Tuesday, August 03, 2004

Job Loss, Rising Premiums Take Toll on Employer Health Coverage in 2003
A "Tracking Report" from the Center for Studying Health System Change - "Against the backdrop of a sluggish economy and rapidly rising health insurance premiums, the proportion of Americans under age 65 covered by employer-sponsored insurance fell dramatically from 67 percent to 63 percent between 2001 and 2003. Although the decline in employer coverage could have spurred a large increase in the uninsured, the proportion of Americans without health insurance did not increase significantly, according to findings from the Center for Studying Health System Change's (HSC) Community Tracking Study Household Survey. Expansion of public health insurance—including Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)—forestalled a significant increase in the uninsured, as the proportion of the under-65 population enrolled in public coverage increased from 9 percent to 12 percent. .."  
  

Health Care: National Strategy Needed to Accelerate the Implementation of Information Technology
A GAO report (in Adobe Acrobat format), available at the Open Minds web site - "The use of IT can yield benefits in clinical care and associated administrative functions as well as in public health. Health care organizations reported that electronic medical records (EMR) improved the delivery of care because, among other reasons, more complete medical documentation was available to support the provider’s diagnosis. In addition, EMRs could greatly facilitate the reporting of public health information associated with the early detection of and response to disease outbreaks. ... [T]he lessons learned that were reported to us by health care organizations that have successfully implemented solutions could be used by other organizations to accelerate the adoption of health IT. These lessons recognize the importance of reengineering business processes, gaining users’ acceptance of IT, providing adequate training, and making systems secure."  
  

The Decade of Health Information Technology: Delivering Consumer-centric and Information-rich Health Care; Framework for Strategic Action
A 178-page July 2004 HHS report (in Adobe Acrobat format) by Tommy Thompson and David Brailer, available at the Open Minds web site, that "outlines 12 strategies that will achieve four goals critical to the President’s vision. These goals include: introduction of information tools into clinical practice, electronically connecting clinicians to other clinicians, using information tools to personalize care delivery, and advancing surveillance and reporting for population health improvement."  
  

Filling behavioral health-service gaps
An APA Monitor article on testimony by an Jalie A. Tucker, chair of APA's Board of Professional Affairs, to the Institute of Medicine on ways to improve behavioral health access and quality - " The IOM Board on Health Care Services has appointed a committee to examine the application of mental health to recommendations for improving quality and delivery of health care put forth in IOM's 2001 report, "Crossing the quality chasm--a new health system for the 21st century." Tucker and several other mental health representatives offered their testimony to help the board meet its charge of forming an agenda for mental health. The IOM committee plans to gather testimony from a variety of stakeholders and deliver its report during the summer of 2005. " See also information available online on the IOM's health care quality initiatives.