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
February 6, 2007 - This Fund online manual was created to help pediatric practices redesign their office systems to improve the quality of preventive and developmental services they provide to young children.
Fund Manual
December 12, 2003 - The nation's first, large clinical trial designed to improve delivery of developmental and behavioral services to young children has improved quality of care, enhanced communications between pediatricians and parents, and helped children receive appropriate preventive services, according to this national evaluation.
In the Literature
May 1, 1999 - Despite national attention to increasing preventive health care for women, The Commonwealth Fund 1998 Survey of Women's Health finds little change in preventive health screening rates since a similar study commissioned by the Fund in 1993. The 1998 survey also finds that wide disparities in screening rates persist across income and education levels and racial and ethnic groups.
Data Brief
August 23, 2006 - Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles and RAND find significant gaps in the health care many children and adolescents receive, in this literature review of well-child and preventive care studies.
In the Literature
December 1, 2002 - Postpartum and maternal depression can have serious consequences for mothers and their children. But this study finds that a majority of pediatricians in the United States lack confidence in their ability to detect the illness—and barely more than half even consider it their responsibility to do so.
In the Literature
September 1, 2002 - This report defines and examines the evidence for the effectiveness of health services specifically targeted at promoting optimal development in children from birth to three years of age. The services reviewed are provided in general pediatric settings as part of routine well-child care and health supervision.
Fund Report
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 22, 2006 - This Fund report identifies "promising practices" that address language barriers and low health literacy to help hospitals and providers better communicate with their vulnerable patients.
Fund Report
February 7, 2007 - This manual is designed to provide detailed guidelines for implementing the Promoting Healthy Development Survey-PLUS (PHDS-PLUS) in Medicaid and other programs and settings.
Fund Manual
November 15, 2006 - The Promoting Healthy Development Survey (PHDS) is a survey for parents of young children that assesses whether recommended preventive and developmental services are provided, and the degree to which parents' informational needs are met. This manual, developed by the Child Health and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative, offers detailed guidelines for health systems implementing the PHDS via mail.
Fund Manual
October 13, 2011 - Safety-net health care providers face particular challenges in coordinating care for their low-income and uninsured patients. This Commonwealth Fund issue brief finds that successful efforts will require flexibility, as well as federal, state, and local financial resources to sustain the safety net and make the investments needed to upgrade capabilities.
Issue Brief
May 1, 2002 - The report profiles a variety of programs around the country that provide interpretation services in health care settings, and also identifies federal, state, local, and private funding sources for interpretation services.
Fund Report
April 8, 2005 - Community health centers and small physician practices can have a particularly difficult time effectively serving patients with limited English proficiency. A new Fund report shows how a number of solo practitioners, small group practices, and clinics around the country have found creative methods for meeting the needs of these patients.
Fund Report
January 18, 2007 - Many benefits offices, which help people apply for Medicaid and other public programs, lack knowledge and resources about language services. The National Health Law Program evaluted these offices and offers strategies, such as written language access plans, recruiting bilingual staff for dual roles, and interpreter competency testing.
Fund Report