Multihospital infection prevention collaborative: informatics challenges and strategies to prevent MRSA.

We formed a collaborative to spread effective MRSA prevention strategies. We conducted a two-phase, multisite, quasi-experimental study of seven hospital systems (11 hospitals) in IN, MT, ME and Ontario, Canada over six years. Patients with prior MRSA were identified at admission using regional health information exchange data.

Reducing health care-associated infections (HAIs): lessons learned from a national collaborative of regional HAI programs.

Background: Health care-associated infections (HAIs) are a leading cause of death in United States health care settings, with an overall estimated annual incidence of 1.7 million. As antimicrobial resistance has increased, so too have efforts to reduce HAI rates.

A national collaborative for reducing health care‒associated infections: current initiatives, challenges, and opportunities.

There has been increasing interest and an upsurge in efforts to prevent hospital-associated infections (HAIs), a leading cause of death in the United States. This study was conducted to assess current strategies and efforts of HAI reduction initiatives in hospitals. HAI reduction initiatives and factors influencing institutional participation in these initiatives were categorized.

Optimized antidepressant therapy and pain self-management in primary care patients with depression and musculoskeletal pain: a randomized controlled trial.

Context: Pain and depression are the most common physical and psychological symptoms in primary care, respectively. Moreover, they co-occur 30% to 50% of the time and have adverse effects on quality of life, disability, and health care costs.

Objective: To determine if a combined pharmacological and behavioral intervention improves both depression and pain in primary care patients with musculoskeletal pain and comorbid depression.

Stepped Care for Affective Disorders and Musculoskeletal Pain (SCAMP) study: design and practical implications of an intervention for comorbid pain and depression.

Objective: Depression and pain are common comorbid conditions that have reciprocal adverse effects on disability and treatment outcomes. The objective of this article is to describe a study that tests the effectiveness of a stepped-care approach using a combined medication-behavioral intervention.

Method: Stepped Care for Affective Disorders and Musculoskeletal Pain (SCAMP) is an NIMH-sponsored randomized clinical trial nested within a prospective cohort study.

Pharmacist intervention to improve medication adherence in heart failure: a randomized trial.

Background: Patients with heart failure who take several prescription medications sometimes have poor adherence to their treatment regimens. Few interventions designed to improve adherence to therapy have been rigorously tested.

Objective: To determine whether a pharmacist intervention improves medication adherence and health outcomes compared with usual care for low-income patients with heart failure.

Methodology of an ongoing, randomized, controlled trial to improve drug use for elderly patients with chronic heart failure.

Background: Medications can improve the functioning and health-related quality of life of patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) and reduce morbidity, mortality, and costs of treatment. However, patients may not adhere to therapy. Patients with complex medication regimens and low health literacy are at risk for nonadherence.