Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Quality Improvement In Maryland: Partnerships And Progress, Judith D. Moore, Lisa Sprague

National Health Policy Forum

This one-and-a-half-day site visit to Easton, Maryland, explored the activities of the Delmarva Foundation, the Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) for Maryland and the District of Columbia. The program reviewed Delmarva’s responsibilities under their Medicare contract and the initiatives they have undertaken with hospitals and other providers to improve health care outcomes and to define, collect, and report quality data. Local hospital officials added their perspective on quality programs and working with Delmarva. Topics of particular interest were health information technology, patient safety, and quality reporting both to government agencies and to consumers.

Spruce Run News (December 2004), Spruce Run Staff

Maine Women's Publications - All

No abstract provided.

Live Smoke Free Or Die: The Battle For Smoke Free Restaurants In New Hampshire, Jody Hodgdon

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

[Excerpt] "The need for a strict statutory scheme prohibiting or effectively segregating tobacco smoke in restaurants and public buildings in New Hampshire is compelling. One evening, during the summer of 2003, I took my wife and daughter to a restaurant in New Hampshire for dinner. When the time came to be seated, the waiter asked if we preferred to be seated in the smoking or non-smoking section. At our request, he led us to the non- smoking section. Over the course of dinner, I considered the irony of why the restaurant even had a non-smoking section. Smoke was coming over …

The Effects Of Copayments On The Use Of Medical Services And Prescription Drugs In Utah's Medicaid Program, Leighton Ku, Elaine Deschamps, Judi Hilman

Health Policy and Management Faculty Publications

In recent years, a number of states have increased cost-sharing for low-income Medicaid beneficiaries as one approach to Medicaid cost-containment. While copayments have been most commonly applied to prescription drugs, they also have been assessed for other services, such as physician visits, hospital admission, or outpatient clinic use.

Prior research has found that when low-income patients are required to pay more for health care services or for prescription drugs, they use fewer services or medications.[2] In some cases, their health could deteriorate, with the result that they may subsequently require more expensive emergency room or inpatient hospital care. While …

2004 Scholars And Artists Bibliography, Michael Schwartz Library, Cleveland State University, Friends Of The Michael Schwartz Library

Scholars and Artists Bibliographies

This bibliography was created for the annual Friends of the Michael Schwartz Library Scholars and Artists Reception, recognizing scholarly and creative achievements of Cleveland State University faculty, staff and emeriti

The Provider System For Children's Mental Health: Workforce Capacity And Effective Treatment, Jane Koppelman

National Health Policy Forum

This issue brief examines two issues that are key to meeting children’s unmet needs for mental health care: ensuring that the provider supply is adequate and that the care delivered is effective. It describes the shortage of qualified providers to address children’s mental disorders, as well its possible causes; it describes how managed care, to a certain extent, drives practice patterns; and it discusses the gray areas in deciding which providers are most qualified to deliver what care. In addition, this paper introduces what is known about evidence-based care in children’s mental health, the extent to which it is being …

Santa Clara Magazine, Volume 46 Number 2, Fall 2004, Santa Clara University

Santa Clara Magazine

8 - PRIZE-WINNING POETRY By Alexander Matthew Weyand '04. A poem by an SCU junior wins two student poetry competitions at SCU.

10 - I HAVE A QUESTION By Miriam Schulman. The director of communications for the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at SCU explores the ethics of Internet research.

14 - JUSTICE IS SERVED By Susan Vogel. The Santa Clara University Community Law Center celebrates 10 years of service with a new endowment and a new name.

Broken Scales: Obesity And Justice In America, Adam Benforado, Jon Hanson, David Yosifon

Faculty Publications

This Article is not so much about the scales we use to measure weight, but the scales we use to infer causation and assign responsibility-including the scales of justice. Ultimately, the problem we face is not obesity itself. Obesity is only a symptom of the problem. When scientists and public health experts point to various environmental agents-whether larger portion sizes, corn subsidies, video games, or urban sprawl-they, too, overlook the deeper source of our troubles. Our real problem is that we have an extremely difficult time seeing and understanding the role of unseen features in our environment and within us …

Lisa Schechtman On Reproductive Health And Human Rights: Integrating Medicine, Ethics, And Law By Rebecca J. Cook, Bernard M. Dickens, And Mahmoud F. Fathalla. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003. 554 Pp., Lisa Schechtman

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Reproductive Health and Human Rights: Integrating Medicine, Ethics, and Law by Rebecca J. Cook, Bernard M. Dickens, and Mahmoud F. Fathalla. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003. 554 pp.

