September 10, 2012 - This Commonwealth Fund–supported evaluation tested the impact of providing small practices with external support for the transition to a medical home, including help with practice redesign and care management and increased reimbursement.
In the Literature
September 4, 2012 - This Commonwealth Fund-supported study finds that understanding the advantages and pitfalls of different shared-savings program design features is critical to reducing costs and improving the quality of patient care.
In the Literature
September 4, 2012 - This Commonwealth Fund–supported study measured the influence of decision aids on care and identified the characteristics of patients who chose surgery and the factors that influenced treatment costs.
In the Literature
August 27, 2012 - The authors of this Commonwealth Fund–supported article convened a panel of experts from diverse disciplines and organizations to identify and evaluate resources available to nursing homes and make recommendations to improve psychosocial care.
In Brief
August 20, 2012 - This report presents six case studies of pilot shared-savings programs across the country. The cases reveal program variation in the patient populations subject to shared-savings approaches, the health care services covered, the determination of cost savings and payouts to providers, the use of performance targets, and performance measurement.
Fund Report
August 17, 2012 - This issue brief reports on results from a survey that assesses hospitals' readiness to participate in ACOs, which shows the U.S. is at the beginning of the ACO adoption curve.
Issue Brief
August 14, 2012 - This issue brief explores key design considerations for including safety-net providers in integrated delivery systems, which provide or arrange a coordinated continuum of health care services to a defined population, and hold themselves accountable for the outcomes and health status of their patients.
Issue Brief
August 9, 2012 - This report shares the perspectives of hospitals and health systems taking part in the Premier health care alliance's accountable care implementation collaborative. Lessons relate to the need for ACOs to have certain core structural components; the viability of different organizational models; and more.
Fund Report
August 8, 2012 - This brief examines seven Medicaid agencies that have worked to develop the programs, policies, and infrastructures needed to identify and reduce women's health risks either prior to or between pregnancies in an effort to lower high rates of maternal mortality, infant mortality, and preterm births.
Issue Brief
August 6, 2012 - Given the right incentives, safety-net primary care clinics can make the transition to become patient-centered medical homes. The results of the New Orleans program, however, underscore that primary care transformation is a long process, and one difficult to achieve and sustain.
In the Literature
August 6, 2012 - According to this Commonwealth Fund-supported study, strategies that support accountable care organization (ACO) formation in diverse settings, as well as the monitoring, measuring, and rewarding of provider performance, may help to ensure that the nation's most vulnerable patients have access to the higher-quality, lower-cost care that ACOs are designed to achieve.
In the Literature
August 6, 2012 - This Commonwealth Fund study of 150 safety-net hospitals finds that, to overcome declining government subsidies, safety-net hospitals governed by elected politicians must focus on cost control, quality improvement, and services that attract insured patients.
In the Literature
July 20, 2012 - In a new article published online by the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Commonwealth Fund–supported researchers discuss findings from their survey of more than 500 U.S. hospitals that looked at the use of 10 practices associated with lower readmission rates for heart failure and heart attack.
In the Literature
July 18, 2012 - The authors of this Commonwealth Fund-supported study found that Medicare beneficiaries are more satisfied with their health coverage—and have fewer health care access and medical bill problems—than adults with private insurance.
In the Literature
July 12, 2012 - A Commonwealth Fund-supported study of a global reimbursement pilot project in Massachusetts found the payment models achieved average two-year savings of 2.8 percent. These results indicate such programs may be effective at controlling health care spending and improving quality.
In the Literature