Presents findings from a study designed to look at how some of the nation's high-performing HMOs have achieved their success. Notes that delivering high-quality care is a driving force for nearly all of the plans studied, as is a culture of respect for clinicians. For printed copies call The...

Population health management programs—programs targeted to a defined population that use a variety of individual, organizational, and societal interventions to improve health outcomes—are increasingly being looked on by large employers as a promising practice for improving health...

Confidentiality is a key element of mental health and substance abuse treatment. In the absence of assured confidentiality, many individuals with mental disorders or substance abuse problems may refuse or fail to seek treatment. As the payers of treatment, however, managed care organizations and...

This chartbook includes more than 25 graphics and tables developed by Mathematica to analyze the characteristics and service use of Medicaid beneficiaries with special health care needs, using State Medicaid Research Files data for four states. Offers recommendations for designing managed care...

Senior hospital executives responding to a 2005 national telephone survey report that Hospital Compare and other public reports on hospital quality measures have helped to focus hospital leadership attention on quality matters. This article notes that the executives also report increased...

Health information technology has great potential for improving health care through Health Information Exchange (HIE), the exchange of health-related information electronically across providers, with strong privacy, confidentiality, and security protections. If safety-net providers are to keep...

The end of long-standing exclusive contracts between the dominant Greenville Hospital System and two major health plans, coupled with increased hospital expansion, suggests health care costs will continue to rise in Greenville.

This report summarizes the evaluation findings for the Electronic Health Records Demonstration (EHRD), funded and implemented by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). A large proportion of practices (43 percent) were unable or unwilling to meet program requirements to continue...

This working paper reviews impacts of the Electronic Health Records Demonstration implemented by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, finding that moderate incentive payments did not lead to universal electronic health record (EHR) adoption and use in a two-year time frame. However, the...

The MCMP demonstration aims to improve quality and coordination of care for chronically ill Medicare beneficiaries and to promote adoption and use of health information technology (HIT) by small-to medium-sized primary care practices. This report looks at implementation experiences, use of...