March 1, 2002 - This report, based on the Fund's 2001 Health Care Quality Survey, reveals that on a wide range of health care quality measures—including effective patient-physician communication, overcoming cultural and linguistic barriers, and access to health care and insurance coverage—minority Americans do not fare as well as whites.
Fund Report
January 11, 2007 - In this important study, Commonwealth Fund-supported researchers find that on selected measures of care, integrated medical groups deliver higher quality to their patients than individual practice associations.
In the Literature
February 8, 2013 - In this Commonwealth Fund–supported study, researchers evaluated the effects of a Florida incentive program intended to improve care at nursing homes most at risk for providing poor-quality care.
In Brief
April 22, 2008 - Primary care physicians who treat a disproportionate share of black and Latino patients provide more charity care, see more patients, depend more heavily on low-paying Medicaid, and earn lower incomes than physicians seeing mostly white patients.
In the Literature
June 9, 2008 - A new study supported by The Commonwealth Fund finds that hospitals that have implemented patient safety practices endorsed by the Leapfrog Group had better quality of care and lower mortality rates.
In the Literature
March 25, 2009 - This Fund-supported study of 797 hospitals in the Door-to-Balloon Alliance found that designing quality improvement initiatives that appeal to a variety of organizational goals encourages participation.
In the Literature
December 17, 2008 - Duke University Hospital leaders say that ensuring patient satisfaction requires both organizational and tactical strategies.
Case Study
April 3, 2007 - In this commentary on two Fund reports on hospital improvement, Dale Bratzler points out that the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization program may provide some of the necessary infrastructure to disseminate the findings highlighted in the reports; to improve processes of care and overcome barriers to change; and to provide technical assistance.
Commentary
March 13, 2013 - Based on interviews with clinical and administrative leaders, this report describes the experiences of seven accountable care organizations (ACOs).
Fund Report
October 12, 2005 - A new Fund-supported study published in JAMA assessing the effects of a pay-for-performance program in a large health plan found quality improvement in one of the clinical measures studied.
In the Literature
April 6, 2010 - A new study identifies lessons learned by organizations that help small physician practices adopt and use electronic health records, providing important insight for a new $643 million federal initiative to create a program of regional extension centers that will help practices convert to EHR technologies to improve patient care and safety.
In the Literature
June 28, 2011 - Peter Sprivulis, a 2004–05 Harkness Fellow in Health Care Policy and Practice, and his coauthors estimated the costs and benefits of creating an interoperable health information exchange system among Australian health care providers and stakeholders.
In Brief
August 23, 2011 - The authors of the Commonwealth Fund-supported study in BMJ compared changes in provider performance on measures that were part of the United Kingdom's Quality and Outcomes Framework incentive program.
In Brief
April 5, 2011 - In this Commonwealth Fund–supported study, researchers examined how a large-scale pay-for-performance program in the United Kingdom affected management and outcomes for one such condition—hypertension.
In Brief
February 3, 2011 - In this Commonwealth Fund-supported study, researchers examined whether performance-based financial incentives for medical groups were associated with improved primary care patient experiences.
In Brief