October 14, 2005 - Despite significant strides, "patient-centered" care is not yet the norm throughout the U.S. health care system. A new article by Fund experts shows how primary care in the U.S. can be taken to the next level.
In the Literature
November 13, 2009 - Access to doctors and use of mammography, cholesterol testing, and other preventive services improved for both white and Hispanic patients nationally from 1991 to 2004, Fund-supported researchers reported in the journal Medical Care. Gaps in access to care, however, widened between whites and Hispanics in individual states, including Texas and Florida.
In the Literature
January 1, 2002 - In this field report, the authors analyzed 40 websites that offer information about physicians. Finding many instances where websites had incomplete, missing, and possibly inaccurate or outdated data, the authors conclude that health care accrediting organizations, health plans, hospitals, and local and national industry organizations and associations should make efforts to improve the information on the Internet, saying that it is a potential valuable tool for consumers.
Fund Report
October 20, 2010 - In a commentary in the Journal of the American Medical Association written with Commonwealth Fund support, Elliott S. Fisher, M.D., and Stephen M. Shortell, Ph.D., contend that rigorous performance measurement and evaluation will be critical to the success of accountable care organizations in achieving their goals..
In the Literature
October 24, 2011 - The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has released its final regulations for accountable care organizations (ACOs), which are organizations made up of groups of health care providers that provide coordinated care. Check out our ACO Resource Page to read Commonwealth Fund publications and blog posts on ACOs.
Other
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 11, 2004 - This case study chronicles the Brownsville Multi-Service Family Healthy Center's (BMS's) effort to collect revenues efficiently throughout the entire collection process. BMS serves a low-income community living predominantly in public housing.
Fund Report
August 11, 2004 - This case study provides insight into how a South Bronx health center adapted highly targeted marketing practices and by doing so was able to increase and sustain patient volume in a very competitive environment.
Fund Report
May 16, 2012 - A new analysis of the Commonwealth Fund 2010 Biennial Health Insurance Survey demonstrates that when low-income adults have both health insurance and a medical home, they are less likely to report cost-related access problems, more likely to be up-to-date with preventive screenings, and report greater satisfaction with the quality of their care.
Issue Brief
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
August 5, 2010 - In a chapter for Partners in Health: How Physicians and Hospitals Can Be Accountable Together, Stuart Guterman, The Commonwealth Fund's vice president for payment and system reform, and Anthony Shih, chief quality officer for the health care consultancy IPRO, outline their vision for health care payment reform.
Literature Abstract
September 23, 2004 - Community-wide efforts to prevent and treat chronic public health problems are gaining traction both here and abroad. In a new report, researchers from the National Rehabilitation Hospital Center for Health & Disability Research evaluate one such effort, Taking on Diabetes, and document 50 key attributes for successful, sustainable partnerships.
Fund Report
April 10, 2006 - A new Commonwealth Fund study in the Archives of Internal Medicine finds that America's doctors still have a way to go in adopting information technology, practicing team-based care, and collecting feedback from their patients.
In the Literature
March 15, 2011 - This case study provides a fifth-year update on patient safety initiatives at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Case Study
January 1, 2004 - Hospitals and other health care delivery systems provide millions of Americans each year with important, frequently life-saving care. Yet, as we all know, medical errors and patient safety issues represent a national problem of epidemic proportions.
Fund Report