In this Commonwealth Fund issue brief, experts argue that the health care system as a whole would do well to emulate top-performing providers that embrace accountability for health care quality, outcomes, and cost. And they say the Medicare program—the nation's largest payer for health care—is the logical place to start. Read more »
Workers employed by small businesses are less likely than those in large ones to be offered health insurance, according to a Commonwealth Fund–supported study in the journal Inquiry. Administrative costs are a major reason why so many smaller firms do not offer health benefits to their employees. Read more »
In another study in the new issue of Inquiry, Fund-supported researchers reported that minority patients in the New York City area are significantly less likely than whites to be treated at high-volume hospitals for services for which high volume is associated with better outcomes. Read more »
For this study, published in Pediatrics, Fund-supported researchers implemented a new well-child care model that uses Internet tools at two pediatric practices within a large HMO. Both parents and providers found the model improved the content and focus of well-child care visits. Read more »
Understaffing is a major source of stress for nurses and nursing assistants in the long-term care setting, according to this Fund-supported study published in the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association. The lack of support raises concerns about the quality of care delivered to an estimated 1.6 million nursing home residents. Read more »
The Center for Health Care Strategies, Inc. published a Fund-supported issue brief by Sara Rosenbaum, J.D., and colleagues at George Washington University's Department of Health Policy that analyzes the current legal and regulatory barriers and uncovers alternative strategies for integrating care for people who are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid. Read more »
Access to doctors and use of mammography, cholesterol testing, and other preventive services improved for both white and Hispanic patients nationally from 1991 to 2004, Fund-supported researchers reported in the journal Medical Care. Gaps in access to care, however, widened between whites and Hispanics in individual states, including Texas and Florida. Read more »
For this Fund-supported study in The Permanente Journal, researchers explored the options for disseminating a model of well-child care that is parent-centered and team-based and includes developmental and preventive visits. Read more »
Grantmakers In Health (GIH) recently announced that Commonwealth Fund assistant vice president Mary Jane Koren, M.D., M.P.H., has been named the 2010 recipient of the Terrance Keenan Leadership Award in Health Philanthropy. Dr. Koren, who leads the Fund's Quality of Care for Frail Elders program, will be honored at the 2010 GIH annual meeting, March 10–12, in Orlando, Florida. Read more »
Watch this Commonwealth Fund E-Forum, with slides and audio, from an Oct. 19 briefing in Washington, D.C., where Commonwealth Fund vice president Cathy Schoen presented the findings of the 2009 State Scorecard on Health System Performance. Other speakers were Carolyn Clancy, director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and Heather Mizeur, a member of the Maryland General Assembly. Alan Weil, executive director of the National Academy for State Health Policy, moderated. Read more »
Watch video from an Alliance for Health Reform/Commonwealth Fund briefing that examined the quasi-governmental authorities that Germany, the Netherlands, and France have established. Operating within broad legislative frameworks and with relative independence from their respective health ministries, these entities aim to control costs, oversee quality, regulate insurance and provider payment, and ensure competition. Videos of the presentations are available on allhealth.org. Read more »