At a recent event, academics, policymakers, and lawyers discussed the proposal of establishing specialized "health courts" that would arbitrate malpractice claims. Read more »
A center to run trials comparing the effectiveness of drugs and medical procedures would put a check on the rise of health care costs and would promote better health practices, according to an article published on the Web site of Health Affairs. Read more »
From Medicare prescription drug coverage to health savings accounts to $15 billion in global AIDS relief, President Bush gave Republicans a way to play offense on health care as they never have before—but now that Democrats are back to barking the signals in the House and Senate, it may be a case of the health care varsity taking over from the jayvee. Read more »
Members of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) questioned Dartmouth Medical School professor Elliott S. Fisher about a payment approach that commissioners seemed to view as potentially a big advance in reducing inefficient Medicare spending. Fisher's research shows there are sharp geographical variations in Medicare spending that have nothing to do with regional differences in beneficiary health status and that the areas with higher per capita spending do not have higher quality of care—in fact, their quality of care is lower. Read more »
Making long-term care financing a priority, investing in the long-term care workforce, and modernizing regulatory controls and incentives are all steps to improving the nation's long-term care system, according to an analysis two Brown University professors have submitted to a commission studying the industry. Read more »
Physicians in smaller practices continue to lag well behind those in larger practices in reporting the availability of clinical information technology in their offices, according to a Center for Studying Health System Change report. Read more »