Quality and Safety
In 2009, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBS) launched the Alternative Quality Contract (AQC), a global payment reimbursement pilot program that rewards participating physician groups for controlling spending and improving quality of care. A Commonwealth Fund-sponsored analysis of the first two years of the five-year pilot has found that such programs may be effective at controlling healthcare spending and improving quality.
A number of regional healthcare trends in California have been identified in new market studies of Sacramento and Riverside/San Bernardino conducted by the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC) in Washington, D.C., and funded by the California HealthCare Foundation (CHCF).
The Parkinson's Disease Foundation (PDF) last week awarded $1.35 million in research grants for 13 novel projects designed to find the cause(s) of and a cure for Parkinson's disease.
According to the authors of a new analysis published Wednesday in Health Affairs, there are three overlying lessons for state and federal healthcare policy makers to be learned from Massachusett's healthcare law experiences.
Ten major biopharmaceutical companies announced Wednesday that they have joined forces to form a nonprofit organization called TransCelerate BioPharma Inc., to accelerate the development of new medicines.
In its annual report on the country's hospitals, the Joint Commission announced Wednesday that 620 hospitals achieved outstanding performance.
Health organizations rely on high-speed broadband connections for critical applications like telemedicine and remote care management of chronic illnesses. With the expansion of 4G LTE networks and other advances in technology, clinicians are able to identify issues before they become a crisis that require hospitalization, and reduce healthcare and operating costs. It also gives patients the opportunity to take charge of their health.
The patient-centered medical home (PCMH) is the future of healthcare in the United States says the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) - but only if PCMHs are led by doctors.
A recently released health policy brief examining the efforts in the U.S. healthcare system to improve care transitions concludes that simple solutions would go a long way to improving patient care and saving costs.
The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) has begun its second cycle of funding requests and is seeking applications. Up to $96 million for comparative effectiveness research is available.