"Health & Medical News"

The pace of health care quality improvement appears to be slowing, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s fifth annual report compiling federal and state data on more than 200 quality metrics.

A composite measure of health care quality improved at a 2.3% average annualized rate between 1994 and 2005, with the rate falling to 1.5% from 2000 to 2005. And in a first stab at examining the cost efficiency of the American health care system, AHRQ noted that costs, as estimated by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, jumped 6.7% from 1994 to 2005.

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From:
Treatment Research Institute
600 Public Ledger Building, 150 S. Independence Mall West
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Tel: (215) 399-0980
http://www.tresearch.org

Paying substance abuse treatment providers for results, not services, may lead to improved quality of care, according to the first published study of a novel performance-based contracting system implemented by the State of Delaware in 2002.

Popularity: unranked [?]

From:
Treatment Research Institute
600 Public Ledger Building, 150 S. Independence Mall West
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Tel: (215) 399-0980
http://www.tresearch.org

Paying substance abuse treatment providers for results, not services, may lead to improved quality of care, according to the first published study of a novel performance-based contracting system implemented by the State of Delaware in 2002.

Popularity: unranked [?]

From:
Treatment Research Institute
600 Public Ledger Building, 150 S. Independence Mall West
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Tel: (215) 399-0980
http://www.tresearch.org

Paying substance abuse treatment providers for results, not services, may lead to improved quality of care, according to the first published study of a novel performance-based contracting system implemented by the State of Delaware in 2002.

Popularity: unranked [?]

From:
Treatment Research Institute
600 Public Ledger Building, 150 S. Independence Mall West
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Tel: (215) 399-0980
http://www.tresearch.org

Paying substance abuse treatment providers for results, not services, may lead to improved quality of care, according to the first published study of a novel performance-based contracting system implemented by the State of Delaware in 2002.

Popularity: unranked [?]

Washington — Congress’ Medicare advisers recommended a 1.1% physician reimbursement increase for next year and a reduction in payments to Medicare private health plans.

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission’s annual March report assumes that lawmakers again will act to prevent physician pay cuts triggered by the sustainable growth rate formula. Existing law calls for a 10.6% reduction to take effect July 1 and an additional cut of about 5% in 2009.

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Washington — About one in six eligible physicians and other health professionals participated in a new Medicare quality reporting program during its first five months, according to preliminary figures from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. About half of them are on track to get up to a 1.5% bonus for their efforts.

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Washington — Federal regulators have proposed sweeping patient safety rules to give physicians and others a confidential, voluntary way to report medical errors and near mistakes. Several health care organizations applauded the release of the long-awaited regulations but want a closer look before making a final judgment.

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Barack Obama stated support for marijuana decriminalization in 2004 but has backed off that position during the 2008 presidential campaign, the Washington Times reported Feb. 1.

While running for Senate in 2004, Obama told a group of Northwestern University students, “I think we need to rethink and decriminalize our marijuana laws. But I’m not somebody who believes in legalization of marijuana.”

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The vast majority of U.S. taxpayers say that youth offenders can be rehabilitated and that failing to do so is tantamount to giving up on their future, according to a new survey and study.

A poll (PDF format, 246 KB) conducted by the Center for Children’s Law and Policy found that 70 percent of Americans view imprisoning young offenders without providing rehabilitation negatively, while 90 percent believe that nearly all young offenders have the potential for change.

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