Organization

A new commentary published in JAMA Network Open by CHAMP co-director Dr. Hector Rodriguez highlights concerning findings about health system acquisitions of physician practices and their impact on vulnerable patient populations.

The commentary discusses recent research showing that when physician organizations affiliate with health systems, care disparities between dual-eligible Medicare-Medicaid beneficiaries and other Medicare patients can actually widen for certain quality measures, including diabetic eye examinations and follow-up after acute events.

"These...

Hospitals acquired by Catholic health systems unlikely to eliminate obstetrics, other services, such as reproductive care, may be prohibited

Berkeley, CA — A new study from UC Berkeley School of Public Health researchers shows that Catholic health care systems that acquired hospitals were less likely than their non-Catholic counterparts to eliminate obstetrics care.

The study, published in Medical Care Research and Review, is the first national analysis to rigorously compare how hospital operations change following acquisition by...

A new publication first-authored by CHAMP founder and Professor Emeritus, Stephen Shortell highlights the critical need for a renewed focus on “practical wisdom” in U.S. health care reform.

Despite spending nearly 17 percent of its GDP—totaling $4.9 trillion annually—on health care, the United States continues to rank among the lowest-performing countries in the OECD on key health outcomes. Stark disparities in infant and maternal mortality, hospital safety, and overall care quality persist, especially among minority populations.

The study argues that while numerous reform...

CHAMP faculty and co-directors along with other members of the CHAMP team investigated if social risk screening in the US has changed over time with their new article recently published in JAMA Network Open. This cross sectional study found that in 2022, 27% of physician practices reported systematically screening patients for 5 common social risks, a significant increase from 15% in 2017. The investigators used a repeated cross-sectional approach using results from the National Survey of Healthcare Organizations and Systems (NSHOS II). Their findings would...