This weekly blog series is a roundup of recent news items and developments that I found interesting and would like to share.
Please see the Bipartisan Policy Center Prevention Task Force report on Improving Treatment and Prevention. They reach a conclusion similar to ours that healthcare delivery systems at the home and community level can be an effective means of prevention. A Prevention Prescription for Improving Health and Healthcare in America
Please see this insightful and well organized study by the information technology association of India on the role their business in the future of healthcare in India. Their conclusions apply to many countries. Role of Information Technology in Indian Healthcare
This is an excellent summary of health technology. Data Driven Healthcare
Check out the Silver Economy by the Financial Times.
Please see the description of the Netherlands Buurtzorg Model. This article summarizes how self governing teams of nurses deliver elder care. Homecare by Self Governing Nursing Teams: The Netherlands’ Buurtzorg Model
This is an excellent report on the elderly in India, commissioned by FICCI, an Indian business association, and executed by Deloitte. It is an excellent summary of the impact on India of the increase in the number of elderly. The report summarizes some of the approaches in other countries – Singapore, China, and Brazil – that might be relevant to addressing the issues in India. The report is a strong indication of the growing awareness in India of the need to address the health and social needs of the elderly. I am pleased that ACCESS Health India has begun to address these issues. Ensuring Care for the Golden Years: Way Forward for India
The annual report on disparities in healthcare in the United States, mandated by Congress, is appended. The report summarized 250 measures of healthcare systems’ quality and disparity. These measures may be useful in analyzing healthcare functions in other countries. Overall, the Quality and Disparities Report demonstrates that quality of care is improving, particularly for hospital care, and for measures that are being publicly reported by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. 2014 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
This is a good example of a statewide program in the United States that confronts end of life issues with compassion. Wisconsin Is Learning How to Die
Germany Passes Japan to Have World’s Lowest Birth Rate – Study
This is an example of a research project that conducts experiments on how the elderly interact with home technology. Elderly people will live in a model apartment equipped with experimental monitoring and assistance devices. The results can inform future design choices. A Live In Lab to Test Aging in Place Technology
This is an interesting overview of the need for high quality information technology for the function of clinically integrated networks. The Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission define a clinically integrated network as an active and ongoing program to create a high degree of interdependence and cooperation among physicians and hospitals to control costs and ensure quality. This definition does not extend to nurses, nurse practitioners, medical technicians, community and home caregivers. Our definition of integrated care does includes all of these healthcare workers. Clinically Integrated Networks and Population Health: Taking the Next Step
See this interesting article on telehealth in Mississippi. Evidently, need plus lobbying power has made it so. Mississippi Emerges as Leader in Telemedicine
The report Making Your Community Livable for All Ages: What’s Working, published by the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging, is a valuable contribution to the literature of livable cities.
This is an interesting self generated joint learning network with cooperative operational activities. It will be interesting to study the organizational architecture of the Village to Village Network. Such networks may be self perpetuating.
This is an important study, supported by the Commonwealth Fund, of the positive impact of medical homes on both the quality and cost of care. One conclusion is that shared saving incentives may be key the success of medical homes. Effects of a Medical Home and Shared Savings Intervention on Quality and Utilization of Care
Access to doctors notes by patients helps patients understand their medical condition and may help prevent disease progression. Access to doctors records by patients is a policy we should promote. What Patients Gain By Reading Their Doctor’s Notes