 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
Chartbook On Racial And Ethnic Disparities In U.S. Health Care [March 31, 2008] Portraits Of State-By-State Health Care Performance [March 28, 2008] Revised Rules On Student Privacy Proposed [March 27, 2008] A Look At National Health Care Systems Around The World [March 26, 2008] The Future Of Accreditation? [March 25, 2008] Health Care Costs Make Long-Term Fiscal Outlook Unsustainable [March 24, 2008] Democrats And Republicans Disagree On Quality Of U.S. Health Care [March 21, 2008] Changing Demographics Of The High School Student Population [March 20, 2008] ADHA Adopts ADHP Competencies [March 19, 2008] The Scientific Basis Of Influence And Reciprocity [March 18, 2008] NIH Launches Center To Study Genomics And Health Disparities [March 17, 2008] Global Forum Calls For Urgent Action To Resolve Health Worker Crisis [March 10, 2008] Modest Healthcare Quality Gains Outpaced By Spending [March 7, 2008] Mandating Health Coverage? [March 6, 2008] Comparing Employment Experiences Of Bachelor's Degree Recipients With Academic And Career-Oriented majors [March 5, 2008] ACE Recommendations to House-Senate Conference Committee On The Higher Education Act [March 4, 2008] RWJ Foundation Launches Commission To Look Beyond Medical Care System To Improve Health [March 3, 2008] Hardening Of The Heart During Medical School [February 29, 2008] Google To Offer Health Records On The Web [February 28, 2008] Higher Education Act Update [February 27, 2008] U.S. Health Care Spending To Double By 2017 [February 26, 2008] Scholars Program for Nursing Launched [February 25, 2008] Improved Health System Performance Through Better Care Coordination [February 22, 2008] Health Information Technology Update [February 21, 2008] How Parents And The Public Look At Higher Education Today [February 20, 2008] Geographic Variation In Health Care Spending [February 19, 2008] NIH Grantsmanship Workshop Offering [February 18, 2008] Improving Population Health: The Use of Systematic Reviews [February 15, 2008] The Burden Of Being Underinsured For Health Expenses [February 14, 2008] Primary Care Professionals: Recent Supply Trends, Projections, and Valuation Of Services [February 13, 2008] National Business Group And HHS Launch Initiative To Reduce Racial/Ethnic Health Disparities [February 12, 2008] An Evidence-Centered Approach To Accountability For Student Learning Outcomes [February 11, 2008] Case Studies In Public Health Policy And Practice [February 8, 2008] Education Secretary Spellings Criticizes Congressional Efforts To Weaken Accreditation Quality Controls [February 7, 2008] Health Literacy Practices In Primary Care Settings [February 6, 2008] Online Resource For Health Services Researchers Available [February 5, 2008] President Bush's Budget Proposal Slashes Health Professions Education Funding [February 4, 2008] CBO Testimony On The Growth Of Health Care Costs [February 1, 2008] Chartbook On Racial And Ethnic Disparities In U.S. Health Care
Portraits Of State-By-State Health Care Performance An annual analysis to help health leaders identify areas of health care delivery that need quality improvement now includes important information such as each State's rate of obesity, health insurance coverage, mental illness, and the number of specialist doctors. "State contextual factors"—are part of the 2007 State Snapshots released by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The updated State Snapshots Web tool also tracks States' progress toward reaching government-set health goals for 2010. As in previous years, the 51 State Snapshots —every State plus Washington, D.C.—summarize health care quality in three dimensions: type of care (such as preventive, acute or chronic care), setting of care (such as nursing homes or hospitals), and by clinical areas (such as care for patients with cancer or diabetes). The evaluations are expressed in simple, five-color "performance meter" illustrations that rate performance from "very weak" to "very strong." Users may explore whether a State has improved or worsened compared to other states in several areas of health care delivery. Finally, the State Snapshots provide State rankings for 15 "selected measures." These rankings show that no State does well or poorly in all areas. The State Snapshots tool can be accessed by clicking http://statesnapshots.ahrq.gov/snaps07/index.jsp . Revised Rules On Student Privacy Proposed Proposed revised regulations for the implementation of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) were published in the March 24 edition of the Federal Register . The proposed regulations aim to clarify for college and university administrators, students, and their families how information about students' health and safety can be shared. The changes reflect guidance issued over the years by the Department of Education as well as changes in the statute, Supreme Court rulings, and technological advances. Proposed changes include: • Protecting administrators who release confidential information about a student when they believe there is a threat to health or safety of the student or to others. • Expanding FERPA protections to students who enroll in online courses or degree programs. • Clarifying rules regarding release of transcripts to parents who claim students as dependents on tax returns. • Clarifying when school officials can disclose education records to another institution where the student has enrolled or plans to enroll. The proposed regulations can be accessed by clicking Comments are due by May 8, 2008.
