November 2015

The authors describe a quality improvement intervention that focuses on directly scheduling mammogram appointments for women who lack adherence despite written outreach letters.

Atrial fibrillation patients with mental health conditions are less likely to be eligible for warfarin receipt, and those who are eligible receive warfarin at lower rates.

This review demonstrates the long-term (≥12 months) efficacy of preoperative smoking cessation programs, providing further support for incorporation of smoking cessation programs into presurgical clinics.

Sequence discovery techniques identified sequences of events that led to gaps in diabetic therapies and were used to identify outreach opportunities aimed at improving medication adherence.

Evaluation of a national retail pharmacy automatic refill program for patients on medication for chronic disease demonstrated significantly improved patient adherence and reduced medication oversupply.

Expanding and more representative participation in Medicare's Bundled Payments for Care Improvement initiative suggests potential for large impact, pending the results of risk-bearing participants.

The American healthcare system is finally moving away from fee-for-service toward bundled payments, but this transition will only be successful if we shift risk to the physicians.

This study tested 3 financial incentives encouraging breast cancer screening (mammograms) among women deemed overdue. None were effective overall; "person-centered" incentives worked in the most recently screened subgroup.

Payment policy, health plan characteristics, and Medicare beneficiary characteristics come together to foster continued growth in the Medicare Advantage program.

Many primary care physicians in the United States reported providing unnecessary medical care in response to patient requests; several factors predicted this behavior.

Providing a weekly feedback report significantly influences the test ordering behavior of internal medicine residents and reduces laboratory overutilization.

Many programs attempting to effectively treat high-need, high-cost individuals have not been able to lower spending, improve outcomes, or increase satisfaction. This paper suggests 8 attributes that many successful programs share.