Piloting a Mobility Tech Role at an Academic Medical Center.

Introduction: There is often a breakdown in communication between physical therapy and nursing regarding the responsibility of patient mobility. This communication problem contributes to mobility being the most frequently missed clinical intervention. To address this gap, a Mobility Tech (MT) role was implemented at a large academic medical center.

Secure Asynchronous Communication Between Smokers and Tobacco Treatment Specialists: Secondary Analysis of a Web-Assisted Tobacco Intervention in the QUIT-PRIMO and National Dental PBRN Networks.

Background: Within a web-assisted tobacco intervention, we provided a function for smokers to asynchronously communicate with a trained tobacco treatment specialist (TTS). Previous studies have not attempted to isolate the effect of asynchronous counseling on smoking cessation.

Objective: This study aimed to conduct a semiquantitative analysis of TTS-smoker communication and evaluate its association with smoking cessation.

Predictors of Hospital-Acquired Clostridioides difficile Infection: A Systematic Review.

Background: Clostridioides difficile infections (CDIs) have been identified as a major health concern due to the high morbidity, mortality, and cost of treatment. The aim of this study was to review the extant literature and identify the various patient-related, medication-related, and organizational risk factors associated with developing hospital-acquired CDIs in adult patients in the United States.

Methods: A systematic review of four (4) online databases, including Scopus, PubMed, CINAHL, and Cochrane Library, was conducted to identify empirical studies published from 2007 to 2017 pertaining to risk factors of developing hospital-acquired CDIs.

Exploring Online Asynchronous Counseling With Tobacco Treatment Specialists in the QUIT-PRIMO and National Dental PBRN HI-QUIT Studies: Who Uses It and What Do They Say?

Purpose: To describe the content of messages sent by smokers through asynchronous counseling within a Web-based smoking cessation intervention.

Design: Qualitative.

Setting: National community-based setting of patients who had been engaged by the medical or dental practices at which they attended or via Google advertisements.

Evaluating the effectiveness of a patient storytelling DVD intervention to encourage physician-patient communication about nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) use.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of a culturally-sensitive, patient storytelling intervention to enhance physician-patient communication about NSAID risk.

Methods: A group randomized trial of 40 medical practices in Alabama was conducted. Patients within intervention practices received a 13-minute DVD that included patient stories related to their experiences with NSAIDs, adverse effects, and importance of communication with their physicians.

Socio-demographic differences in risk information seeking sources for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS).

Objectives: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are frequently prescribed for musculoskeletal pain and inflammatory conditions. A better understanding of patient information seeking behavior can help bridge the gap between patient knowledge and health care resources. This study examines the primary sources of NSAID risk information and the associations with patient socio-demographic factors.

Association of Part D coverage gap with COPD medication adherence.

Objectives: This study assessed the association of the Medicare Part D coverage gap with medication adherence among beneficiaries with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Study Design: Retrospective observational study based on Medicare claims data.

Methods: A 5% random sample of Medicare claims data (2006-2010) was used in this study.

Online tobacco websites and online communities-who uses them and do users quit smoking? The quit-primo and national dental practice-based research network Hi-Quit studies.

Online tobacco cessation communities are beneficial but underused. Our study examined whether, among smokers participating in a web-assisted tobacco intervention (Decide2quit.org), specific characteristics were associated with navigating to BecomeAnEx.

Evaluating the QUIT-PRIMO clinical practice ePortal to increase smoker engagement with online cessation interventions: a national hybrid type 2 implementation study.

Background: Effective web-assisted tobacco interventions (WATIs) have been underutilized by smokers; moreover, despite practice guideline recommendations, clinical teams do not routinely refer smokers to WATIs. Our goal was to test a clinical practice innovation, an ePortal designed to change practice and patient behavior. Our hypotheses were that the integrated system would result in increased smoker referrals, with an automated follow-up system resulting in more smoker registrations and finally augmentations of the WATI would result in more smokers quitting at 6 months.

Cost implications of human and automated follow-up in ambulatory care.

Objectives: To compare the costs of human and automated follow-up processes in ambulatory care.

Study Design: Analysis of costs of nurse-initiated and interactive voice response (IVR) system follow-up interventions.

Methods: Using national cost data and data on follow-up processes and outcomes from a previous study, we examined the costs to the healthcare system and providers of developing a follow-up process using nurse-initiated telephone calls compared with calls made by an IVR.

A group-randomized trial of shared decision making for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug risk awareness: primary results and lessons learned.

Rationale, Aims And Objectives: Frequent use and serious adverse effects related to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) underscore the need to raise patient awareness about potential risks. Partial success of patient- or provider-based interventions has recently led to interest in combined approaches focusing on both patient and physician. This research tested a shared decision-making intervention for increasing patient-reported awareness of NSAID risk.

Smoking-cessation e-referrals: a national dental practice-based research network randomized controlled trial.

