To provide better value and improve patient care in the U.S. health care system, comparative effectiveness research (CER) needs to be disseminated, implemented, and interpreted. This brief, the second from Mathematica’s Center on Health Care Effectiveness, examines how to put CER into use at...

Interest in evaluating which health care interventions work best under what circumstances has surged in recent years as health care spending has risen. This brief, the first from Mathematica’s Center on Health Care Effectiveness, looks at the new comparative effectiveness research (CER)...

Show them the money. Health reform will emphasize financial incentives for providers and consumers to promote the use of effective health services and discourage use of marginally effective or inappropriate services. The fifth brief in a new series from Mathematica looks at evidence on the...

Using biennial national surveys, this article examines registered nurses' views of health policy, including their expectations of health reform. The authors found that strong clinical leadership, participation in developing an achievable vision of the future, and support for risks and innovation...

Disease management programs seek to control health care costs by focusing on two major drivers: high-cost chronic illness and inpatient hospitalizations for acute conditions. The fourth brief in a new series from Mathematica looks at the research evidence on the effectiveness of disease...

This study examined providers' efforts to improve care delivery, similar to those likely to be encouraged under ACOs. Common challenges for affiliated health care organizations’ efforts to improve care are establishing a business case for change and implementing changes with minimal disruption...

Medical homes are part of our nation’s overall efforts to reform the health care system. For decades, medical homes have been a model for coordinating health care for children, particularly those with special health care needs.The sixth brief in a new series from Mathematica looks at federal...

Leading health care financing reforms might mitigate, or even eliminate, challenges that the current system creates for people with disabilities who work, or want to work, but there is no guarantee. This brief summarizes the challenges posed by the current system and considers how features of...