The American journal of managed care
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To assess baseline quality metrics, healthcare utilization, and costs of commercially insured patients treated at practices participating in a patient-centered medical home (PCMH) pilot. ⋯ PCMH practices in this pilot were associated with better preventive health, higher levels of disease management, and lower resource utilization and costs in 2009 compared with practices not pursuing PCMH status.
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As the population ages, the financial amount spent on cancer care is expected to increase substantially. In this study, we projected cancer-related medical costs by state from 2010 through 2020. ⋯ The number of people treated for cancer and the costs of their cancer-related medical care are projected to increase substantially for each state. Effective prevention and early detection strategies are needed to limit the growing burden of cancer.
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To identify barriers to stakeholder alignment and strategies used by 14 multi-stakeholder alliances participating in the Aligning Forces for Quality initiative to overcome these barriers. ⋯ Alignment in an alliance context is critical for leveraging the unique knowledge, skills, and abilities of stakeholders in ways that can build capacity to improve the health of the community in ways that cannot be achieved independently by stakeholders. The findings highlight the need for multifaceted approaches to promote stakeholder alignment.
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The systematic collection and use of race/ethnicity and language (REL) data by healthcare organizations has long been recognized as a critical step to reducing healthcare disparities locally and nationally. We seek to identify the challenges and opportunities in implementing community-level interventions to collect REL data for detecting and reducing disparities in care in the 14 multi-stakeholder communities participating in the Aligning Forces for Quality initiative. ⋯ Community-level efforts to collect REL data require securing buy-in from organizational leadership, developing a dialogue across the community, and generating awareness across key players about disparities-reduction efforts, especially REL data collection, without alienating patients, communities, and providers.
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This study provides insight into the potential of local community health information websites to cultivate and support consumer engagement through website positioning and content choices. ⋯ Although alliances have been experimenting with a wide array of website approaches, their promise as a tool to improve consumer engagement is still uncertain. Further research that addresses the comparative value of different website approaches is needed.