Health Affairs

In the national debate leading up to the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), President Obama said on several occasions that he would veto any bill that did not lower the growth rate of health care spending. So now that the Act is law, you would expect to find a lot... Read the rest of this entry »

Editor’s note: Earlier this summer, on July 7, Robert Butler died of leukemia. Butler was the founding director of the National Institute on Aging, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, and one of the nation’s leading authorities on aging and geriatrics. With the essay below by Christine Cassel, president and CEO of the American Board of Internal Medicine, Health... 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 »

Some in the U.S.  medical community have questioned the competence of physicians trained abroad. But a new study released yesterday in Health Affairs’ August issue indicates that the quality of care provided by these physicians is no different from that provided by physicians trained at U.S. medical schools. In fact, the study—based on data from Pennsylvania, 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 »

Until recently, much of the humanitarian response to disasters from the volunteer sector could be characterized as committed and compassionate – and competent as well, if sometimes just barely. From the South Asian tsunami of 2004, to the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the response has been at best uneven, with some agencies performing brilliantly and others not.... Read the rest of this entry »

Posts on accountable care organizations, implementing health reform, and consumer resistance to evidence-based care topped the list of Health Affairs Blog most-read posts for June. The full list is below.  An Accountable Care Organization Reading List Chris Fleming New Health Affairs Issue: Implementing Health Reform by Chris Fleming Implementing Health Reform: Grandfathered Plans by Timothy Jost... Read the rest of this entry »

Among both supporters and opponents of the recently passed health reform legislation, there is widespread agreement on the necessity of revamping the health care delivery system. But our current system of educating physicians and other medical providers is likely not up to the challenge of producing professionals who will lead the needed changes. So said... 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 »

This week’s Health Wonk Review kicks off with posts debating the issues of residents’ sleep deprivation and long physician work weeks. It then moves to one of the hot-button health policy  issues of the past week – namely, why the New York Times took on the Dartmouth Atlas and studies of variations in medical practice.... Read the rest of this entry »

Changing the way primary care physicians spend their time is key to improving primary care in the United States, Lawrence Casalino said a May 4 Health Affairs briefing. Video and slides from the briefing, held in conjunction with the release of the journal’s May issue “Reinventing Primary Care,” are now available on the Health Affairs... Read the rest of this entry »

Congress is now debating whether to include in health reform a new program to help people pay for long-term care services and supports. At this propitious time, leading experts explore critical policy issues related to long-term care in a series of articles in the January 2010 edition of Health Affairs. (As of this issue, Health... Read the rest of this entry »

Editor’s Note: Below is the transcript of a recent interview of Thomas Russell, who is stepping down on January 1 after ten years as executive director of the American College of Surgeons, by John Iglehart, Founding Editor of Health Affairs. In a wide-ranging and provocative interview, Russell endorses the creation of an independent Medicare commission to better allocate health care resources... Read the rest of this entry »

Editor’s Note: In the post below, Tim Jost looks at provisions of the Senate Democratic health reform bill dealing with Medicare, Medicaid and CHIP, and many other significant topics. In earlier posts, Jost took a first look at the Senate bill, provided a detailed look at several issues that arise under the bill’s insurance reforms, and discussed abortion coverage and the constitutionality... Read the rest of this entry »

Editor’s Note: In addition to John Wennberg and Shannon Brownlee (photos and bios above), authors of this post include James Weinstein, MS, DO, and Elliott Fisher, MD, MPH. Weinstein is chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. Fisher is Director of the Center for Population Health at The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and... Read the rest of this entry »

Editor’s Note: Tim Jost wrote 3 posts analyzing the House health reform bill HR 3962. The first looks at financing reforms, the second post delves into the public option, health insurance exchanges, and more. A new 4th post analyzes what changed in the bill the House approved Saturday night. In this final post, I will explore... Read the rest of this entry »

Editor’s Note: In addition to Arthur Garson (photo and bio available above), coauthors of this post include Margaret Whitehead, Tracy Buni, Catherine Sommers, and Karen Rheuban. Given current trends, access to health care will worsen considerably in the next 15 years. The first wave of baby boomers is now turning 65, and health care utilization for... Read the rest of this entry »

Federal support for graduate medical education (GME) training positions has been capped for more than a decade and it is no secret that the country’s teaching hospitals are restive. They want “more cap.” A number of bills have been introduced in the House and Senate proposing an increase in the Medicare funded GME cap by... Read the rest of this entry »

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 »