Featured Publications
Continuing the transformation: charting the path for the future delivery of Veteran emergency care
Ward M, Kessler C, Abel E, Ahern J, Bravata D. Continuing the transformation: charting the path for the future delivery of Veteran emergency care. Academic Emergency Medicine 2023, 30: 232-239. PMID: 36692104, PMCID: PMC11135051, DOI: 10.1111/acem.14670.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsEmergency medicineEmergency careVeterans Affairs emergency departmentEmergency care visitsUrgent care clinicVA Health Services ResearchVeterans' health careQuality of careHealth services researchCare visitsCare clinicsEmergency departmentCare sitesCare locationsVA OfficeMental healthPriority groupsHealth careCareKey research prioritiesVeteransServices researchVisitsArt ConferenceMedicineValidity of Incident Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) Diagnoses in Administrative Data: a Chart Verification Study
Howell BA, Abel EA, Park D, Edmond SN, Leisch LJ, Becker WC. Validity of Incident Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) Diagnoses in Administrative Data: a Chart Verification Study. Journal Of General Internal Medicine 2020, 36: 1264-1270. PMID: 33179145, PMCID: PMC8131432, DOI: 10.1007/s11606-020-06339-3.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsOpioid use disorderOUD diagnosisInaccurate diagnosisDiagnosis of OUDVeterans Health Administration medical centersOpioid use disorder diagnosisClinical settingClinical errorsOpioid overdose epidemicHealth system responseHealth services researchAdministrative dataIndex encounterChart reviewClinical characteristicsLaboratory valuesCare settingsMedical CenterElevated riskOverdose epidemicUse disordersAvailable chart dataGroup visitsConclusionsOur studyBivariate analysisResearch and policy recommendations from the SOTA XVI: State of the Art Conference on VA Emergency Medicine
Ward M, Hwang U, Hastings S, Timko C, Chen J, Vashi A, Mattocks K, Abel E, Bravata D. Research and policy recommendations from the SOTA XVI: State of the Art Conference on VA Emergency Medicine. Academic Emergency Medicine 2023, 30: 240-251. PMID: 36775279, PMCID: PMC11166248, DOI: 10.1111/acem.14679.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsMental health needsEmergency careOlder veteransHealth needsEmergency Department Care TransitionsCommunity settingsVeterans Affairs Health Services ResearchFollow-up needsGeriatric assessment toolsEmergency medicineCommunity care settingsCare Improvement (BPCI) initiativeNon-VA sourcesSuicide prevention interventionsSubstance use disordersUse of telehealthHealth services researchEvaluation of interventionsEmergency cliniciansCare transitionsCare coordinationPatient outcomesArt ConferenceCare settingsPrevention interventions
2024
Leveraging Electronic Health Records to Assess Residential Mobility Among Veterans in the Veterans Health Administration
Wang K, Hendrickson Z, Miller M, Abel E, Skanderson M, Erdos J, Womack J, Brandt C, Desai M, Han L. Leveraging Electronic Health Records to Assess Residential Mobility Among Veterans in the Veterans Health Administration. Medical Care 2024, 62: 458-463. PMID: 38848139, DOI: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000002017.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsVeterans Health AdministrationElectronic health recordsResidential addressesHealth recordsHealth AdministrationLeveraging electronic health recordsInfluence health care utilizationVeterans Health Administration dataAssociations of sociodemographicsHealth care utilizationHealth care systemPatient's residential addressCross-sectional analysisGeneralized logistic regressionCare utilizationHealth systemResidential mobilitySubstance use disordersCare systemPatient's residenceLogistic regressionVeteransMultinomial outcomesHealthOdds
2023
Validation of Electronic Health Record-Based Algorithms to Identify Specialist Palliative Care Within the Department of Veterans Affairs
