August 23, 2011 - This Commonwealth Fund-supported study sought to identify the strategies used by top-performing hospitals that have successfully engaged doctors in quality and safety programs.
In Brief
August 23, 2011 - This Commonwealth Fund-supported study found that in the U.S. territories, patients receive lower-quality care for the three conditions, acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, and pneumonia, indicating there are substantial opportunities for improvement.
In Brief
August 23, 2011 - This Commonwealth Fund-supported study of primary care in Canada suggest that primary care can be transformed through a voluntary, incremental process in which government and private, professional leaders collaborate.
In Brief
August 23, 2011 - This Commonwealth Fund-supported study found that patients who visited emergency departments during shifts with longer waiting times were at increased risk of death and admission in the subsequent seven days, regardless of their health status at the time of the initial visit.
In Brief
August 23, 2011 - The Commonwealth Fund-supported authors of this study developed a scorecard for assessing the performance of New Zealand’s health system.
In Brief
August 22, 2011 - In this study, former Harkness fellow Ruth Thorlby, M.Sc., and colleagues conclude that a lack of common standards governing the collection, analysis, and use of racial and ethnic data may hamper the ability of health care organizations to design programs that effectively address inequities in patient care.
In the Literature
August 22, 2011 - In this Commonwealth Fund issue brief, researchers describe how networks helped community health centers to use EHRs to improve chronic and preventive care and the barriers they faced.
Issue Brief
August 16, 2011 - For this Commonwealth Fund issue brief, the authors interviewed payer and provider organizations and state agencies involved in shared-savings arrangements about their approaches, including the populations and services covered, the assignment of providers, the use of risk adjustment, and the way savings are calculated and distributed.
Issue Brief
July 29, 2011 - Fairview Southdale Hospital was recognized as one of 13 "Highest Value Hospitals" by the Leapfrog Group in 2008, based on efficiency scores that took into account quality of care as well as resource utilization.
Case Study
July 29, 2011 - Providence St. Vincent Medical Center was recognized by the Leapfrog Group as a "Highest Value Hospital" in 2008.
Case Study
July 29, 2011 - A new report synthesizing findings from four hospital case studies showcases opportunities for all hospitals to achieve greater efficiency. The case studies focus on four of the 13 Leapfrog Group–designated "Highest Value Hospitals."
Case Study
July 28, 2011 - Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital is the single hospital of Park Nicollet Health Services, an integrated health care delivery system based in St. Louis Park, Minnesota.
Case Study
July 25, 2011 - North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo, Mississippi, was designated a Highest Value Hospital in 2008 for achieving a top efficiency score (reflecting both the quality of care and resource use) from the Leapfrog Group for coronary artery bypass graft, percutaneous coronary interventions, and pneumonia care.
Case Study
July 25, 2011 - This Fund report reports on the implementation of eight private ACOs that use, or are planning to deploy, a shared payer–provider risk payment model. Still in an early developmental phase, these payment models vary in their design and in how they define shared risk.
Fund Report
July 13, 2011 - This Commonwealth Fund-supported study evaluated the Alternative Quality Contract, a global payment system for providers developed by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts to replace fee-for-service reimbursement. The researchers found that the contract was associated with modestly lower medical spending and improved quality of care in its first year of use.
In the Literature