Medical care
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Comparing the validity of different sources of information on emergency department visits: a latent class analysis.
Emergency department (ED) use in Quebec may be measured from varied sources, eg, patient's self-reports, hospital medical charts, and provincial health insurance claims databases. Determining the relative validity of each source is complicated because none is a gold standard. ⋯ The claims database is the most valid method of measuring ED use among seniors in Quebec compared with hospital medical charts and patient-reported use.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Quantitative and qualitative differences between handout and mailed patient satisfaction surveys.
Patient satisfaction surveys are widely used to measure patients' opinions of the quality of the health care they have received. There are a variety of methods for distributing patient satisfaction surveys. Different distribution methods may yield significantly different satisfaction ratings. ⋯ Both quantitative and qualitative differences between the 2 distribution methods were revealed. Attempts to compare data obtained from the 2 different distribution methods need to be approached with caution.
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Review Comparative Study
The national healthcare quality and disparities reports: an overview.
Congress directed the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to lead an effort for the US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to develop 2 annual reports: a National Healthcare Quality Report (NHQR) and a National Healthcare Disparities Report (NHDR). ⋯ As these reports evolve for the 2004 version and beyond, they will be a vital step in the effort to improve healthcare quality for all populations in the United States.
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Comparative Study
Preparing the national healthcare disparities report: gaps in data for assessing racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities in health care.
Efforts to quantify, monitor, understand, and reduce disparities in health care are critically dependent on the collection of high-quality data that support such analyses. In producing the first National Healthcare Disparities Report (NHDR), a number of gaps in data were encountered that limited the ability to assess racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities in health care. ⋯ Gaps in data limit the ability to address racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities in health care. Although many federal efforts are underway to improve data collection, some groups and populations pose unique challenges for data collection that will be difficult to overcome.