Mythreyi Bhargavan, Ph.D., director of research at the American College of Radiology, and Jonathan H. Sunshine, Ph.D., senior director of research at the American College of Radiology, presented preliminary findings from their HCFO study at the American Public Health Association (APHA) Conference in San Diego, October, 25–29. Their study explores the extent to which small area variation in health care utilization and expenditures is accounted for by physicians with a financial self-interest, particularly as it relates to imaging procedures.

Lawrence P. Casalino, M.D., Ph.D., was appointed chief of the Division of Outcomes and Effectiveness Research in the Department of Public Health at Weill Cornell Medical College and New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center.

Hal S. Luft, Ph.D., director of the Palo Alto Medical Foundation Research Institute, published the book, Total Cure: An Antidote to the Health Care Crisis, which presents a new proposal for health care reform.

Judith H. Hibbard, Dr.P.H., was interviewed in the October 28, 2008 Oregonian article, “Remembering to Put Quality into Health Care.” In this interview, Hibbard discussed health care quality, quality measurement and reporting, and patient activation. Hibbard completed HCFO-sponsored studies that examined consumer-directed health plans, public reporting, and methods for presenting quality information to assist consumers to make health plan decisions.