Grantees in the News

Findings from a HCFO study led by Alan Sager, Ph.D., professor at Boston University, were highlighted in the May 3 Compass Group, Inc. blog post “History on Hospital Closings Relevant to Current Health Care Reform.” This HCFO study updated a large longitudinal database of hospital trends to examine how the hospital industry changed between 1980 and 1995. Specifically, the researchers delineated how the different changes in hospital configuration varied by city size and region, analyzed the predictors of hospital closings, relocations, and mergers, and assessed the implications of hospital closures on cost and access. The blog discusses how these findings are germane to the current health care reform discussion.

Findings from three studies, co-funded by HCFO and The Commonwealth Fund, will be presented at an upcoming Institute of Medicine workshop, The Healthcare Imperative: Lowering Costs and Improving Outcomes, which will take place on May 21 and 22 at the Keck Center of the National Academies in Washington, D.C. The session on excess administrative costs in the health care system will feature results from:

• Administrative Simplification Challenges and Opportunities: A Physicians Organization Perspective—analyzing the costs of administrative complexity for a large physician organization, examining the impact on quality, and identifying opportunities for improvement.
  Investigators: Gregg S. Meyer, M.D./ James L. Heffernan
• Administrative Costs Associated with Third Party Payment—providing an in-depth look at the billing and insurance-related activities performed at a large multi-site, multi-specialty group practice in California.
  Investigators: Harold S. Luft, Ph.D./ Julie Sakowski, Ph.D./James G. Kahn, M.D.
• Costs and Benefits of Physician Practices—conducting a national survey of physician practices across the U.S. on time spent by practice staff on specific activities, including prior authorization, pharmaceutical formularies, claims and billing, credentialing, contracting, and collecting and reporting quality data.
  Investigator: Lawrence Casalino, M.D., Ph.D.

 
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