Welcome to The Commonwealth Fund's new Web site. I hope you will find it a useful research and information tool in the ongoing public and professional debate over health policy in general and the effort to improve health care coverage and quality in particular.
We view our site and e-mail alert services as our primary communications and publishing platforms, an approach we first embraced about two years ago. Since then, these systems have evolved repeatedly, something commonly seen in the online world. This latest edition of our site not only has a new design, but incorporates a series of new editorial and technical features designed to better serve our many audiences. Here are just a few of the improvements.
A new look and feel. We have revamped the way site content is organized and presented. The goal is to make it easier for you to quickly find what you want and also to give us more ways to highlight new information. For example, our topic pages now feature not only Fund publications, but related resources both inside and outside the Fund. The new site also seamlessly links related publications, authors, grantees, grants, and programs. And each content page includes print and "e-mail a colleague" options.
A powerful new search engine. You will now be able to search the entire site, our publications, and our grants far more easily and quickly than ever before. Search results, which may be queried using a number of terms and parameters, are better organized and more informative. Coming soon: even more powerful advanced search capability.
President's column. You are reading the first of these new monthly features. I will be writing most of them, although I will occasionally make this space available to other commentators, both inside and outside the Fund, to address important issues. I am happy to entertain your ideas and hear your concerns; just e-mail me at [email protected].
New Resources. We have created several new collections of content that we believe you will find particularly interesting. For the first time, all of the Fund's surveys and all of their component products, including questionnaires and top-line results, will be available in one place, the Data & Survey center. We also have launched a new Tools & Innovations section that provides brief overviews of promising new models of health care delivery and innovative practices, as well as policy innovations adopted by states or other countries that show potential for broader application in the United States. Descriptions of these innovations across multiple topic areas, as well as some of the downloadable tools that can be used to implement them, should be of interest to those in a position to effect change—both leaders in the health care system and those contributing to public policy. We are always interested in hearing about such innovations; feel free to tell us about interesting projects or initiatives by sending an e-mail to [email protected].
There is much more to explore on our new site, so I hope you will take the opportunity to do so. Let me know what you think—we are already working on improvements and would be pleased to have you as part of the team that helps to make our site even better.
