November 20, 2009 - This preview of a forthcoming Commonwealth Fund report offers a summary and chartpack outlining the payment and delivery system reform provisions in the bills, as well as their potential impact on health expenditures. Also available is a chartpack from another upcoming Fund report on coverage and affordability provisions in the two bills.
Fund Report
November 20, 2009 - This statement from The Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System calls for a comprehensive, integrated approach to health system reform to reverse the negative trends in U.S. health system performance and provide a more secure future for U.S. families and businesses.
Other
November 17, 2009 - 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.
Literature Abstract
November 17, 2009 - 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.
In the Literature
November 17, 2009 - Understaffing is a major source of stress for nurses and nursing assistants in the long-term care setting, finds this Commonwealth Fund-supported study. The lack of support raises concerns about the quality of care delivered to an estimated 1.6 million nursing home residents.
In the Literature
November 16, 2009 - Fund-supported researchers reported in Inquiry 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.
In the Literature
November 13, 2009 - 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.
In the Literature
November 13, 2009 - 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.
Issue Brief
November 10, 2009 - This case study describes the strategies and factors that appear to contribute to high performance on surgical care improvement measures at Reid Hospital. It is based on information obtained from interviews with key hospital personnel and materials provided by the hospital during the spring of 2009.
Case Study
November 9, 2009 - A Commonwealth Fund–supported study in the journal Inquiry found that workers employed by small businesses are less likely than those in large ones to be offered health insurance. Administrative costs are a major reason why so many smaller firms do not offer health benefits to their employees.
In the Literature
November 6, 2009 - This Commonwealth Fund issue brief examines an unprecedented use of state health insurance regulatory authority to promote health system reform. In Rhode Island, regulators have used this authority to implement a set of standards to promote increased affordability through a series of requirements aimed at strengthening and expanding the state's primary care infrastructure.
Issue Brief
November 5, 2009 - A new Commonwealth Fund survey of primary care physicians in 11 countries reveals that the United States lags far behind other countries in key areas of access, quality, and use of health information technology—undermining doctors' efforts to provide timely, high-quality care.
In the Literature
November 3, 2009 - To be successful, "culture change" initiatives—efforts to help nursing homes transform from institutional hospital-like settings to homes that focus on residents' preferences—depend critically on the care provided for and directed by nursing homes' professional nursing staff.
Literature Abstract
November 3, 2009 - By combining the core tenets of primary care with high-tech practice innovations like electronic medical records, the patient-centered medical home model can improve quality of care and lower costs. This Commonwealth Fund supported publicatin looks at the several challenges.
Literature Abstract
November 2, 2009 - In a commentary on The Commonwealth Fund/Modern Healthcare Health Care Opinion Leaders Survey, Bruce Vladeck writes that Washington finds itself caught up in the fog of hysteria, misinformation, anxiety and downright dishonesty that so often afflicts Medicare politics.
Commentary