No abstract

The objective was to determine the best strategy for identifying outpatients with hypertension-related diagnoses using Veterans Affairs (VA) administrative databases. We reviewed 1176 outpatient charts from 10 VA sites in 1999, taking the presence of 11 diagnoses relevant to hypertension management as the "gold standard" for identifying the comorbidity. We calculated agreement, sensitivity, and specificity for the chart versus several administrative data-based algorithms. Using 1999 data and requiring 1 administrative diagnosis, observed agreement ranged from 0.98 (atrial fibrillation) to 0.85 (hyperlipidemia), and kappas were generally high. Sensitivity varied from 38% (tobacco use) to 97% (diabetes); specificity exceeded 91% for 10 of 11 diagnoses. Requiring 2 years of data and 2 diagnoses improved most measures, with minimal sensitivity decrease. Agreement between the database and charts was good. Administrative data varied in its ability to identify all patients with a given diagnosis but identified accurately those without. The best strategy for case-finding required 2 diagnoses in a 2-year period.

Objective. To examine quality improvement (QI) implementation in nursing homes, its association with organizational culture, and its effects on pressure ulcer care. Data Sources/Study Settings. Primary data were collected from staff at 35 nursing homes maintained by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on measures related to QI implementation and organizational culture. These data were combined with information obtained from abstractions of medical records and analyses of an existing database. Study Design. A cross-sectional analysis of the association among the different measures was performed. Data Collection/Extraction Methods. Completed surveys containing information on QI implementation, organizational culture, employee satisfaction, and perceived adoption of guidelines were obtained from 1,065 nursing home staff. Adherence to best practices related to pressure ulcer prevention was abstracted from medical records. Risk-adjusted rates of pressure ulcer development were calculated from an administrative database. Principal Findings. Nursing homes differed significantly ( po.001) in their extent of QI implementation with scores on this 1 to 5 scale ranging from 2.98 to 4.08. Quality improvement implementation was greater in those nursing homes with an organizational culture that emphasizes innovation and teamwork. Employees of nursing homes with a greater degree of QI implementation were more satisfied with their jobs (a 1-point increase in QI score was associated with a 0.83 increase on the 5-point satisfaction scale, po.001) and were more likely to report adoption of pressure ulcer clinical guidelines (a 1-point increase in QI score was associated with a 28 percent increase in number of staff reporting adoption, po.001). No significant association was found, though, between QI implementation and either adherence to guideline recommendations as abstracted from records or the rate of pressure ulcer development. Conclusions. Quality improvement implementation is most likely to be successful in those VA nursing homes with an underlying culture that promotes innovation. While QI implementation may result in staff who are more satisfied with their jobs and who believe they are providing better care, associations with improved care are uncertain.

OBJECTIVE -Clinical trials have demonstrated the importance of tight blood pressure control among patients with diabetes. However, little is known regarding the management of hypertension in patients with coexisting diabetes. To examine this issue, we addressed 1) whether hypertensive patients with coexisting diabetes are achieving lower levels of blood pressure than patients without diabetes, 2) whether there are differences in the intensity of antihypertensive medication therapy provided to patients with and without diabetes, and 3) whether diabetes management affects decisions to increase antihypertensive medication therapy.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS -We abstracted medical records to collect detailed information on 2 years of care provided for 800 male veterans with hypertension. We compared patients with and without diabetes on intensity of therapy and blood pressure control. Intensity of therapy was described using a previously validated measure that captures the likelihood of an increase in antihypertensive medications. We also determined whether increases in antihypertensive medications were less likely at those visits in which the diabetes medications were being adjusted.RESULTS -Of the 274 hypertensive patients with diabetes, 73% had a blood pressure Ն140/90 mmHg, compared with 66% in the 526 patients without diabetes (P ϭ 0.04). Diabetic patients also received significantly (P ϭ 0.05) less intensive antihypertensive medication therapy than patients without diabetes. Less intensive therapy in diabetic patients could not be explained by clinicians being distracted by the treatment for diabetes.CONCLUSIONS -There is an urgent need to improve hypertension care and blood pressure control in patients with diabetes. Additional information is required to understand why clinicians are not more aggressive in managing blood pressure when patients also have diabetes.

NHs' overall adherence to PU prevention guidelines is relatively low and is characterized by large variations between homes in adherence to many recommendations. The low level of adherence and high level of variation to many best-care practices for PU prevention indicate a continued need for quality improvement, particularly for some guidelines.

Frail elderly veterans aged 55 and older who met state nursing home admission criteria were enrolled in one of three models of all-inclusive long-term care (AIC) at three Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers (n=386). The models included: VA as sole care provider, VA-community partnership with a Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), and VA as care manager with care provided by PACE. Healthcare use was monitored for 6 months before and 6 to 36 months after enrollment using VA, DataPACE, and Medicare files. Hospital and outpatient care did not differ before and after AIC enrollment. Only 53% of VA sole-provider patients used adult day health care (ADHC), whereas all other patients used ADHC. Nursing home days increased, but permanent institutionalization was low. Thirty percent of participants died; of those still enrolled in AIC, 92% remained in the community. VA successfully implemented three variations of AIC and was able to keep frail elderly veterans in the community. Further research on providing variations of AIC in general is warranted.

This study used quantitative and qualitative methods to examine the design of nursing jobs in long-term care facilities and the effect of job design on employee satisfaction.

Although overall BP control has improved, BP measurements still exceeded recommended levels in most patients. For patients with diabetes and renal disease BP was much better controlled in the more recent sample. However, BP control of patients with diabetes was similar to that of patients without diabetes, and not in agreement with the guideline-recommended tighter control. Thus, room for improvement remains, especially in this subgroup.