All Articles In 'Innovations'
Health IT and Care Coordination: Role of Health Information Technology in Care Coordination
Care coordination is a process that ensures a patient’s health services and information sharing preferences and needs are met. Care coordination, a critical component during the nation’s current shift from a fragmented system toward one that [...]
Medical Devices and the FDA: FDA Taking Longer to Approve New Medical Devices for U.S. Market
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reviews the safety and effectiveness of new medical devices sold in the United States, and The Medical Device User Fee and Modernization Act of 2002 (MDUFMA) authorizes FDA to collect [...]
Comparative Effectiveness Research: How Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Spent $474 Million in ARRA Funds
As part of the $1.1 billion provided to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) earmarked for comparative effectiveness research (CER) under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA or Recovery Act) of 2009, $474 [...]
Health Plans and Quality Improvement Reporting Under the Affordable Care Act: Recommendations for Implementing Reporting of Quality Improvement Strategies
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issue employer group health plan quality improvement reporting requirements. Reports shall cover specified quality improvement activities regarding plan or coverage benefit and [...]
Nursing Home Quality: Improving Efforts to Monitor Implementation of the Quality Indicator Survey
Nursing homes that receive federal Medicaid or Medicare funding must meet federal quality standards. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and states, accountable for ensuring compliance, inspect nursing facilities periodically using a CMS-developed and state-administered survey or [...]
Healthcare Quality and Cost: Engaging Employers as Change Agents in Lowering Costs and Improving Quality
As the second-largest health care service purchaser, employers have an opportunity to use their substantial market leverage as a means to augment quality. If mobilized and motivated, employers could act as a key change agent by [...]
Health Coverage Expansion: Implications of ACA for American Indians and Alaskan Natives
As part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Medicaid coverage could be expanded to cover nearly 400,000 currently uninsured American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN). This population, particularly sensitive to health disparities, suffers from elevated disease [...]
National Advisory Council Subcommittee Identifies Core Set of Health Quality Measures for Medicaid-eligible Adults
The AHRQ released its background report, National Advisory Council Subcommittee: Identifying Health Care Quality Measures for Medicaid-Eligible Adults. Required by the Affordable Care Act, this report identified a recommended core set of quality measures for Medicaid-eligible [...]
Prescription Drug Pricing: Estimating Generic Drug Cost Savings
Prescription drug spending rose by $135 billion between 2001 and 2010 to comprise approximately 12 percent of the nation’s overall healthcare outlay. While drug expenditure was one of the fastest growing components of U.S. healthcare spending [...]
Prevention: Variation in Cost of Diabetes, Cancer, and Cholesterol Screenings
More than 75 percent of total health care costs cover preventable chronic conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) mandates that self-insured employers and health plans provide common, evidence-based wellness screenings [...]
Stay Connected
Managing Editor
