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ABSTRACT: This Data Bulletin presents findings from the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC) 2008 Health Tracking Physician Survey, a nationally representative mail survey of U.S. physicians providing at least 20 hours per week of direct patient care. The sample of physicians was drawn from the American Medical Association master file and included active, nonfederal, office- and hospital-based physicians. Residents and fellows were excluded, as well as radiologists, anesthesiologists and pathologists. The survey includes responses from more than 4,700 physicians, and the response rate was 62 percent. Since this Data Bulletin examines the extent of physician practice ownership or leasing of medical equipment, the sample was limited to 2,750 physicians practicing in community-based, physician-owned practices, who represent 58 percent of all physicians surveyed. Physicians employed by hospitals, who practiced in hospital-based settings or who worked in hospital-owned practices were excluded.
Data bulletin (Center for Studying Health System Change). 12/2010;
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Alwyn Cassil
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ABSTRACT: Wellness and prevention strategies are fast becoming a standard feature of employer-based health benefits in hopes of countering rapidly rising health care costs that drive higher insurance premiums. At the same time, payers and health care providers are experimenting with how to improve care coordination for high-cost patients with multiple chronic conditions, an ongoing challenge in the fragmented U.S. health care system. Promoting health and wellness and improving the care of people with chronic conditions offer promise in helping to improve the value of health care and control costs, according to experts at a Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC) conference titled, Innovations in Preventing and Managing Chronic Conditions: What's Working in the Real World? Panelists explored how effective employer-sponsored wellness and prevention initiatives focus on health improvement as a business strategy and foster work and community environments that help people lower risk factors--smoking, diet, lack of exercise--that lead to disease. Panelists also discussed various models--centered on strong primary care-to improve care for people with chronic conditions.
Issue brief (Center for Studying Health System Change). 06/2010;
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ABSTRACT: This Data Bulletin presents findings from the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC) 2008 Health Tracking Physician Survey, a nationally representative mail survey of U.S. physicians providing at least 20 hours per week of direct patient care. The sample of physicians was drawn from the American Medical Association master file and included active, nonfederal, office- and hospital-based physicians. Residents and fellows were excluded, as well as radiologists, anesthesiologists and pathologists. The survey includes responses from more than 4,700 physicians, and the response rate was 62 percent. Estimates from this survey should not be compared to estimates from HSC's previous Community Tracking Study (CTS) Physician Surveys because of changes in the survey administration mode from telephone to mail, question wording, skip patterns, sample structure and population represented. More detailed information on survey content and methodology can be found at www.hschange.org.
Data bulletin (Center for Studying Health System Change). 09/2009;
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ABSTRACT: Affordability of medical care is a central focus of health care reform efforts. As health care costs continue to increase and the economy declines sharply, there is very little cushion in family budgets for health care costs, even for families with insurance coverage. Financial pressures on families from medical bills increase sharply when out-of-pocket spending for health care services exceeds 2.5 percent of family income, according to a new national study by the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC). Low-income families and people in poor health experience financial pressures at even lower levels of spending, largely because they have already accumulated large medical debts they are unable to pay off. Many Californians also incur substantial burdens from health care expenses, although the rate of medical bill problems is somewhat lower in California compared with the overall United States. Extended interviews with a select number of families facing problems with medical bills provide additional detail on how families are forced to make difficult trade-offs with other family necessities, put off paying other bills, cut down on other expenses and delay getting needed medical care
Research brief. 01/2009;
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Alwyn Cassil
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ABSTRACT: The growing prevalence of chronic health conditions--about 60 percent of the adult U.S. population had at least one chronic condition in 2005--has added costs to the U.S. health care system. Prevention and better management of chronic conditions are often cited as ways to improve health outcomes and slow U.S. health care spending growth--or at least generate better value for the $2.1 trillion spent annually on health care in the United States. Yet, the health care system remains largely focused on acute, episodic care, according to experts at a Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC) conference titled, Rising Rates of Chronic Health Conditions: What Can Be Done? Panelists explored the role of obesity in rising rates of chronic conditions, the need for better information on how to treat patients with multiple chronic conditions, how to help patients improve self-management skills and how difficult changing unhealthy behaviors can be.
Issue brief (Center for Studying Health System Change). 12/2008;
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Issue brief (Center for Studying Health System Change). 08/2003;
