Perspectives
by Jenna Ogilvie | Mar 22, 2013 | Commentary, Perspectives
Fundamental changes are reshaping the nation’s health care system—from purchaser and payer demands for greater quality and value to new legislative and regulatory requirements stemming from the Affordable Care Act. Also driving change is the growing recognition that a...
by Laura DeStefano | Mar 15, 2013 | Commentary, Perspectives
In October 2007, HSPD 21 called for a nationwide biosurveillance capability. Biosurveillance “in the context of human health is the science and practice of managing health-related data and information for early warning of threats and hazards, early detection of...
by Laura DeStefano | Feb 7, 2013 | Commentary, Perspectives
The first test of penicillin on a human, Constable Albert Alexander in 1941, illustrated the remarkable power of antibiotics to control bacterial infection, only to end in tragedy when all available penicillin was exhausted and Alexander’s infection recrudesced...
by Laura DeStefano | Jan 24, 2013 | Commentary, Perspectives
Health equity has been defined in many ways, but essentially the concept focuses on promoting social justice rather than economic or social status as the primary means for determining access to good health and well-being (Braveman, 2006). Another way, however, of...
by Laura DeStefano | Jan 24, 2013 | Discussion Paper, Perspectives
Introduction In virtually all Institute of Medicine (IOM) reports that have touched on patient safety during the last 15 years, information technology (IT) has played a critical role in the future view of safer patient care. This reflects an emerging view of patient...
by Laura DeStefano | Jan 18, 2013 | Commentary, Perspectives
Equity is not a contemporary concept. The Oxford English Dictionary defines equity as “the quality of being fair and impartial: equity of treatment. A branch of law that developed alongside common law in order to remedy some of its defects in fairness and justice,...
by Jenna Ogilvie | Jan 16, 2013 | Discussion Paper, Perspectives
Executive Summary In response to issues raised in the report of the World Health Organization (WHO)-affiliated Consultative Expert Working Group (CEWG) on research and development (R&D) financing and coordination and the desire of the U.S. government to obtain a...
by Jenna Ogilvie | Jan 11, 2013 | Commentary, Perspectives
When I was a resident, I cared for an asthmatic boy who had been in and out of the hospital 3 times in 8 weeks. Each time, we sent him home with an escalating regimen of medications, and each time, his symptoms only worsened. After his mother told me that they lived...
by Laura DeStefano | Dec 14, 2012 | Commentary, Perspectives
We have a good concept of the flawed state of health care, the critical need for change, and the future we want. Patient-centered, personalized care, provided by collaborating care teams, is a part of that vision. Many changes will be necessary to achieve that future,...
by Laura DeStefano | Nov 30, 2012 | Commentary, Perspectives
While there has been an enormous amount of attention paid to the transformation of the United States Health Care delivery system under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), little has been said about the many opportunities in the ACA for population health systems improvement...