A Look At National Health Care Systems Around The World A new policy analysis paper from The Cato Institute examines health care systems in several countries from the perspective of factors such as cost, quality, outcomes, and rationing. The document can be accessed by clicking http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-613.pdf . Judith Eaton, President of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), has an article entitled The Future Of Accreditation? appearing in the March 24 issue of Inside Higher Ed . She address the issue of the extent to which self-regulation of academic quality through accreditation can be diminished by government regulation. The article can be accessed by clicking http://www.insidehighered.com/layout/set/print/views/2008/03/24/eaton . Health Care Costs Make Long-Term Fiscal Outlook Unsustainable Democrats And Republicans Disagree On Quality Of U.S. Health Care A recent survey by the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and Harris Interactive, as part of their ongoing series, Debating Health: Election 2008 , finds that Americans are generally split on the issue of whether the United States has the best health care system in the world (45% believe the U.S. has the best system; 39% believe other countries have better systems; 15% don't know or refused to answer) and that there is a significant divide along party lines. Nearly seven-in-ten Republicans (68%) believe the U.S. health care system is the best in the world, compared to just three in ten (32%) Democrats and four in ten (40%) Independents who feel the same way. The poll was conducted during a period of debate over the comparative merits of the U.S. health care system and the health care systems in other countries. The results of the poll can be accessed by clicking Changing Demographics Of The High School Student Population [March 20, 2008] The March 2008 release of Knocking at the College Door marks the 7th edition of the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education's (WICHE) projections of high school graduates. The report, which has a history reaching back over 30 years, is recognized widely as the most comprehensive and reliable data source on the future size and composition of high school graduating classes across the country. It also serves as a vital tool for effective educational planning and policymaking. The 7th edition includes data on enrollments and graduates by state and for major racial/ethnic groups covering the period from 1991-92 through 2021-22. The document is intended for use by policymakers, legislators, governors' office staff, state agencies (especially SHEEO offices, state education departments, and agencies concerned with workforce and economic development), school districts, individual public and nonpublic schools, public and nonpublic institutions of higher education, librarians, and educational researchers, among others. The 7th edition was made possible, in part, through the generous support of ACT, Inc., and the College Board. The report can be accessed by clicking The Board of Trustees of the American Dental Hygienists' Association (ADHA), at its winter meeting, adopted the Competencies for the Advanced Dental Hygiene Practitioner (ADHP). The ADHP model has been created by ADHA as an answer to the oral health crisis in America. ADHA's vision is that this new mid-level provider would safely provide quality diagnostic, preventive, therapeutic, and restorative services directly to the un-served public. In 2004 the ADHA House of Delegates, representing more than 120,000 dental hygienists across the country, recognized the need for ADHA to increase its efforts to address the public's unmet oral health needs and thereby approved the development of an advanced dental hygiene practitioner. The approval of these ADHP competencies represents the culmination of nearly four years of work. The finalized version of the ADHP Competencies document will be posted at www.ADHA.org in the next few weeks. The Scientific Basis Of Influence And Reciprocity Industry support of medical education can influence the objectivity and integrity of academic teaching, learning, research, and practice. This publication from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) presents the findings of a scientific symposium that summarized the latest evidence from neuroscience and the behavioral sciences that addresses the challenges to objectivity presented by gifts, favors, and influence in academic medicine. The report can be accessed by clicking NIH Launches Center To Study Genomics And Health Disparities Officials at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced the establishment of the NIH Intramural Center for Genomics and Health Disparities (NICGHD), a new venue for research about the way populations are affected by diseases, including obesity, diabetes and hypertension. NICGHD will employ a genomics approach, collecting and analyzing genetic, clinical, lifestyle and socio-economic data to study a range of clinical conditions that have puzzled and troubled public health experts for decades. The trans-NIH center will be directed by internationally renowned genetic epidemiologist Charles N. Rotimi, former director of the National Human Genome Center at Howard University. NICGHD will be established within the NIH Office of Intramural Research and administered by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI). Additional support for the center will come from the NIH Office of the Director, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), and the Center for Information Technology. The research activities of NICGHD will take place on the NIH Bethesda campus.
