Over the past 25 years, significant strides have been made in shifting services for people with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease to home and community settings. Home and community-based services (HCBS) enable people with various forms of dementia to receive care in a familiar setting while promoting their independence, well-being, and overall quality of life. As… Read More »
Telehealth–the ability for providers to care for patients using computers, tablets, or smartphones–has the potential to expand access to healthcare by allowing people to interact with providers remotely. However, there are disparities in access to the technology that makes it possible to use telehealth. For example, in analyzing Census data on availability of widely used… Read More »
Long-term services and supports (LTSS) for older adults and persons with disabilities have become a policy priority. The American Rescue Plan and the proposed American Jobs Act aim to increase LTSS spending through the Medicaid program, particularly for Home- and Community-Based Services (HCBS). These measures would address the need for wider service availability, while presenting… Read More »
There is a lot of attention being paid to the proportions of severe and fatal cases in discussions of COVID-19. Unless you’ve been living under a rock since January, you know that there are groups who are more likely to get very sick or die during this pandemic. In this post, we explore the evidence… Read More »
The burden of homelessness on the health of those afflicted continues to be a major global public health concern. Last year, the United States recorded an increase in the number of homeless for the first time since 2010. On any given night in 2017, there were 553,742 people in the U.S. experiencing homelessness. In terms of… Read More »
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has a set of “Compare” websites – Hospital Compare, Nursing Home Compare, Home Health Compare, etc.; consumers and policymakers can compare physicians, long-term care hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, hospice care, and dialysis facilities today, and other settings may follow. Together with their associated health care quality measurement… Read More »
In theory, quality measurement and reporting generally benefits patients and their families, as (PDF link) public data on quality increases transparency and provider accountability. It also may benefit providers as a tool for quality assurance and improvement; however, the evidence does not always provide a clear picture. Unique challenges exist for patients receiving home care… Read More »
All falls are not equal, nor is the financial impact of how Medicare defines fall-related injuries (FRI). In a new Medical Care article published ahead of print, I worked with colleagues at UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health to explore whether Medicare expenditures associated with fall-related injuries (FRI) depend on how FRIs are identified in… Read More »