Electronic Health Records: How Close? How Far To Go?, Lisa Sprague

National Health Policy Forum

This paper looks at the central role of the electronic health record (EHR) in health information technology. It considers the extent to which EHRs are in use and initiatives designed to increase their prevalence, as well as barriers to the widespread adoption of EHRs and efforts to surmount them. Particular attention is given to such obstacles as cost, the professional culture of physicians, standardization, and legal questions.

Medicaid's Disproportionate Share Hospital Program: Complex Structure, Critical Payments, Robert E. Mechanic

National Health Policy Forum

This background paper describes the history and political evolution of Medicaid’s disproportionate share hospital (DSH) program and examines DSH as it exists today. It highlights the importance of DSH payments for the viability of safety net hospitals and considers the consequences of states’ creative financing strategies for maximizing federal Medicaid matching funds. Finally, this paper reviews several options for improving the structure and effectiveness of the DSH program.

Spruce Run News (Fall 2004), Spruce Run Staff

Maine Women's Publications - All

No abstract provided.

Fundamentals Of Community Health Centers, Jessamyn Taylor

National Health Policy Forum

This background paper examines the dominant model of federal grant funding for primary care in the health care safety net: the community health center. It describes the history of the health center program and highlights key policy issues influencing health centers, such as Medicaid payment policies and medically underserved area designations. The paper also examines the recent presidential initiative to expand health centers, including a review of the process used to identify new grantees, an assessment of remaining gaps in capacity, an exploration of continuing challenges, and a discussion of unresolved policy questions.

A Report From The Forum Session "Implementing The New Medicare Drug Benefit: Challenges And Opportunities For States", Judith D. Moore

National Health Policy Forum

The National Health Policy Forum convened a meeting on July 22, 2004 to discuss state-based challenges associated with implementing the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act (MMA). The meeting brought together an extremely insightful and experienced group of current and former state officials and other experts to discuss key issues. In keeping with its tradition of promoting a frank, off-the-record exchange on health policy issues, NHPF does not normally prepare written summaries or reports of meetings. However, because this meeting provided vivid illustrations of the importance of state-federal collaboration for the successful implementation of the new Medicare drug benefit, …

Tick-Tock: Preparing For The Next Influenza Pandemic, Eileen Salinsky

National Health Policy Forum

This paper describes the nature of pandemic influenza and highlights key challenges for responding to this disease threat. It explains how an influenza pandemic would differ from annual influenza outbreaks and examines how a pandemic virus could emerge. It also explores important issues involved in pandemic preparedness capabilities, including disease surveillance, vaccine production and distribution, antiviral stockpiling, health care system readiness, and public health containment measures. The national pandemic preparedness plan is briefly reviewed, and unresolved policy issues related to the plan’s implementation are identified.

Fundamentals Of The Prescription Drug Market, Christie Provost Peters

National Health Policy Forum

This background paper is a primer on the prescription drug market. It provides information on the fundamentals of the pharmaceutical industry and various marketplace stakeholders, including manufacturers, retailers, consumers, regulators, researchers, and purchasers. This paper also examines the various ways the federal government interacts with the pharmaceutical market. Due to the breadth of material addressed, some complex issues and relationships are presented in broad conceptual terms without extensive technical detail.

The Promise And The Reality Of Long-Term Care Insurance, Randy Desonia

National Health Policy Forum

The aging of the nation’s population will create a surge in the need for long-term care services, putting pressure on existing funding sources and fueling demand for more. This paper examines one financing option—private long-term care insurance—and summarizes its brief history and the several critical precedents that have influenced the products as currently sold. Other topics discussed include the challenges to encouraging sales growth as well as increasing the role of this type of insurance in paying for long-term care.

Mid-Atlantic Ethics Committee Newsletter, Fall 2004

Mid-Atlantic Ethics Committee Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Mid-Atlantic Ethics Committee Newsletter, Summer 2004

Mid-Atlantic Ethics Committee Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Inside Unlv, Holly Ivy De Vore, Carol C. Harter, Stuart Mann

Inside UNLV

No abstract provided.

Santa Clara Magazine, Volume 46 Number 1, Summer 2004, Santa Clara University

Santa Clara Magazine

8 - A PUZZLING PROFESSOR By Adam Breen. Byron Walden, an assistant professor of mathematics at SCU, draws on his knowledge of numerical analysis to create crossword puzzles for The New York Times.

10 - THE LAUNCHING PAD By Larry Sokoloff J.D. '92. Top government agencies, other universities, and companies are relying on the University's Robotics Systems Lab-and its students-to build and monitor satellites.

16 - A NOVEL TEAM By Kristin Lenore '04. The University's publishing partnership with Heyday Books aims to help preserve California's cultural legacy.

