Two articles resulting from grants co-sponsored by HCFO and the Commonwealth Fund and funded under a special topic solicitation on administrative costs were published in the May 14 Health Affairs Web exclusive. For more information about these articles, visit http://www.rwjf.org/coverage/product.jsp?id=42728.
Lawrence P. Casalino, M.D., Ph.D., chief of the Division of Outcomes and Effectiveness Research at Weill Cornell Medical College and formerly of the University of Chicago, and colleagues published the article, “What Does it Cost Physician Practices to Interact with Health Insurance Plans?” This article highlights findings from a HCFO-funded national survey of physician practices across the United States on time spent by practice staff on administrative activities.
Julie A. Sakowski, Ph.D., senior health services researcher at Sutter Health, and colleagues published the article, “Peering into the Black Box: Billing and Insurance Activities in a Medical Group.” This article highlights findings from a HCFO study led by Harold S. Luft, Ph.D., director of the Palo Alto Medical Foundation Research Institute and formerly of the University of California, San Francisco, that provided an in-depth look at the billing and insurance-related activities performed at a large multi-site, multi-specialty group practice in California.
Douglas Conrad, Ph.D., professor, and Lisa Perry, both of the University of Washington, published the article “Quality-Based Financial Incentives in Health Care: Can We Improve Quality by Paying for It?” in the April 2009 issue of Annual Review of Public Health. This article highlights findings from a HCFO-sponsored study that examines the effects of quality scorecards and financial incentives, developed by Premera, on physicians’ clinical quality, patient satisfaction, and efficiency.
The Center for Studying Health System Change released the research brief “Coordination of Care by Primary Care Practices: Strategies, Lessons and Implications,” by Ann S. O’Malley, M.D., senior health researcher, and colleagues. This article highlights findings from a HCFO-sponsored study that documented “best practices” that physician offices developed to coordinate care and identified the challenges and lessons learned.
