News

Crain's Detroit Business: Women in Business: Changing the Game 2012

Crain’s recognizes 11 “game-changers” who set the standard from corporate to academia, including CHRT director Marianne Udow-Phillips. (Subscription required to view full text)

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Another Missed Opportunity in Communicating Health Care Reform: The Case of the Aggressive Collection Agency

While many have criticized the Obama administration’s communication about the benefits of the ACA (and justifiably so), few have focused on the role of the press. The press has an obligation to inform, educate and elucidate. While they have thoroughly covered the politics of the ACA, they haven’t done nearly enough to cover the content of the law. I’ll grant …

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Poverty and Health: A Connection We Can’t Ignore

In a New York Times op-ed last December, Elizabeth Bradley and Lauren Taylor wrote about the study of global health spending published they published in the journal BMJ Quality and Safety. Their analysis broadened the concept of international health care spending to include spending on social services. Their findings were significant and ought to help us all think about health …

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Regional variation in rates of cardiac procedures on the rise in Michigan

Regional differences in rates of cardiac procedures have increased in Michigan over the past decade—not fully explained by differences in health risk factors, heart attack or cardiac mortality rates—according to a report released today by the Center for Healthcare Research & Transformation (CHRT). The report compares the state’s hospital referral regions (HRRs) using claims data from Blue Cross Blue Shield …

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Cardiac Care – A Case Study in Practice Variation

In 2010, when we published our study on healthcare variation in Michigan, we were able to show considerable geographic variation around the state of Michigan on a variety of procedures and services. We intentionally chose services where the research indicated either a tendency toward over-utilization (relative to evidence-based guidelines) or where the guidelines were unclear. While we adjusted for age, …

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One Courageous Woman

Everyone should read this article in Health Affairs. It is the moving story of a woman diagnosed with terminal breast cancer who chose palliative treatment over interventionist strategies. Amy Berman is one knowledgeable and connected patient. She is a nurse, works for a health foundation in New York, and is a long time policy leader in health care. She received a terrible …

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