Feder S, Zhan Y, Abel E, Smith D, Ersek M, Fried T, Redeker N, Akgün K. Validation of Electronic Health Record-Based Algorithms to Identify Specialist Palliative Care Within the Department of Veterans Affairs. Journal Of Pain And Symptom Management 2023, 66: e475-e483. PMID: 37364737, PMCID: PMC10527602, DOI: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2023.06.023.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsSpecialist palliative careInpatient encountersCurrent Procedural TerminologyPalliative careICD-9/ICDICD-9/10 codesCohort of peopleVeterans Affairs facilitiesStop codeNegative predictive valueElectronic health recordsChart reviewHeart failureAdministrative databasesSpecific clinicPredictive valueICD codesProcedural TerminologyVeterans AffairsOutpatientsHealth recordsAdministrative dataReference standardCareConsultation
2021
Sex Differences in Use of a Clinical Complexity Measure to Predict Primary Care Utilization
Haskell SG, Han L, Abel EA, Bastian L, Driscoll M, Dziura J, Burg MM, Skanderson M, Brandt CA. Sex Differences in Use of a Clinical Complexity Measure to Predict Primary Care Utilization. Journal Of Women's Health 2021, 31: 71-78. PMID: 34388023, DOI: 10.1089/jwh.2021.0103.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsPrimary care utilizationCare utilizationWomen veteransCare Assessment Need (CAN) scoreComplex high-risk patientsHigh-risk patientsRisk stratification toolPotential confounding factorsCorporate Data WarehouseSex differencesVA careVisit utilizationCare coordinationHigher oddsReproductive healthConfounding factorsVeterans AffairsPsychosocial variablesStrong associationQuintileWomenNeed scoresMenVeteransGood predictive accuracyDocumentation of Screening for Firearm Access by Healthcare Providers in the Veterans Healthcare System: A Retrospective Study
Brandt CA, Workman TE, Farmer MM, Akgün KM, Abel EA, Skanderson M, Bean-Mayberry B, Zeng-Treitler Q, Mason M, Bastian LA, Goulet JL, Post LA. Documentation of Screening for Firearm Access by Healthcare Providers in the Veterans Healthcare System: A Retrospective Study. Western Journal Of Emergency Medicine 2021, 22: 525-532. PMID: 34125022, PMCID: PMC8203018, DOI: 10.5811/westjem.2021.4.51203.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsClinical notesPatient characteristicsHealthcare providersFirearm accessElectronic health record clinical notesProportion of patientsOutpatient care visitsVeterans Healthcare SystemCohort of veteransUnited States military veteransMilitary service characteristicsDocumentation of screeningDocumentation of accessFirst yearRace/ethnicityCare visitsOutpatient visitsClinical comorbiditiesRetrospective studyVHA careEmergency clinicHandling of firearmsDemographic dataSystemwide processRisk of violence
2020
Relationships between chronic pain and mood symptoms among veterans with bipolar disorder
Travaglini L, Kuykendall L, Bennett M, Abel E, Lucksted A. Relationships between chronic pain and mood symptoms among veterans with bipolar disorder. Journal Of Affective Disorders 2020, 277: 765-771. PMID: 33065815, DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2020.08.069.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH KeywordsBipolar DisorderChronic PainHumansPilot ProjectsQuality of LifeRetrospective StudiesVeteransConceptsChronic painQuality of lifeBipolar disorderMedical CenterPain experienceOutpatient mental health careVeterans Affairs Medical CenterVA Medical CenterChronic pain experienceMental health careUS military veteransManic mood statesWorst painPain managementBipolar depressionRetrospective studyManic episodesMood disordersMood symptomsOutpatient servicesPainUnipolar depressionPilot studyDisordersHealth care
2019
Gender Differences in Suicide and Self-Directed Violence Risk Among Veterans With Post-traumatic Stress and Substance Use Disorders