Background: Tobacco use is still the leading preventable cause of death and morbidity in the U.S. Web-assisted tobacco interventions are an effective but underutilized tool in assisting smokers with quitting.

Implementing point of care "e-referrals" in 137 clinics to increase access to a quit smoking internet system: the Quit-Primo and National Dental PBRN HI-QUIT Studies.

Integrating electronic referral systems into clinical practices may increase use of web-accessible tobacco interventions. We report on our feasibility evaluation of using theory-driven implementation science techniques to translate an e-referral system (ReferASmoker.org) into the workflow of 137 community-based medical and dental practices, including system use, patient registration, implementation costs, and lessons learned.

Variations in tobacco control in National Dental PBRN practices: the role of patient and practice factors.

We engaged dental practices enrolled in The National Dental Practice-Based Research Network to quantify tobacco screening (ASK) and advising (ADVISE); and to identify patient and practice -characteristics associated with tobacco control. Dental practices (N = 190) distributed patient surveys that measured ASK and ADVISE. Twenty-nine percent of patients were ASKED about tobacco use during visit, 20% were identified as tobacco users, and 41% reported being ADVISED.

Crowdsourced peer- versus expert-written smoking-cessation messages.

Background: Tailored, web-assisted interventions can reach many smokers. Content from other smokers (peers) through crowdsourcing could enhance relevance.

Purpose: To evaluate whether peers can generate tailored messages encouraging other smokers to use a web-assisted tobacco intervention (Decide2Quit.

Telephone follow-up in primary care: can interactive voice response calls work?

Unlabelled: Follow-up calls after ambulatory visits are not routinely done, yet they can potentially detect and mitigate unresolved problems. Automated calls via an Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) are an innovative way to conduct follow-up, but patients' attitudes toward follow-up calls are unknown. This study assessed 1) patient perceptions about follow-up calls after visits; 2) differences in perceptions between human and IVRS calls; and 3) association between follow-up calls and patient satisfaction with care.

Who participates in Web-assisted tobacco interventions? The QUIT-PRIMO and National Dental Practice-Based Research Network Hi-Quit studies.

Introduction: Smoking is the most preventable cause of death. Although effective, Web-assisted tobacco interventions are underutilized and recruitment is challenging. Understanding who participates in Web-assisted tobacco interventions may help in improving recruitment.

Cluster-randomized trial of a web-assisted tobacco quality improvement intervention of subsequent patient tobacco product use: a National Dental PBRN study.

Background: Brief clinician delivered advice helps in tobacco cessation efforts. This study assessed the impact of our intervention on instances of advice given to dental patients during visits on tobacco use quit rates 6 months after the intervention.

Methods: The intervention was cluster randomized trial at the dental practice level.

Closing the feedback loop: an interactive voice response system to provide follow-up and feedback in primary care settings.

In primary care settings, follow-up regarding the outcome of acute outpatient visits is largely absent. We sought to develop an automated interactive voice response system (IVRS) for patient follow-up with feedback to providers capable of interfacing with multiple pre-existing electronic medical records (EMRs). A system was designed to extract data from EMRs, integrate with the IVRS, call patients for follow-up, and provide a feedback report to providers.

Using a resource effect study pre-pilot to inform a large randomized trial: the Decide2Quit.Org Web-assisted tobacco intervention.

Resource effect studies can be useful in highlighting areas of improvement in informatics tools. Before a large randomized trial, we tested the functions of the Decide2Quit.org Web-assisted tobacco intervention using smokers (N=204) recruited via Google advertisements.

Development of an interactive, Web-delivered system to increase provider-patient engagement in smoking cessation.

Background: Patient self-management interventions for smoking cessation are effective but underused. Health care providers do not routinely refer smokers to these interventions.

Objective: The objective of our study was to uncover barriers and facilitators to the use of an e-referral system that will be evaluated in a community-based randomized trial.

Medication assistance programs: do all in need benefit equally?

Objective: To determine if medication assistance programs (MAPs) provided by pharmaceutical companies were used differently by African Americans and Whites.

Research Design: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among patients of primary care practices from 2005 to 2007 within the Alabama Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug (NSAID) Patient Safety Study.

Setting: Telephone survey.

The QUIT-PRIMO provider-patient Internet-delivered smoking cessation referral intervention: a cluster-randomized comparative effectiveness trial: study protocol.

Background: Although screening for tobacco use is increasing with electronic health records and standard protocols, other tobacco-control activities, such as referral of patients to cessation resources, is quite low. In the QUIT-PRIMO study, an online referral portal will allow providers to enter smokers' email addresses into the system. Upon returning home, the smokers will receive automated emails providing education about tobacco cessation and encouragement to use the patient smoking cessation website (with interactive tools, educational resources, motivational email messages, secure messaging with a tobacco treatment specialist, and online support group).