Global Forum Calls For Urgent Action To Resolve Health Worker Crisis The first Global Forum on Human Resources for Health called for immediate and sustained action to resolve the critical shortage of health workers around the world, setting out the essential steps that need to be taken over the next decade to turn the crisis around. Nearly 1500 participants, including donors, experts, and more than 30 ministers of health, education and finance, endorsed the Kampala Declaration and Agenda for Global Action . The Forum, held in Kampala, Uganda, and organized by the Global Health Workforce Alliance (GHWA), mandated the Alliance to monitor progress made on the Agenda and report its findings in 2010. The Agenda calls on all countries to give top priority to training and recruiting sufficient health personnel from within their own country and to provide adequate incentives and better working conditions to ensure the retention of health workers. It calls on international and regional financial institutions to relax constraints such as public health recruitment ceilings and calls on WHO to accelerate negotiations for a code of practice on the international recruitment of health workers. WHO estimates that the world needs over 4 million additional health workers, and 57 countries are suffering from an acute shortage. Sub-Saharan Africa is particularly affected by this crisis, with one million health workers needed for this region alone. Modest Healthcare Quality Gains Outpaced By Spending The quality of health care improved by an average 2.3 percent a year between 1994 and 2005, a rate that reflects some important advances but points to an overall slowing in quality gains, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's (AHRQ) 2007 National Healthcare Quality Report and National Healthcare Disparities Report . The improvement rate is lower than the 3.1 percent overall average annual improvement rate reported in the 2006 reports. Those reports measured trends between 1994 and 2004. Quality improvement rates are lower than widely documented increases in health care spending. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services estimate health care expenditures rose by a 6.7 percent average annual rate between 1994 and 2005. While the 2007 reports show some notable gains, such as improvements in the care of heart disease patients , the Dispartities Report shows that many major disparities remain. This year's National Healthcare Quality Report synthesizes more than 200 “quality measures,” which range from how many pregnant women received prenatal care to what portion of nursing home residents were controlled by physical restraints. The National Healthcare Disparities Report , meanwhile, summarizes which racial, ethnic, or income groups are benefiting from improvements in care. The National Healthcare Quality Report can be accessed by clicking The National Healthcare Disparities Report can be accessed by clicking Candidates and citizens alike are searching for a pathway to bring health coverage to 47 million uninsured adults and children. Absent a single payer system, according to a widely cited Urban Institute analysis, covering everyone won't be possible without an individual mandate. The analysis can be accessed by clicking Comparing Employment Experiences Of Bachelor's Degree Recipients With Academic And Career-Oriented majors Using longitudinal data from the 1992-93 Baccalaureate and Beyond Study (B&B:93/03) representing about 1.2 million bachelor's degree recipients that year, a report from the national Center for Education Statistics examines college graduates' work experiences in 1994, 1997, and 2003, describing their labor force status, employment stability and intensity, occupations and industries, salaries and benefits, and perceptions about their jobs. It compares the experiences of graduates with academic and career-oriented undergraduate majors. The report can be accessed by clicking http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2008/2008155.pdf . ACE Recommendations to House-Senate Conference Committee On The Higher Education Act Legislation to reauthorize the Higher Education Act (HEA) is headed toward a House-Senate conference committee to reconcile differences in the two bills, H.R. 4137 and S. 1642. Representatives from the American Council on Education and other higher education associations presented House and Senate staff with a formal list of recommendations for discussion and consideration by lawmakers during the conference. Included was a Letter on the Accreditation Provisions in the two bills. A copy of the letter can be accessed by clicking RWJ Foundation Launches Commission To Look Beyond Medical Care System To Improve Health Shortfalls in health take years off the lives of all Americans and hurt our nation's economy, according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), which today announced the new Commission to Build a Healthier America . Mark McClellan, M.D., Ph.D., director, Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform at the Brookings Institution and former FDA commissioner and administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and Alice Rivlin, Ph.D., senior economist at the Brookings Institution and former director of the Office of Management and Budget, will co-chair the two-year commission. The national, independent and nonpartisan health commission will focus on factors outside the health care system and identify non-medical, evidence-based strategies-both short- and long-term-to improve the health of all Americans. The group will investigate how factors such as education, environment, income, and housing, shape and affect personal behavioral choices through an extensive inquiry that will include regional field hearings. The commission members represent a diverse group of innovators and experts with the ability to cross traditional boundaries, mobilize partners to action and identify practical, timely solutions. Hardening Of The Heart During Medical School Google To Offer Health Records On The Web Yesterday, The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) released an update that contains an overview of accreditation-related provisions in the House bill (H.R. 4137) reauthorizing the Higher Education Act. The document can be accessed by clicking U.S. Health Care Spending To Double By 2017 Growth in health care spending in the United States is projected to be 6.7 percent in 2007, according to a report issued today by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Average annual growth is expected to remain near that rate through 2017. The analysis was prepared by CMS's Office of the Actuary and published online by the journal Health Affairs . Over the full projection period (2007-2017), annual growth in health