On the Right Track

Despite the simian efforts of 'activist tea party judges' to undermine the landmark health care reform legislation, a lot of great work is getting done. I would recommend that everyone be familiar with the following article published in 2008.

http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/27/3/759.full

In this article, the current head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) outlined a strategy for reform called Triple Aims. The Triple Aims are:

• Improve the health of the population;
• Enhance the patient experience of care (including quality, access, and reliability); and
• Reduce, or at least control, the per capita cost of care.

Implementing key attributes of this strategy is a huge part of the actual reforms that are underway. If these changes come to pass in a big way, the quality of health care in this country could rise dramatically yet at the same time, costs could plummet.

If you read it and have questions let me know, because this kind of thing is where my research is having the greatest impact. It is an exciting time.