Politics Of Embryonic Discourse, Kevin Quinn

Faculty Publications

In our brave new world of stem cells, clones, and parthenotes, how should we talk about early human embryos? In fashioning a response to this very thorny question, Ann Kiessling has a core message. It is: (1)that new science produces "new" conceptuses;(2) that science and scientists have failed to differentiate (with appropriate clarity) these new ex vivo conceptuses from those createdin vivo; (3) that new, more appropriate and scientifically-informed, terms are necessary; and (4) that this new language should transform the public discourse about human embryos. No one would deny that the subtleties of human embryology are neglected in public …

Medicaid Prescription Drug Spending And Use, Brian Bruen, Arunabh Ghosh

Health Policy and Management Issue Briefs

No abstract provided.

The Economics Of Quality: Changing Incentives In Cincinnati, Lisa Sprague, Nora Super

National Health Policy Forum

This site visit focused on private market dynamics and quality improvement initiatives. Cincinnati is characterized by strong players in all sectors of the market: employers such as Procter and Gamble and General Electric, hospital systems, health plans, and physician groups with the power to “push back” in contract negotiations. The city is a pilot site for Bridges to Excellence, a pay-for-performance initiative spearheaded by GE. Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center is a grantee under the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Pursuing Perfection program. Among the issues explored were physician supply, incentive structures, specialty hospitals, and information technology.

Consumer Cost Sharing In Private Health Insurance: On The Threshold Of Change, Veronica V. Goff

National Health Policy Forum

Employers are asking employees to pay more for health care through higher premium contributions, share of contribution, and out-of-pocket maximums, along with variations in deductibles, copays, and coinsurance based on choice of providers, networks, drugs, and other services. This issue brief examines consumer cost-sharing trends in private insurance, discusses the outlook for cost sharing in employment-based benefits, and considers public policies to support health care markets for consumers.

Medicare's Chronic Care Improvement Pilot Program: What Is Its Potential?, Nora Super

National Health Policy Forum

This paper describes the voluntary chronic care improvement program under traditional fee-for-service Medicare as authorized by the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act (MMA) of 2003 (Public Law 108-173; section 721). This brief analyzes the emerging issues raised by this new program, including which chronic conditions and regional areas will be targeted, the types of entities that may participate, the physician’s role in care management, and the adoption and use of health information technology and evidence-based clinical guidelines.

Casting Health Messages In Terms Of Responsibility For Dietary Change: Increasing Fruit And Vegetable Consumption, Pamela Williams-Piehota, Ashley R. Cox, Stephanie A. Navarro Silvera, Linda Z. Mowad, Sharon Garcia, Nicole A. Katulak, Peter Salovey

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Objective

To compare the effectiveness of messages emphasizing the importance of either personal or social responsibility for dietary behavior change in increasing fruit and vegetable intake.

Design/Setting

Randomly assigned individually or socially oriented messages were delivered at baseline, 1 week, and 2 and 3 months later. Telephone surveys were conducted at baseline and 1 and 4 months later.

Participants

528 callers to a cancer information hotline who were not meeting the “5 A Day” dietary recommendation.

Interventions

A brief telephone-delivered message and 3 mailings of pamphlets and promotional items encouraging fruit and vegetable intake that emphasized either personal or social …

Trust And Health Service Use, Jen Chen Huey

Mental Health Law & Policy Faculty Publications

The emergence of managed care into the health care system was intended to change the behaviors of both providers and patients to contain rising health care costs. These management strategies raise concerns about interference with professional trust relationships and its impact on access to care and quality of care, especially for disabled individuals with severe mental illness. Due to their vulnerability, they are less likely to advocate for themselves in receiving proper quality health care. In addition, distrust of health care systems is a prominent feature of this population because of their past experiences with systems of care and providers …

Inside Unlv, Gian Galassi, Carol C. Harter, Jeffrey Koep

Inside UNLV

No abstract provided.

Santa Clara Magazine, Volume 45 Number 4, Spring 2004, Santa Clara University

Santa Clara Magazine

8 - TOP TEACHERS By Elizabeth Kelley Gillogly '93-Meet three SCU professors who received University awards for teaching excellence and curriculum innovations.

10 - BLAZING THE TRAIL By Victoria Hendel De La O. There are many unique challenges and rewards for the hundreds of first-generation college students at SCU.

14 - THE SCU DIFFERENCE By Margaret Avritt. The value of an SCU education goes beyond statistics and scores. Students at this university have experiences that engage and transform them.

18 - MIND OVER MONEY By Hersh Shefrin and Meir Statman. Two SCU professors of finance explore how psychology can help …