spending is anticipated to be higher than annual growth in both the overall economy (4.9 percent) and in general inflation (2.4 percent). As a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), health care spending is projected to increase to 16.3 percent in 2007 from 16.0 percent in 2006. By the end of the projection period, health care spending in the United States is expected to reach just over $4.3 trillion and comprise 19.5 percent of GDP. For health spending through public programs, growth is anticipated to decelerate to 6.8 percent in 2008 after the 8.2 percent growth in 2006 that was largely influenced by the implementation of the Medicare Part D drug benefit. Public health spending growth is then expected to increase gradually toward the end of the projection period as the leading edge of the baby boom generation begins to enroll in Medicare. The report can be accessed by clicking http://www.cms.hhs.gov/NationalHealthExpendData/Downloads/proj2007.pdf . Scholars Program for Nursing Launched The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) has launched a new scholars program to develop the next generation of national leaders in academic nursing. The RWJF Nurse Faculty Scholars program will provide $28 million over the next five years to outstanding junior nursing faculty to help them advance in their fields and seek faculty positions earlier in their careers by providing mentorship, leadership training, salary and research support. The National Program Office will be housed at Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing. Applicants must be nominated by the dean of a fully-accredited U.S. nursing school and meet the eligibility requirements. Details about eligibility and selection criteria can be accessed by clicking http://www.rwjf.org . Improved Health System Performance Through Better Care Coordination A report from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) attempts to assess whether -- and to what degree better care coordination can improve health system performance in quality and cost-efficiency. Coordination of care refers to policies that help create patient-centered care that is more coherent both within and across care settings and over time. Broadly speaking, it means making health-care systems more attentive to the needs of individual patients and ensuring they obtain the appropriate care for acute episodes as well as care aimed at stabilizing their health over long periods in less costly environments. These issues are of particular interest to patients with chronic conditions and the elderly who may find it difficult to "navigate" fragmented health-care systems that are often found in OECD countries. The report can be accessed by clicking Health Information Technology Update Health information technology (IT) offers promise for improving patient safety and reducing inefficiencies. Given its role in providing health care in the United States, the federal government has been urged to take a leadership role to improve the quality and effectiveness of health care, including the adoption of IT. In April 2004, President Bush called for widespread adoption of interoperable electronic health records within 10 years and issued an executive order that established the position of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The National Coordinator, appointed in May 2004, released a framework for strategic action two months later. In late 2005, HHS also awarded several contracts to address key areas of health IT. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has been reporting on the department's efforts toward nationwide implementation of health IT since 2005. Even though HHS is undertaking these various activities, it has not yet developed a national strategy that defines plans, milestones, and performance measures for reaching the President's goal of interoperable electronic health records by 2014. Without an integrated national strategy, HHS will be challenged to ensure that the outcomes of its various health IT initiatives effectively support the President's goal for widespread adoption of interoperable electronic health records. The GAO report can be accessed by clicking http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08499t.pdf. How Parents And The Public Look At Higher Education Today Traditionally, the United States higher education system has been the envy of the world for its high quality, accessibility to millions of Americans, ability to train generations of skilled workers, and its contribution to creating the vast American middle class. Today, however, higher education is experiencing new pressures. A new generation of students—including many minorities, children of recent immigrants, and middle-aged and older Americans—is seeking access to colleges and universities. This is happening precisely when public funding for higher education seems more strained than ever. At the same time, other countries are ramping up their own higher education systems to compete in the global economy. Recently, the Secretary of Education's Commission on the Future of Higher Education called for reforms such as greater accountability and productivity in higher education. This report from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education and Public Agenda explores how the American public is thinking about higher education today. Are Americans pleased with the system as it exists, or are they looking for change? How is the system working from the public's point of view and from the point of view of parents whose children may soon be students? The report can be accessed by clicking http://www.highereducation.org/reports/squeeze_play/squeeze_play.pdf . Geographic Variation In Health Care Spending Per capita health care spending and patterns of medical practice vary widely across the United States. In this paper, written at the request of the Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) examines the amount of geographic variation in spending, the reasons for that variation, and its implications for evaluating the efficiency of the health care system. In keeping with CBO's mandate to provide objective, impartial analysis, the paper makes no policy recommendations. The report can be accessed by clicking http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/89xx/doc8972/02-15-GeogHealth.pdf . NIH Grantsmanship Workshop Offering The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), will conduct a three-day grantsmanship workshop to provide researchers, fellows, and graduate students with an in-depth understanding of the NIH grants and review processes, clarify Federal regulations and policies, and highlight areas of special interest and concern. Emphasis will be placed on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) research. The