Health Affairs

In this post, we put forth a social compact intended to define the reciprocal obligations of health care professionals, patients and society that are necessary to achieve truly patient-centered, team-based care.  The compact and recommendations were developed from a working group formed at the March 2010 invitational conference co-sponsored by the American Board of Internal... Read the rest of this entry »

A belated tip of the hat to two Health Affairs articles included in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s five most influential research articles by RWJF grantees in 2011: Evidence Links Increases In Public Health Spending To Declines In Preventable Deaths, by Glenn Mays and Sharla Smith; and Nurses’ Widespread Job Dissatisfaction, Burnout, And Frustration With... Read the rest of this entry »

David Colby, vice president of Research and Evaluation at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), has announced the lineup for RWJF’s Most Influential Research Articles of 2011. As it has done in past years, the foundation has listed 20 RWJF-funded articles across the broad spectrum of its program areas. The articles were selected based on... Read the rest of this entry »

The number of young people entering the nursing profession is surging, providing relief from the recent nursing shortage, according to an article in the December Health Affairs, released yesterday. Aggressive efforts to make nursing a more attractive career choice have helped spur a 62 percent increase in the number of younger nurses (ages 23–26) entering... Read the rest of this entry »

With apologies to my more creative predecessors as Health Wonk Review hosts, there’s no theme today. (After all, how could one top Alistair Cookie?) I will get right to the great posts in this week’s edition. Costs And Premiums. At Managed Care Matters, Joe Paduda explores an apparent disconnect: flat medical costs coupled with rising... Read the rest of this entry »

The nation’s 178 “worst” hospitals—the lowest-quality, highest-cost institutions—care for more than twice the proportion of elderly minority and poor patients as the  nation’s 122 “best” hospitals, where costs are lowest and quality highest. What’s more, the patients at the worst institutions are more likely than patients elsewhere to die of certain conditions, such as heart... Read the rest of this entry »

Are some primary care providers more equal than others in CMS’ proposed rule for accountable care organizations (ACOs)? As the June 6 deadline for comment approaches, we need to take a closer look at just how the proposed rule might shape the future of primary care. Here’s one big red flag: even though ACO participants... Read the rest of this entry »

The patient-centered medical home (PCMH) has grabbed the limelight as a new model of health care that offers an alternative to fragmented, impersonal and wasteful care that has become the norm throughout much of the U.S.  The PCMH model promises each patient a primary care provider leading an interdisciplinary care team, with the intent of... Read the rest of this entry »

Which groups of women, if any, should get regular mammograms to screen for breast cancer? This question has been the subject of passionate debate. For example, when the United States Preventive Services Task Force recommended that women without special risk factors begin regular mammograms at age 50, rather than 40, it unleashed an uproar that threatened... Read the rest of this entry »

Editor’s Note. This post is authored by Eugene Litvak PhD, Arnold Milstein MD, MPH and Mark Smith MD, MBA. Photos and bios for Milstein and Smith are above. Litvak is President and CEO of the Institute for Healthcare Optimization and also an Adjunct Professor in Operations Management in the Department of Health Policy and Management... Read the rest of this entry »

The meaningful use of electronic health records is the topic of several of the most-read Health Affairs Blog posts for August. Included in the list is a post on meaningful use written jointly by health IT national coordinator David Blumenthal and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Administrator Don Berwick. Additional posts provide perspectives on meaningful use from... Read the rest of this entry »

The August issue of Health Affairs, titled “Lessons From Around The World,” looks at the health systems in the developed nations of Spain and Switzerland. It also looks at the challenges faced by poor nations through the lens of Ethiopia. Researchers Kara Hanson and William Jack wanted to explore what would best motivate more doctors and... Read the rest of this entry »

Amid the safety debate about expanding roles for nonphysician health professionals, a new study shows that allowing nurse anesthetists to provide anesthesia services without supervision from a doctor does not put patients at risk. The study appears in the August 2010 issue of Health Affairs, released today. The findings call into question a requirement that nurse anesthetists be supervised by... Read the rest of this entry »

In today’s Washington Post, Darryl Fears writes about looming shortages of physicians and nurses. One of the primary sources quoted in the article is Peter Buerhaus of Vanderbilt, who says the nation is looking at a future shortage of about 300,000 nurses. Readers interested in more detail on Buerhaus’s nursing workforce projections can consult his Health Affairs... Read the rest of this entry »

Bold changes are needed in how the United States delivers and pays for primary care if the key goals of national health reform are to be achieved, according to the May issue of Health Affairs. This thematic issue of the journal, released today at a National Press Club briefing, examines the crisis facing the U.S. primary care system... Read the rest of this entry »

We are pleased to announce the “most-read” Health Affairs journal articles published in 2009. The number 1 article published in 2009 was on “Annual Medical Spending Attributable To Obesity” by Eric Finkelstein and colleagues.  All articles below are open to all readers for the next 2 weeks—through February 12, 2010. Top-viewed articles published in 2009... Read the rest of this entry »

We offer readers the annual “top 10″ list of most-read posts from Health Affairs Blog. Health reform topped the list in 2009. If you missed any of these posts, here’s your chance to catch up on your reading. Propaganda And Prejudice Distort The Health Reform Debate by Merton Bernstein Nurse Shortage Eases Under Recession by... Read the rest of this entry »

A post on the short-term easing of the nurse shortage and Uwe Reinhardt’s ”Modest Proposal On Payment Reform” top the Health Affairs Blog most-read list for July. The list also includes several posts addressing the ongoing health reform debate. Additional comment is always welcome.

A new study published today in Health Affairs finds that the decade-long nurse shortage is easing, or even ending, partly as a result of the continuing recession. Study author Peter Buerhaus of the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing and colleagues found that older nurses are delaying retirement or returning to the workforce and part-time nurses... Read the rest of this entry »

Join us for a discussion, moderated by Susan Dentzer of Health Affairs, examining the impact of the nursing workforce on health care delivery, access and quality. This event, on Friday June 12 from 9 a.m. to noon at the Union Station Columbus Club in Washington DC, also marks the publication of several papers in Health... Read the rest of this entry »