Research Library

By Eugene Lin, Matthew W. Mell, Wolfgang C. Winkelmayer and Kevin F. Erickson U.S. patients without Medicare who develop end-stage kidney disease become Medicare eligible by their fourth dialysis month. This delay in insurance coverage can lead to disparities in health care that may not fully correct over time, write the authors in the Clinical Journal of American Society of Nephrology: https://bit.ly/2SEW20u

The authors examine the relationship between market competition and the use of surgical services for cancer to test the theory that market competition promotes patient access and health care delivery.

The authors discuss the origins of bundled payments as an emerging alternative payment model in the health care industry and examine its application and potential for expansion. Annals of Surgical Oncology: http://bit.ly/2OMorOX

Private cord blood banking is more widespread than public banking in Jordan, contributing to misinformation and unequal access to resources. The authors conducted surveys with women in Jordan to examine perspectives toward cord banking in the country in order to inform policymaking, ethics and education about the practice.

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.

This study examines whether market competition affects quality of care and health outcomes among patients receiving dialysis treatment.

The author determines that in 2016, freestanding emergency departments in Texas were more likely to be in areas that could yield high profits — i.e., areas with significantly higher household incomes — than in areas of high demand.

Higher costs for complex cancer surgery may be an indicator for worse, rather than better, quality of care, according to new research by the Baker Institute and the University of Texas MDAnderson Cancer Center. The study suggests that lower patient costs achieved by high-volume surgeons can be explained by the lower occurrence of “processes of care”— many of which are taken to avoid or treat complications that can occur during surgery, such as placing arterial lines or providing epidural anesthesia.

In this study, the authors examine the impact of consolidation among U.S. dialysis providers on: 1) the ability of patients to choose among competing dialysis providers and 2) the market concentration of providers in each hospital service area.

Texans are likely to pay more at freestanding emergency departments than at hospital-based emergency departments or urgent care centers, according to a study co-authored by Vivian Ho, the James A. Baker III Institute Chair in Health Economics and director of the Center for Health and Biosciences.