workshop will include time to interact and discuss research ideas with NCCAM staff. Due to limited space, attendees will be selected through an application process. Applications are being accepted until February 28, 2008 . Accepted participants will be notified via e-mail by March 31, 2008. For application materials, click http://www.regonline.com/Checkin.asp?EventId=175070 . Improving Population Health: The Use of Systematic Reviews A report from the Milbank Memorial Fund describes the methods, applications, and value for policymakers of systematic reviews that evaluate interventions intended to improve population health. These reviews are the best available scientific guidance for choosing among alternative policies. Systematic reviews apply the methods of research (sometimes called “evidence”) synthesis, a rapidly developing area of inquiry that merges the biomedical and social sciences. The CDC and the Milbank Memorial Fund commissioned this report in order to explain the methods and uses of systematic reviews to a broad audience. Incomplete or erroneous information about systematic reviews continues to be published in the media and distributed by groups trying to influence policy. Some misinformation that is circulated by researchers in other fields and health journalists can be attributed to their not understanding the rapidity with which the field is advancing. According to a recent article in Plos Medicine , peer-reviewed journals published approximately 2,500 systematic reviews in 2005—up from 87 the first time they were counted in 1987. Misinformation also can result from the complex interactions of science and policy as well as commercial and nonprofit advocacy. The report can be accessed by clicking http://www.milbank.org/reports/0712populationhealth/0712populationhealth.html#executive . The Burden Of Being Underinsured For Health Expenses Nearly one out of four Americans under the age of 65—61.6 million individuals—is in a family that will spend more than 10 percent of its pre-tax income on health care costs in 2008. The vast majority of them (82.4 percent) have health insurance and17.8 million non-elderly Americans—more than three-quarters of whom have health insurance —are in families that will spend more than 25 percent of their pre-tax income on health care costs in 2008. An analysis commissioned by Families USA also reveals the growth in the number of persons in families with high health care costs over the last eight years. Between 2000 and 2008, the number of individuals in families that spend more than 10 percent of their pre-tax income on health care will have increased by nearly 19.9 million and those in families that spend more than 25 percent of their pre-tax income on health care will have increased by nearly 6.2 million. The report can be accessed by clicking http://www.familiesusa.org/assets/pdfs/too-great-a-burden.pdf . Primary Care Professionals: Recent Supply Trends, Projections, and Valuation Of Services On February 12, A. Bruce Steinwald, Health Care Director at the U.S. Government Accountability Office, testified before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee on the topic of primary care. Despite a longstanding objective of title VII to increase the total supply of primary care professionals, health care marketplace signals suggest an undervaluing of primary care medicine, creating a concern about the future supply of primary care professionals. As evidence, health policy experts cite a growing income gap between primary care physicians and specialists and a declining number of U.S. medical students entering primary care specialties—internal medicine, family medicine, general practice, and general pediatrics. Moreover, the federal agency responsible for implementing title VII programs, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), notes that physician “extenders”—namely, physician assistants and nurse practitioners—also may be choosing procedure-driven specialties, such as surgery, cardiology, and oncology, in increasing numbers. His testimony can be accessed by clicking http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08472t.pdf . National Business Group And HHS Launch Initiative To Reduce Racial/Ethnic Health Disparities The National Business Group on Health (NBGH) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Minority Health (OMH) announced yesterday a new two-year effort to strengthen ongoing partnerships and build new business-community coalitions to reduce racial and ethnic health disparities and improve the quality of health care for minority populations. This collaboration is part of the National Partnership for Action (NPA), a broader effort by HHS and OMH to bring continued national emphasis on ending health disparities. The NPA is designed to mobilize and connect individuals and organizations across the country to create quality health outcomes for all people. While some employers have already developed initiatives to reduce health disparities, the new NBGH/OMH partnership plans to facilitate alliances between business, medicine and public health organizations to improve the quality of health care for racial and ethnic minority populations, while promoting beneficiary health and employee productivity. An Evidence-Centered Approach To Accountability For Student Learning Outcomes A new report from the Educational Testing Service (ETS) is intended to address the need to measure the unique aspects of learning that occur in individual institutions as well as the types of common learning that are expected across all higher education institutions. This report is intended to be of use to those faculty and administrative leaders who are non-experts in the assessment field, but who will be responsible for leading their institutions and/or systems through the shift toward a transparent system of accountability for student learning outcomes. The report can be accessed by clicking http://www.ets.org/Media/Education_Topics/pdf/COEIII_report.pdf . Case Studies In Public Health Policy And Practice A new book from the Pfizer Public Health Group, titled Moments in Leadership: Case Studies in Public Health Policy and Practice , examines the importance of policy leadership in promoting the health and safety of populations. Through a case study format that highlights policy advances in such areas as patient safety, health disparities, access to healthcare for the uninsured and underserved and health promotion, the book tells the stories of 21 individuals who, by embodying and using their leadership qualities, changed the public health landscape through policy and practice. Moments in Leadership is available free of charge and can be ordered on the Pfizer public Health web site at www.pfizerpublichealth.com/publications.aspx .
