AcademyHealth Blog

Welcome to the AcademyHealth blog, together with our members, we promote interaction across the health research and policy arenas by bringing together a broad spectrum of players to share their perspectives. Here we offer important perspectives from people passionate about expanding access to care, reducing costs and improving quality, as well as updates on AcademyHealth activities relevant to the community.

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States Leverage Medicaid Waivers to Combat Health Challenges, Pilot Funding Approaches and Work Requirements

AcademyHealth reviews recent developments in state Medicaid pilots designed to test innovative alterations to existing Medicaid programs through Section 1115 waivers.

Posted Oct 30, 2019 By Sofia Toso

Topics Insurance, Medicare & Medicaid Access to Care

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Creating an Evidence-Based Cancer Survivorship Care Quality Framework

Larissa Nekhlyudov, AcademyHealth member and inaugural NCI/AcademyHealth visiting scholar, highlights her work to develop a cancer survivorship care quality framework.

Posted Oct 17, 2019 By Larissa Nekhlyudov, M.D., M.P.H.

Topics Quality Improvement Public & Population Health

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Addressing Teen Crises: A Challenge for Mental Illness Awareness Week

A new policy playbook identifies the top policy priorities to pave the way to a true safety net for adolescents in mental health crisis situations.

Posted Oct 10, 2019 By Denise Dougherty, Ph.D., Elizabeth Cope, Ph.D., M.P.H.

Topics Advocacy Delivering Better Care

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Reflections on the Flywheel Effect of Government on Digital Health Tech

In this interview with Greg Downing, CareJourney President Aneesh Chopra reflects on 10 years since the HITECH Act and offers his thoughts on the role of transparency, patient data access, and interoperability in delivering better care.

Posted Oct 9, 2019 By Aneesh Chopra, M.P.P., Gregory Downing, D.O., Ph.D.

Topics Using Health Data Delivering Better Care

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Where Is Public Health in the 2020 Election?

Health care is a leading issue in the 2020 election. But that doesn’t mean the debate addresses the issues public health advocates think are the most important. AcademyHealth Senior Scholar Edward L. Hunter offers his perspective on how the debate should be broadened to achieve fundamental change.

Posted Oct 1, 2019 By Edward L. Hunter

Topics Public & Population Health Building Healthy Communities

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Addressing Low-Value Care: The Promise of Electronic Health Data

The wealth of new, electronic health data sources presents new opportunities for conducting research on and ultimately eliminating low-value care.

Posted Sep 23, 2019 By Marya Khan, M.P.H.

Topics Using Health Data Delivering Better Care

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Adopting Clinical Analytic Tools in your Institution’s Health Information Management Strategy: Peril or Promise?

Health Data Leadership Institute speaker Rebecca Freeman provides first-hand reflections on the complexities of making something useable out of the data quagmire many find themselves standing in.

Posted Sep 20, 2019 By Rebecca Freeman, Ph.D., R.N., P.M.P.

Topics Using Health Data Hospitals & Health Systems Delivering Better Care

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Reflections on World Patient Safety Day: An Urgent Call for Radical Action

With medical errors causing more than 250,000 deaths annually, Karen Wolk Feinstein of the Pittsburgh Regional Health Initiative, an AcademyHealth organizational affiliate, issues a call for change in four key areas to save lives and improve care.

Posted Sep 19, 2019 By Karen Wolk Feinstein, Ph.D.

Topics Delivering Better Care Quality Improvement Costs & Payments

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Senate’s Labor HHS Funding Bill Includes Unacceptable Cuts to Health Research

AcademyHealth urges the Senate to revisit a devastating cut to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and to act to ensure sufficient and stable funding as it works with the House to finalize spending bills this fall.

Posted Sep 18, 2019 By Lisa Simpson, MB, BCh, M.P.H., FAAP

Topics Advocacy

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Evaluation of Iowa’s 1115 Waiver Highlights Importance of Communication, Instrument Testing

Recent AcademyHealth webinar presenter and behavioral scientist Natoshia Askelson reflects on the evaluation of Iowa’s Healthy Behavior Program 1115 Waiver.

Posted Sep 18, 2019 By Natoshia M. Askelson, Ph.D., M.P.H.

Topics Access to Care Insurance, Medicare & Medicaid