As accountable care organizations proliferate across the nation, delivery systems still struggle to balance quality improvement, cost containment, and migration toward accountable care. This paper describes the phased approach where the University of Florida Health Science Center and Shands Teaching Hospital and Clinics, Inc, and Orlando Health have jointly developed a series of clinical and health services that are of the highest quality and are offered at the lowest cost. The result is a regional collaborative that will be the foundation for a regional accountable care organization, first leveraging clinical core competencies, then moving to a more integrated model.
The authors discuss the design and evaluation of a health information technology platform that enables comprehensive, automated assessment of care quality in electronic medical records.
Adults currently aging into Medicare utilized counseling and psychotherapy services at higher rates than those in prior cohorts at the same age.
The authors examined 2 high-risk classification methods to compare and contrast the patient populations, and to identify the preferred method for predicting subsequent emergency department visits.
The authors examined 2 high-risk classification methods to compare and contrast the patient populations, and to identify the preferred method for predicting subsequent emergency department visits.
Pharmacy and medical claims data showed that patients whose clinicians had access to pharmacogenetic test results had increased adherence and overall cost savings.
Interactive voice response reminders had neither a positive nor a negative effect on promoting influenza vaccination over reminders via postcards, but are a potentially less expensive option.
Many patients offered, and those already participating in, care management are unaware of what care management is and that they have participated.
Over 50% of inpatients are unmarried and experience 22% longer LOS. Racial/income disparities are not unavoidable; how care is paid for and delivered may make a difference.
Substantial variation in prescription spending and use of brand-name drugs exists across the VA healthcare system, with no apparent relationship to quality of care.
Postvisit phone education from an emergency physician and/or mailed information about alternative venues of care reduced subsequent emergency department (ED) utilization for low-acuity treat-and-release adult ED patients.