The optimal revascularization technique in diabetic patients is an important unresolved question.

Data are lacking on the effect of renin-angiotensin system (RAS) blockade therapy with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin-receptor blockers after surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) for severe aortic stenosis (AS).

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are assumed to increase bleeding risk, but their actual relation to serious bleeding in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) who are receiving antithrombotic medication is unknown.

A "cascade-of-care" concept helped to address implementation gaps in HIV care.

Quality measurement efforts have not historically focused on patients with multiple chronic conditions (MCCs), despite them comprising one quarter of the population and two thirds of health care spending. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) creates several mechanisms for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to transform quality measurement into an organized enterprise designed to support clinicians caring for this vulnerable population. This article highlights 3 emerging policy opportunities for CMS to guide public and private quality measurement efforts for patients with MCCs. First, it discusses infusing an MCC framework into measure development to promote patient-centered, as opposed to single-disease-specific, performance measurement. Second, it describes the importance of using common performance measures for individual clinicians, hospitals, and communities to accelerate meaningful improvement in the prevention and management of chronic conditions across local populations. Finally, the need for longitudinal measurement as a foundation for sustained quality improvement is presented. The ACA's expansion of insurance access and portability necessitates collaborative alignment of chronic condition quality measurement efforts between public and private programs to develop a high-value lifelong health system.

Existing publicly reported readmission measures are condition-specific, representing less than 20% of adult hospitalizations. An all-condition measure may better measure quality and promote innovation.

Case managers are employed in medical homes to coordinate care for clinically complex patients.

Antibiotic use is an important quality improvement target. Nearly 50% of antibiotic use is unnecessary or inappropriate. To combat overuse, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) proposed "time-outs" to reevaluate antibiotics.

Many smartphone applications (apps) for weight loss are available, but little is known about their effectiveness.

Low-value services, such as prescribing brand-name medications that have existing generic equivalents, contribute to unnecessary health care spending.

Rates of patient completion of fecal occult blood tests (FOBTs) are often low.

Depression collaborative care implementation using community engagement and planning (CEP) across programs improves 6-month client outcomes in minority communities, compared with technical assistance to individual programs (resources for services [RS]). However, 12-month outcomes are unknown.

Health care centers serving low-income communities have scarce resources to support medication decision making among patients with poorly controlled diabetes.

The AABB (formerly, the American Association of Blood Banks) developed this guideline on appropriate use of platelet transfusion in adult patients.