The Partnership for Sustainable Health Care, a coalition of diverse national organizations, developed recommendations for curbing health care spending and improving quality, ranging from shedding fee-for-service payment, to rewarding states that slow the growth in spending with some of the savings.
How are employers using payment reform strategies to make efficient use of their health care dollars? Read AcademyHealth’s series of briefs examining the return on investment for four different employers’ approaches to payment reform. The series explains the differences between strategies, shares results, and details lessons learned.
A new collection of success stories from the front lines of American health care provides free access to strategies used by hospitals and medical practices nationwide to improve care. This library of innovations is based on years of Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-funded hospital and community-based health care quality improvement initiatives.
Through Aligning Forces for Quality (AF4Q), local allliances disseminate reports that compare the quality of care delivered by local providers. In three states—Wisconsin, Massachusetts and Minnesota—RWJF worked with the AF4Q Alliances and Consumer Reports to produce special publications that leverage local data on provider performance for maximum use by area consumers.
For many conditions, the treatment a patient receives can depend more on physician recommendations than patient preferences. A new series of reports from the Dartmouth Atlas Project suggests that when there is more than one option, where patients live and the clinicians they see also play a decisive role in the treatment they receive.
An interactive repository of public reports that measure the quality and cost of care physicians and hospitals provide.
Our signature effort to lift the overall quality of health care in targeted communities, reduce racial and ethnic disparities and provide models for national reform.
Learn more about AF4Q
Too often, patients leave the hospital confused about how to care for themselves at home, ultimately causing them to return to the hospital. Hospitals and health care organizations are addressing the problem of avoidable readmissions by taking steps to help patients get the care they need, including simplifying discharge instructions, working one-on-one with patients at high risk for being readmitted, and improving coordination between hospitals and outpatient care facilities.
Learn more about reducing avoidable readmissions
As the largest purchaser of health care in America, employers are paying a high price for poor-quality care. About 55 percent of Americans get health insurance through employers, and employers pay for nearly three-quarters of premiums. Improving the quality of health care could improve health while saving money. AF4Q alliances have worked with local employers to improve employees' health and the quality and value of their care.
Learn how employers can improve quality and save money
Even after controlling for factors such as insurance coverage, socioeconomic status, and other illnesses, significant racial and ethnic inequalities in health care persist in the U.S. That’s why Aligning Forces for Quality (AF4Q) and Finding Answers are actively studying, developing and implementing strategies to reduce racial and ethnic gaps in care. By focusing on the collection of race, ethnicity and language data, improving translation services, and sharing best practices, these projects are leading the way to reduce disparities in care.
Learn more about equity in U.S. health care
It’s a coin toss whether Americans get all the recommended care they need. That’s why Aligning Forces for Quality (AF4Q) is helping doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals systemically improve the quality of care they deliver. In communities nationwide, AF4Q alliances are developing interventions and pilot-testing techniques to improve the way ambulatory care is delivered and fundamentally changing their local health systems.
Learn about ambulatory quality improvement
Improving hospital-based care is a core priority of AF4Q. The initiative is working with nearly 300 hospitals in 16 targeted communities to develop, test, implement, and spread quality improvement strategies among their hospitals and beyond, focusing on: reducing readmissions; increasing ED efficiency; improving language services; and engaging front-line staff.
Learn about hospital quality improvement
In less than a decade, the push for transparency in health care has come a long way. Publicly reported performance data have motivated health care providers to improve their care and led employers to change purchasing habits. Reports are becoming more meaningful and accessible to consumers.
View lessons and resources from AF4Q on performance measurement and public reporting
Health insurance exchanges aren't just an opportunity to expand access to health insurance. They also offer states a number of options to drive quality improvement and delivery system reform. As states and the federal government work to create exchanges, lessons from AF4Q and other resources from RWJF can inform these efforts.
Explore how exchanges can help consumers obtain quality careWe are committed to improving the quality of health care for all Americans.
Read our strategyVideo updates from Quality/Equality programs and initiatives.