Archive for Research

  • Incentive Dollars Grow Incentive Dollars Grow

    The National Business Group on Health reported that total incentives paid to employees is expected to increase to about $450 next year, nearly double from the $250 reported for 2011.  And, in a survey done by the Health Research & Educational Trust in association with the Kaiser Family Foundati...

  • ABIM and ABIM and “Choosing Wisely”

    This post will have a follow-up in our next newsletter, to provide more extensive commentary.  And, we are delinquent in not picking up on this sooner, the announcement was made last April.  The American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation has established the "Choosing Wisely" web site.   Per ...

  • Funding for AHRQ in Jeopardy Funding for AHRQ in Jeopardy

    Actions taken recently at the Congressional level at first were stunning to us, but as we thought about it and complete lack of responsibility the Congress has taken over the last few years, it seemed par for the course.  As all of you are aware by now, the House of Representatives appropriations b...

  • Towers Watson Onsite Clinic 2012 Survey Towers Watson Onsite Clinic 2012 Survey

    Towers Watson recently released the results of their 2012 survey of employers who already have, or are planning to add, an onsite clinic for employees.  Perhaps somewhat of a surprise, the number one reason the respondents gave for having an onsite clinic is to "Enhance worker productivity."   Se...

  • “Guidance for a Reasonably Designed Employer-Sponsored Wellness Program Using Outcomes-Based Incentives

    How many meetings have you attended where the discussion inevitably falls to what incentives really work with employees to promote better health?   What is too much?  What is too little?  What type of incentive works and what doesn't?  Cash?  Gift card?   Premium reduction?   Day off?   ...

  • AHRQ in the News AHRQ in the News

    Most of us reference the AHRQ (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality) from time-to-time for research of interest and value.  This federally funded agency hands out significant dollars in grants for research on healthcare quality.  We list it on our site as a resource, and we reference their r...

  • What does that cost? What does that cost?

    All of us do it, comparison shop - at the grocery store, in the mall, and hopefully always when making those larger purchases like a car, new home appliances, etc.  But comparison shopping for healthcare services has traditionally been difficult, if not impossible.  The average consumer just can't...

  • Commonwealth Fund Analysis

    The Commonwealth Fund has published "standards" for the evaluation of the effectiveness of patient-centered medical homes.  The Fund pulled together 75 experts in the field to define "a standard set of core measures" which could be used for this purpose.  See the reference article at our link as w...

  • NBGH and Towers Watson 17th Annual Survey NBGH and Towers Watson 17th Annual Survey

    We often report on this annual survey and this year is no exception.   NBGH and Towers Watson can be relied upon to provide credible and up-to-date information on issues related to employer healthcare spending, planning, etc.   We refer you to the Executive Summary of this year's report for ...

  • Prescription Medication Adherence Studies Prescription Medication Adherence Studies

    We typically think of research studies being done by universities, medical schools, and the like.  But, Walgreens recently presented and released the results of three clinical studies on medication compliance.  One in particular was the "Impact of Community Pharmacist-Led Counseling on Patient Med...