Mapping the Impacts of the ACA
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has launched an interactive map that provides state-by-state data on the number of residents who are expected to benefit from the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion and marketplace subsidies. The site also estimates how many young adults have gained coverage as a result of the dependent coverage provision, how many women have had access to preventive care with no cost-sharing, how many people no longer have lifetime limits on their benefits, and the amount of funding each state has received for exchange development, supporting community health centers, and workforce development.
AMA, Joint Commission Suggest Ways to Reduce Overuse
The American Medical Association and the Joint Commission have joined forces to suggest ways to reduce overuse of five medical treatments: prescription of antibiotics for viral upper respiratory infections, early-term elective deliveries, over-transfusion of red blood cells, use of tympanostomy tubes for middle ear effusion of brief duration, and elective percutaneous coronary interventions. The recommended strategies include changes to clinical practice, education, and guidelines, as well as ways of educating patients and involving them in decisions about their care.
Incentives: More Than Just Carrots and Sticks
A new report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Improving Incentives to Free Motivation, calls for payment reforms that move beyond just "carrots" and "sticks" by harnessing both patients' and providers' inherent motivations to make good decisions about care. The report draws on a growing body of research that shows that while external incentives may help change simple behaviors, such as increasing productivity in the completion of rote tasks, they may be ineffective when applied toward complex tasks—or may actually backfire by undermining creativity and motivation.
Call for Data Submission: AHRQ's Office Survey on Patient Safety Culture
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has launched an interactive map that provides state-by-state data on the number of residents who are expected to benefit from the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion and marketplace subsidies. The site also estimates how many young adults have gained coverage as a result of the dependent coverage provision, how many women have had access to preventive care with no cost-sharing, how many people no longer have lifetime limits on their benefits, and the amount of funding each state has received for exchange development, supporting community health centers, and workforce development.
AMA, Joint Commission Suggest Ways to Reduce Overuse
The American Medical Association and the Joint Commission have joined forces to suggest ways to reduce overuse of five medical treatments: prescription of antibiotics for viral upper respiratory infections, early-term elective deliveries, over-transfusion of red blood cells, use of tympanostomy tubes for middle ear effusion of brief duration, and elective percutaneous coronary interventions. The recommended strategies include changes to clinical practice, education, and guidelines, as well as ways of educating patients and involving them in decisions about their care.
Incentives: More Than Just Carrots and Sticks
A new report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Improving Incentives to Free Motivation, calls for payment reforms that move beyond just "carrots" and "sticks" by harnessing both patients' and providers' inherent motivations to make good decisions about care. The report draws on a growing body of research that shows that while external incentives may help change simple behaviors, such as increasing productivity in the completion of rote tasks, they may be ineffective when applied toward complex tasks—or may actually backfire by undermining creativity and motivation.
Call for Data Submission: AHRQ's Office Survey on Patient Safety Culture
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) supported the development of the Medical Office Survey on Patient Safety Culture, a tool that enables medical offices to assess providers' and staff members' views on patient safety in their offices and compare the results with those of other medical offices across the country to identify strengths and opportunities for improvement. Medical offices can submit their survey data to a central repository from October 1 to October 15, 2013. No identifying information will be included in the database. For more information, visit the AHRQ Medical Office Survey on Patient Safety Culture page.
