Quality Improvement

With a massive growth in data and information, there is a bounty of opportunity for value creation at hand. But delivery systems will have to be strategic about the use of data in order to be truly innovative.

Research shows mental health care consumers value provider performance data, among other factors, when making treatment decisions.

Highlighting research presented at the AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting (ARM) in June 2018, Rebecca Bruno of MITRE, an AcademyHealth organizational affiliate, points to solutions for addressing social determinants of health and improving health outcomes and reduced costs of care for the Medicaid population.

Amidst a myriad of health policy changes, physician advocacy is now more relevant than ever. AcademyHealth member, Dr. Anita Shah and coauthor Dr. Abby Nerlinger highlight a tool for documenting a scholarly approach to advocacy.

The holy grail in health care is not fancier technology and tools, it is physician and patient behavior change. Machine learning will truly come of age when it can improve the decision-making of clinicians and patients or improve their efficiency in carrying out the actions that follow from those decisions.

As we bear witness to all the change afoot, our challenge is to identify when – and for whom – a change is an improvement. For those of us who produce the evidence that help us determine this, there is no time to rest.

While previous research suggests that people prioritize interpersonal aspects of care quality, new research finds they also value clinical aspects of quality. How highly people rate the importance of these two aspects varies depending on their health needs.

Recent study findings, highlighted this week in Health Affairs, find that consumers rely on sources outside the traditional health care system when making decisions about their health. A new call for proposals seeks to build the evidence base on building trust within the health care system.

Retail health clinics are a growing care source now capable of treating the approximately 100 million Americans with diabetes, asthma, or hypertension. AcademyHealth student member Elizabeth Danielson highlights the need for research into cost and quality of this care.