This report assesses the first known collaboration formed to establish financial incentives for multiple health plans in Medicaid to improve the timeliness of care for low-income children in California. The authors note that most plans found it feasible, but not easy, to implement the...

This study evaluated demonstration projects that aimed to expand access to needed pharmaceuticals through comprehensive pharmacy services and improve the health of the mostly low-income population served by HRSA-supported health centers. Researchers examined 18 networks that collaborated with a...

This article presents insights into the use of electronic health records (EHRs) by small physician practices participating in a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services pay-for-performance demonstration. Site visits to four states revealed slow movement toward improved EHR use. Factors...

Provides a national profile of the growing role of Medicaid-dominated plans in the changing Medicaid managed care marketplace. To date, basic information on these plans has been lacking, partly because many are not licensed as HMOs by states. Call the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation at (800)...

Improving the ability of the long-term care system to meet the needs of an aging population is at the top of the nation’s policy agenda. This issue brief describes the demographic characteristics of vulnerable adults—those at significant risk of needing long-term care services in...

This report presents findings from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s Transforming Healthcare Quality Through IT program on aspects of sustainability, partnerships, and effective teamwork in grantees’ health IT implementation. Seventy percent of grantees sustained or...

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...

Despite signs that low-income and uninsured people’s access to primary health care services has improved, serious gaps in care exist, especially for specialty physicians, mental health, and dental care according to findings from the Community Tracking Study. Key factors contributing to...

Although health information technology (IT) is at the center of efforts to improve the nation’s health care system by enhancing patient safety and reducing inefficiencies, little evidence exists to link IT to quality improvements and efficiency gains. This new issue brief reports on how...

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...