Department Of Health Policy

In the journal Medical Care, Michael Richards, M.D., Ph.D., MPH and colleagues report that more office-based physicians are affiliating with integrated health systems. Apparently through this affiliation, physicians become more likely to accept Medicaid patients. From 2009 to 2015, independent practices decreased from 73 percent to 60 percent… Read More

Health care once seemed simple: You got sick, called a doctor, and paid the bill as best you could. Today health care accounts for nearly 20 percent of the total U.S. gross domestic product—about $3 trillion of economic activity annually. It’s also the largest item in the federal budget, making… Read More

In one of the largest, most representative health surveys conducted to date, lesbian, gay and bisexual adults reported substantially higher rates of severe psychological distress, heavy drinking and smoking, and impaired physical health than did heterosexuals. Read More

Long-acting opioids are associated with a significantly increased risk of death when compared with alternative medications for moderate-to-severe chronic pain, according to a Vanderbilt study released today in the Journal of the American Medical Assocation (JAMA). Read More

Mother-to-child transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which causes AIDS, is still a major problem in resource-limited, rural areas of the world where health care providers are scarce. Read More

Use of opioid analgesics is associated with an increased risk of hospitalization for serious infections among patients with rheumatoid arthritis, according to a Vanderbilt study published in Arthritis & Rheumatology. Read More

Clinics with more non-physician clinicians are associated with better access for Medicaid patients and lower prices for office visits, according to a recent study. Read More

Michael Porter, Ph.D., MBA, of Harvard Business School, a leading authority on organizational strategy, spoke recently at the Owen Graduate School of Management during the opening session of the First Annual Value-based Health Care Delivery Seminar. Read More

A “bundle” of electronically implemented care guidelines reduced intensive care unit patient complications related to mechanical ventilation. Read More

Stephen Patrick, M.D., MPH, assistant professor of Pediatrics and Health Policy in the Division of Neonatology with the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, recently testified before congress about the rise in neonatal abstinence syndrome. Read More

As health care organizations implement new strategies to improve quality and reduce costs, a physician researcher at VUMC is setting out to identify whether there could be unintended effects. Read More

Legally prescribed narcotics taken during pregnancy can lead to neonatal abstinence syndrome, especially in combination with tobacco or SSRIs. Read More

Humility, persuasion and a good sense of timing are essential for translating health policy research into real world practice that actually improves the health of Americans, according to former Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen. Read More

The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear a lawsuit challenging the Obama Administration’s implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Vanderbilt University legal expert James Blumstein says the true issue surrounding the King v. Burwell case is separation of powers. Read More

One way to lower overall health care costs and lessen health disparities among the poor may be to allow public and private health insurers to incentivize patient adherence to evidence-based protocols for chronic diseases and conditions. Read More

Melinda Buntin, Ph.D., deputy assistant director for Health at the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), will become chair of the new Department of Health Policy at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in late August. Read More