Education Secretary Spellings Criticizes Congressional Efforts To Weaken Accreditation Quality Controls Education Secretary Margaret Spellings, in an op-ed article published yesterday in the Washington political publication Politico, criticized Democratic lawmakers and colleges for colluding to stop the Bush administration's efforts to strengthen the quality control aspects of accreditation. She said Democrats had sided with “old structures and entrenched stakeholders” — presumably traditional colleges and accreditors — who are “insular, clubby, and wish to be accountable to no one but themselves.” Her article can be viewed by clicking http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0208/8361.html . Health Literacy Practices In Primary Care Settings Low health literacy is widespread among U.S. patients, yet limited research has been done to assess the effects of health literacy practices designed to combat the problem, particularly among safety-net providers in primary care settings. This report presents findings from a 2005 study in which the Association of Clinicians for the Underserved first did an online survey of health care facilities across the country and then followed it up with visits to five selected sites for staff and patient interviews. The study identified five health literacy practices that staff considered especially valuable for their group's patients and potentially applicable to other clinics: a team effort, beginning at the front desk; use of standardized communication tools; use of plain language, face-to-face communication, pictorials, and educational materials; clinicians partner with patients to achieve goals; and organizational commitment to create an environment where health literacy is not assumed. The report can be accessed by clicking Online Resource For Health Services Researchers Available AcademyHealth, a Washington, DC-based organization, is making available a new online resource for health services researchers. It provides current information on key research methods and resources in HSR and aims to spur dialogue about analytic methods among health services researchers. The resource can be accessed by clicking http://www.hsrmethods.org/ . President Bush's Budget Proposal Slashes Health Professions Education Funding The President's budget for FY 2009 was submitted to Congress today. It proposes eliminating funding for all Title VII health professions education programs and requests $110 million for Title VIII nursing programs, a $46 million (29.6 percent) cut. Within Title VIII, the budget proposes eliminating funding for Advanced Education Nursing and increasing the funding for the Nursing Education Loan Repayment and Scholarship Program and the Nursing Faculty Loan Program. Additional details are available in HRSA's FY 2009 Budget Justification document, beginning on page 67. It can be accessed by clicking ftp://ftp.hrsa.gov/about/budgetjustification09.pdf The Health and Human Services FY 2009 Budget in Brief lists HRSA programs on pages 18-23 and can be accessed on the HHS website by clicking http://www.hhs.gov/budget/09budget/2009BudgetInBrief.pdf . CBO Testimony On The Growth Of Health Care Costs Peter Orszag, Director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) testified at a hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on the Budget on January 31. He indicated that no other single factor will exert as much influence over the federal government's long-term fiscal balance as the future growth rate of costs in the health care sector. Most analysts agree that the most important factor driving the long-term growth of health care costs has been the emergence, adoption, and widespread diffusion of new medical technologies and services by the U.S. health care system. Technological advances are likely to yield new, desired medical services in the future, fueling further spending growth and imposing difficult choices between health care and other priorities. CBO projects that, without changes in law, total spending on health care will rise from 16 percent of GDP in 2007 to 25 percent in 2025 and 49 percent in 2082. Federal spending on Medicare (net of beneficiaries' premiums) and Medicaid would rise from 4 percent of GDP in 2007 to 7 percent in 2025 and 19 percent in 2082. A copy of his testimony can be obtained by clicking
|
 |
|||
 |
|||||||
