| Hot Topic: Rewarding Accountable Care |
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The health reform bills passed by the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives include provisions that encourage providers to assume greater accountability for the cost and quality of patient care. The provisions also encourage the coordination of care across settings and collaboration among providers in order to deliver patient-centered, low-cost, and high-quality care. Examining the experience of organizations that have achieved these goals may prove instructive for the formation of
accountable care organizations (ACOs).
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| New Findings Brief: What Are the Costs to Physicians of Administrative Complexity in Their Interactions with Health Plans? |
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HCFO released a new findings brief based on a study led by Lawrence P. Casalino, M.D., Ph.D., Weill Cornell Medical College and formerly of the University of Chicago. The study estimated the time spent by physicians interacting with health plans and the cost of these interactions.
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| New Report: Viewing Health Care Consolidation through the Lens of the Economics of Strategy |
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Research has shown that more integrated delivery systems provide higher-quality care. Despite these findings, delivery systems remain fragmented. This new HCFO report, "Viewing Health Care Consolidation through the Lens of the Economics of Strategy," by David Dranove, Ph.D., Northwestern University, provides a historical account of efforts to integrate the delivery system through the lens of the economics of strategy, a management concept based on the premise that firms succeed in
the long run only if they provide consumers with value.
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| New Data for Researchers |
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The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) released a report on hospital outpatient surgery, and the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) released two reports on access to and utilization of health insurance and medical care.
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| Grantee Spotlight: John Kralewski, Ph.D. |
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John Kralewski, Ph.D., University of Minnesota, is the principal investigator for a HCFO grant that seeks to identify the characteristics of medical group practices that provide high-quality care at low costs.
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| New Grantee Publications |
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John L. Adams, Ph.D., and colleagues published the March 18, 2010, New England Journal of Medicine article, "Physician Cost Profiling—Reliability and Risk of Misclassification." The researchers also published a related RAND Technical Report, which details the methodology and sensitivity analyses used in the NEJM article.
John L. Adams, Ph.D., and colleagues published the March 5, 2010, BMC Health Services Research article, “Incorporating Statistical Uncertainty in the Use of Physician Cost-Profiles.”
James H. Cardon, Ph.D., published the March 2010 Journal of Risk and Insurance article, “Flexible Spending Accounts and Adverse Selection."
Anthony Tucker, Ph.D., and colleagues published the January 30, 2010, Hilltop Institute report, “Examining the Medicare Resource Use of Dually Eligible Medicaid Recipients.”
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| News and Events |
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Grantees in the News
Judith H. Hibbard, Dr.P.H., is a featured blogger for the new blog, “Engaging the Patient.”
Findings from a HCFO study led by James Reschovsky, Ph.D., were highlighted in the March 1, 2010, The Tennessean article, “Doctors Say Medicare’s Pay Cuts Are Killing Their Practices.”
Findings from an HCFO study led by Michael Chernew, Ph.D., were highlighted in the February 19, 2010, Business Journal of Milwaukee article, “Study Finds Competition Actually Lowers Health Care Costs.”
Findings from a study led by James Reschovsky, Ph.D., were highlighted in the February 12, 2010, TS-SI News Service press release, “Do Lower Medicare Fees Increase Patient Care Volumes?”
Presentations and Testimony
John Kralewski, Ph.D., presented some of his preliminary findings from his HCFO grant at the March 9, 2010, International Medical Practice Improvement Summit sponsored by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement.
HCFO News
Looking for resources on health care financing and organization? Follow the HCFO Program on Twitter for the latest information on research findings, upcoming funding opportunities, and updates on HCFO grantees. Follow HCFO at http://twitter.com/hcfo.
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