By Kevin F. Erickson, Bo Zhao, Jingbo Niu, Wolfgang C. Winkelmayer, Jay Bhattacharya, Glenn M. Chertow and Vivian Ho
The acquisition of independently owned dialysis facilities by facility chains lead to slower decreases in mortality and hospitalization rates, write the authors. JAMA Network Open: https://bit.ly/2WPYGSD
Freestanding emergency departments in Texas’ largest cities have not alleviated emergency room congestion or improved patient wait times in nearby hospitals, but they can reduce wait times in smaller communities, conclude the authors of this study.
New research finds that health care consolidation and the integration of hospital and doctor services not only fail to improve quality but also reduce patient satisfaction.
By Morgan N. Fredell, Hagop M. Kantarjian, Ya-Chen Shih, Vivian Ho and Binata Mukherjee
Current U.S. health care spending includes many areas of wasted expenditures. In this study, published in Cancer, the authors explore plans to optimize U.S. health care to provide greater benefits to patients: https://bit.ly/2TmeoDg
By Philip W. Chui, Craig S. Parzynski, Joseph S. Ross, Nihar R. Desai, Hitinder S. Gurm, John A. Spertus, Arnold h. Seto, Vivian Ho and Jeptha P. Curtis
Certificate of need regulations are intended to coordinate new health care services, limit expansion of unnecessary new infrastructure and limit health care costs. This study characterizes the association between state regulations and the appropriateness and outcomes of percutaneous coronary interventions. JAHA: https://bit.ly/2QSWMNa
By Kevin Erickson, Wolfgang C. Winkelmayer, Vivian Ho, Jay Bhattacharya, and Glenn M. Chertow
The authors investigate if dialysis facility consolidation was associated with patient mortality. They find that decreased market competition for these facilities may have led to increased mortality for patients in areas with very few dialysis centers. Read this article in Value in Health at: https://bit.ly/2LXmTUR.
Vivian Ho, director of the Center for Health and Biosciences, examines some of the major reasons critics dislike the Affordable Care Act and offers policy recommendations for refining the legislation in the Annual Review of Medicine.
Nonresident scholar Kevin Erickson is a co-author of a study that examined trends in employment among patients initiating dialysis and in the six months before end stage renal disease.