• August 26, 2010Web First
  • Tracking Hospital Use of Electronic Health Records

  • A modest increase from 2008 to 2009 - but only 2 percent meet the federal government’s "meaningful use" criteria.
  • Ashish K. Jha, Catherine M. DesRoches, Peter D. Kralovec and Maulik S. Joshi
  • August 12, 2010Web First
  • Nonelderly Medicare Beneficiaries

  • New report shows that for the eight million disabled Medicare beneficiaries under 65, access and cost can be more problematic.
  • Juliette Cubanski and Patricia Neuman
  • July 29, 2010Web First
  • Colorectal Cancer Screening Options

  • A new study demonstrates that for screening programs with limited budgets, the Hemoccult SENSA test would result in more life-years gained across an overall population.
  • Sujha Subramanian, Georgiy Bobashev and Robert J. Morris
  • August 05, 2010HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
  • Electronic Health Records and Meaningful Use

  • With new final regulations governing “meaningful use” of EHR, what steps will the private sector take and what roadblocks must be addressed? David Blumenthal, National Coordinator for Health IT, and Donald Berwick, administrator, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, along with representatives of eight insurer and health specialty groups offer reactions on Health Affairs Blog.
  • July 30, 2010Health Reform
  • Implementing Health Reform

  • This ongoing Health Affairs Blog series by law professor Timothy Jost outlines key reform implementation issues: pre-existing condition coverage, appeals of coverage denials, coverage for preventive services, a patient bill of rights, grandfathered plans, tax-exempt hospitals, small-employer tax credit, Web portal, reinsurance for early retirees, and young adult insurance coverage.
  • Update: Extra Federal Support For Medicaid

  • Congress has voted to extend for six months a temporary increase in federal Medicaid funding for recession-plagued states. The measure will avert potentially drastic state spending cuts.August 11, 2010
  • Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan

  • A new program will provide coverage to people with costly preexisting health conditions. But the program faces challenges--starting with the funding.August 10, 2010
  • Accountable Care Organizations

  • This year's health care reform legislation authorizes Medicare to contract with ACOs and provide care for enrollees. What awaits health systems, physicians, administrators, insurers, patients, and policy makers as ACOs take shape?July 27, 2010
  • Ashamed To Admit It: Owning Up To Medical Error

  • A doctor considers the roles of disclosure and apology in medicine, wondering if the profession needs a version of open-heart surgery to examine the feelings and emotions within.
  • by Danielle Ofri