Ronzitti S, Loree AM, Potenza MN, Decker SE, Wilson SM, Abel EA, Haskell SG, Brandt CA, Goulet JL. Gender Differences in Suicide and Self-Directed Violence Risk Among Veterans With Post-traumatic Stress and Substance Use Disorders. Women's Health Issues 2019, 29: s94-s102. PMID: 31253249, DOI: 10.1016/j.whi.2019.04.010.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsPost-traumatic stress disorderGender-related differencesSelf-directed violenceTreatment strategiesCox proportional hazards regression modelProportional hazards regression modelsDiagnosis of PTSDWomen Veterans Cohort StudyHazards regression modelsSubstance use disordersSubgroups of veteransHazard ratioCohort studySuicidal behavior riskDecreased riskClinical variablesPotential confoundersHigh prevalenceUse disordersWomen veteransPost-traumatic stressNumber of womenPTSD diagnosisSuicidal behaviorSuicide risk
2016
Estimating healthcare mobility in the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System
Wang KH, Goulet JL, Carroll CM, Skanderson M, Fodeh S, Erdos J, Womack JA, Abel EA, Bathulapalli H, Justice AC, Nunez-Smith M, Brandt CA. Estimating healthcare mobility in the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System. BMC Health Services Research 2016, 16: 609. PMID: 27769221, PMCID: PMC5075153, DOI: 10.1186/s12913-016-1841-4.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH KeywordsAdolescentAdultAgedAged, 80 and overDelivery of Health CareElectronic Health RecordsEmigration and ImmigrationFemaleHospitals, VeteransHumansMaleMental DisordersMiddle AgedPatient Acceptance of Health CareRetrospective StudiesUnited StatesUnited States Department of Veterans AffairsVeteransVeterans HealthYoung AdultConceptsHealthcare systemVeterans Health Administration electronic health recordsVeterans Affairs Healthcare SystemHealthcare mobilityRetrospective cohort studyHepatitis C virusOutcomes of careDifferent healthcare systemsDistinct healthcare systemsElectronic health recordsClinical characteristicsCohort studyHealthcare utilizationC virusSpecialty carePsychiatric disordersYounger veteransDisease preventionYounger agePopulation healthHealth recordsVeteransStatus changesCareYear periodPain research using Veterans Health Administration electronic and administrative data sources
Abel EA, Brandt CA, Czlapinski R, Goulet JL. Pain research using Veterans Health Administration electronic and administrative data sources. The Journal Of Rehabilitation Research And Development 2016, 53: 1-12. PMID: 27005814, DOI: 10.1682/jrrd.2014.10.0246.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsPain researchPharmacy dataOutcomes of painVeterans Health AdministrationElectronic health record data sourcesHealth services researchersEHR data sourcesAcute painNRS scoresRevision codesVHA careInternational ClassificationAdministrative data sourcesScale scoreHealth AdministrationPain researchersPainEHR dataAnonymous surveyServices researchersPeer-reviewed articlesScoresCurrent practiceChronicPrevalence
2014
Personal Health Record Reach in the Veterans Health Administration: A Cross-Sectional Analysis
Shimada SL, Brandt CA, Feng H, McInnes DK, Rao SR, Rothendler JA, Haggstrom DA, Abel EA, Cioffari LS, Houston TK. Personal Health Record Reach in the Veterans Health Administration: A Cross-Sectional Analysis. Journal Of Medical Internet Research 2014, 16: e272. PMID: 25498515, PMCID: PMC4275468, DOI: 10.2196/jmir.3751.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsVeterans Health AdministrationSchizophrenia/schizoaffective disorderPersonal health recordsCross-sectional analysisHealth recordsClinical conditionsSchizoaffective disorderHealth AdministrationHealth statusSociodemographic characteristicsUnited States Veterans Health AdministrationMultivariable logistic regression modelFacility-level differencesPatients' sociodemographic characteristicsTethered personal health recordClustering of patientsSpinal cord injurySpecific clinical conditionsTraumatic brain injuryPatients' health statusSpecific medical conditionsLogistic regression modelsOutpatient visitsCord injuryInpatient admissions