Bleeding Risks Increase When Blood Thinners and Aspirin Are Taken Together

AHRQ Stats: Healthcare Workforce Participation

The number of people working in ambulatory settings of the healthcare sector increased by 5.7 percent between January 2020 and January 2023. In the same timeframe, the number of workers employed by nursing homes and residential care facilities decreased by 8.4 percent. (Source: AHRQ 2023 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report [PDF, 9 MB])

Today's Headlines:

• Bleeding Risks Increase When Blood Thinners and Aspirin Are Taken Together.
• Register for Training in TeamSTEPPS 3.0 and TeamSTEPPS for Diagnosis Improvement.
• Grantee Profile Highlights Cutting Edge Work of David Gustafson To Improve Patient Care.
• March 13 Webinar Will Explore How Patient Stories Can Improve Care.
• Apply by March 8 for AHRQ’s 2024 Summer Intramural Fellowship Program.
• Highlights From AHRQ’s Patient Safety Network.
• New Research and Evidence From AHRQ.
• AHRQ in the Professional Literature.

Bleeding Risks Increase When Blood Thinners and Aspirin Are Taken Together

Patients are at higher risk of excessive bleeding when taking both blood thinners and aspirin together, according to an AHRQ-funded study published in American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy. Researchers reviewed 42 published studies and found that patients who took both oral anticoagulant medications (which are blood thinners such as warfarin) and aspirin had a higher chance of bleeding compared with those only taking blood thinners. Warfarin is prescribed for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation and for treatment and secondary prevention of venous thromboembolism, while aspirin may still be used to prevent primary cardiovascular events among high-risk patients. Access the abstract.

Register for Training in TeamSTEPPS 3.0 and TeamSTEPPS for Diagnosis Improvement

Virtual and limited in-person training will begin in March for two new TeamSTEPPS training curricula: AHRQ’s TeamSTEPPS 3.0 and TeamSTEPPS for Diagnosis Improvement. Since 2006, TeamSTEPPS training has helped thousands of clinical teams improve patient safety by enhancing communication and teamwork in hospitals, primary care practices and other healthcare settings. Learn more and register for the new curricula:

• TeamSTEPPS 3.0 helps healthcare teams identify and address patient safety risks more effectively. Four modules offer skills in communication, leadership, situation monitoring and mutual support.
• TeamSTEPPS for Diagnosis Improvement uses the TeamSTEPPS principles to explore how healthcare teams can achieve safer, more accurate and more timely diagnosis in all healthcare settings.

The trainings are free, and continuing education credits will be available for a fee. Curriculum updates will include discussions, videos, case-based scenarios, reflective practices and other content. The updated curricula include an emphasis on patient engagement and has been revised in response to shifts in healthcare delivery and learning methodologies.

Grantee Profile Highlights Cutting Edge Work of David Gustafson To Improve Patient Care

With a career spanning nearly 60 years, David Gustafson, Ph.D., a professor and researcher at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, has been at the vanguard of digital healthcare research. He has devoted his professional life to developing and implementing computer systems to help patients confront a variety of serious health conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease and cancer. Dr. Gustafson developed the Comprehensive Health Enhancement Support System, or CHESS, a computer-based system to help people in crisis with up-to-date information, behavior change and decision tools, and other interactive features. Access Dr. Gustafson’s profile and profiles of other AHRQ grantees.

March 13 Webinar Will Explore How Patient Stories Can Improve Care

Register now for a webinar on March 13 from 2 to 4 p.m. ET about how healthcare providers and staff can engage with patients and use their stories to provide better and safer care. The event, part of Patient Safety Awareness Week, is sponsored by the Health Resources and Services Administration and co-hosted by federal partners including AHRQ, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Indian Health Service and the National Institutes of Health. Jay Baruch, M.D., a practicing emergency physician and award-winning author, lecturer and medical educator, will be the guest speaker.

Apply by March 8 for AHRQ’s 2024 Summer Intramural Fellowship Program

Applications are being accepted for AHRQ’s Summer Intramural Fellowship Program. The program provides opportunities to work with leading health services researchers and contribute to research on "real life" issues that support the agency’s mission to improve the delivery of healthcare. Staff service fellows may work with administrative protocols, gain access to AHRQ-sponsored datasets and apply statistical analysis methods to broaden understanding of health services research and efforts to improve care. Access more information including how to apply.

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:

• Machine learning in medication prescription: a systematic review.
• A qualitative study of systems-level factors that affect rural obstetric nurses' work during clinical emergencies.
• Essential elements nurses have to address to promote a safe discharge in paediatrics: a systematic review and narrative synthesis.

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

New Research and Evidence From AHRQ

• Technical brief (draft open for comment): Evidence Map on Home and Community-Based Services.

AHRQ in the Professional Literature

The decision aid is the easy part: workflow challenges of shared decision making in cancer care. Salwei ME, Ancker JS, Weinger MB. J Natl Cancer Inst 2023 Nov 8;115(11):1271-7. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Leveraging patients' creative ideas for innovation in health care. Lee YSH, Grob R, Nembhard I, et al. Milbank Q 2023 Dec 13. [Epub ahead of print.] Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Comparing approaches to identify live births using the Transformed Medicaid Statistical Information System. Auty SG, Daw JR, Admon LK, et al. Health Serv Res 2024 Feb;59(1):e14233. Epub 2023 Sep 28. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Perinatal telehealth: meeting patients where they are. Kissler K, Thumm EB, Smith DC, et al. J Midwifery Womens Health 2024 Jan-Feb;69(1):9-16. Epub 2023 Aug 29. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Changes in perceptions of antibiotic stewardship among neonatal intensive care unit providers over the course of a learning collaborative: a prospective, multisite, mixed-methods evaluation. Qureshi N, Kroger J, Zangwill KM, et al. J Perinatol 2024 Jan;44(1):62-70. Epub 2023 Nov 24. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Surgical approach and reoperation risk in intermittent exotropia in the IRIS Registry. Oke I, Elze T, Miller JW, et al. JAMA Ophthalmol 2024 Jan;142(1):48-52. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Association of childbirth with medical debt. Moniz MH, Stout MJ, Kolenic GE, et al. Obstet Gynecol 2024 Jan;143(1):11-3. Epub 2023 Sep 28. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Patient-centered clinical decision support-where are we and where to next? Dullabh P, Leaphart D, Dhopeshwarkar R, et al. Stud Health Technol Inform 2024 Jan 25;310:444-8. Access the abstract on PubMed®.