.
• A Special Emphasis Notice announces the agency’s interest in receiving grant applications to address emergency department boarding and hospital crowding so patients receive timely, condition-appropriate care. AHRQ’s interest includes research on care solutions that comply with the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, deliver effective systemwide emergency medical services, and reduce diagnostic error, staff burnout, and turnover.

Surveys Show Mixed Results on Patient and Workplace Safety Culture in Hospitals

New results from AHRQ’s Surveys on Patient Safety Culture® (SOPS®) program indicate patient safety culture within hospitals improved in several areas from 2022 to 2024, particularly related to staffing and work pace. Improvement was not seen in areas related to teamwork and among supervisors, managers or clinical leaders. Established in 2001, AHRQ’s Surveys on Patient Safety Culture® (SOPS®) Program conducts activities to understand, measure and improve patient safety culture in healthcare settings. Access more information about SOPS databases. Email questions to DatabasesOnSafetyCulture@westat.com or call (888) 324-9790.

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:

• Implementation of electronic triggers to identify diagnostic errors in emergency departments.
• Cognitive biases and artificial intelligence.
• Promoting medication safety for older adults upon hospital discharge: guiding principles for a medication discharge plan.

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

Register for Upcoming AHRQ Webinars

• Jan. 15, 1 to 1:30 p.m. ET: AHRQ’s Surveys on Patient Safety Culture® (SOPS) Program: An Overview for New Users will describe the SOPS surveys, supplemental items, rules for administration, public databases, resources available and the relationship of SOPS surveys to patient safety outcomes.
• Jan. 16, 2 to 3:15 p.m. ET: Approaches to Address Health Risks in Older Adults, sponsored by AHRQ’s National Center for Excellence in Primary Care Research, will explore the role of primary care in optimizing health and well-being for older adults. 
• Jan. 21, noon to 1 p.m. ET: Engineering Safety into Practice through Implementation of the 2025 SAFER Guides, will highlight recently updated guides designed to help healthcare organizations conduct proactive self-assessments to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of electronic health record implementations. The webinar on engineering safety is sponsored by the AHRQ-led National Action Alliance for Patient and Workforce Safety. 

New Research and Evidence From AHRQ

• White Paper: Enhancing Systematic Review Methods by Incorporating Unpublished Drug Trials.
• Technical Brief (draft open for comment): Measure Criteria for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report.

AHRQ in the Professional Literature

Supplementing systematic review findings with healthcare system data: pilot projects from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Evidence-based Practice Center program. Holmer HK, Iyer S, Fiordalisi CV, et al. J Clin Epidemiol 2024 Oct;174:111484. Epub 2024 Aug 7. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Evaluation of a primary care-integrated mobile health intervention to monitor between-visit asthma symptoms. Sulca Flores JA, Dalal AK, Sousa J, et al. Appl Clin Inform 2024 Aug;15(4):785-97. Epub 2024 Oct 2. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Testing and masking policies and hospital-onset respiratory viral infections. Pak TR, Chen T, Kanjilal S, et al. JAMA Netw Open 2024 Nov 4;7(11):e2448063. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

A novel risk-adjusted metric to compare hospitals on their antibiotic prescribing at hospital discharge. Livorsi DJ, Merchant JA, Cho H, et al. Clin Infect Dis 2024 Sep 26;79(3):588-95. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Neighborhood-level social determinants of health and adolescent mental health. Oyegoke S, Hughes PM, Gigli KH. Acad Pediatr 2024 Nov-Dec;24(8):1246-55. Epub 2024 Aug 17. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Identifying factors influencing emerging innovations in hospital discharge decision making in response to system stress: a qualitative study. Gustavson AM, Miller MJ, Boening N, et al. BMC Health Serv Res 2024 Oct 28;24(1):1293. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Occurrence, predictors, and management of late vascular complications following extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Banks CA, Blakeslee-Carter J, Nkie V, et al. J Vasc Surg 2024 Sep;80(3):864-72.e1. Epub 2024 Apr 22. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Outcomes by race and ethnicity following a Medicare bundled payment program for joint replacement. Kim N, Jacobson M. JAMA Netw Open 2024 Sep 3;7(9):e2433962. Access the abstract on PubMed®.