The Latest Research, Commentary, And News From Health Affairs
Friday, May 14, 2021
Dear John,
May’s installment in the Leading To Health series highlights a hospital championing family-centered care.
Gaining Family Input At Children’s Mercy Hospital
Children’s Mercy hospital in Kansas City has played a pioneering role in pursuing patient- and family-centered care. As part of Health Affairs’ Leading To Health series, the May 2021 issue features an article by David Tuller about Children’s Mercy’s efforts to involve families in their system.
Tuller writes about how Children’s Mercy has woven family feedback into its policy-making processes. Today the organization has eighteen patient and family advisory councils with more than 200 volunteer members. Some of the councils are department-specific, such as primary care or mental health, and others involve specific conditions such as eating disorders or cancer.
“One challenge has been to achieve sufficient diversity among the family volunteers,” Tuller writes. “Finding the time to volunteer can be difficult.”
Despite challenges, Children’s Mercy’s efforts have successfully given voice to many pediatric patients’ number-one advocates: their families. Carol Kemper, Children’s Mercy’s senior vice president for service and performance excellence, says, “From a seat at the table in a formalized board, to thousands of engagements every year, patients and families have truly changed the way we prioritize our work and solve problems.”
Today on Health Affairs Blog, Zoe Matticks and Allie Liss propose that the
landmarkViolence Against Women Act should be immediately reauthorized by the US Senate to preserve essential funding and services for survivors of sexual assault and intimate partner violence.
Amy Romano and J.D. Kleinke propose a new plan, Medicare For All Pregnancies, which seeks to eliminate
uninsurance for pregnancy, birth, and the first postpartum year for both mother and newborn; introduce payment parity between public and private health insurance coverage; and transition to high-value, equitable care by fostering implementation of evidence-based interventions and innovative care models.
Also, Richard G. Frank and coauthors argue that the success of the US COVID-19 vaccine effortwas enabled by decades of long-term investments by the federal government, followed by additional federal investment in the development of the COVID-19 vaccines themselves.
Elevating Voices: Asian American and Pacific Islander American Heritage Month: Charles Liu, Yusuke Tsugawa, and coauthors published a paper in the March 2021 issue of Health Affairs, in which they emphasize, "There remains a critical need for reforms that address the health care affordability crisis for low- and middle-income people.”
Three Unanswered Questions For Telehealth's Future
Listen to Health Affairs' Rob Lott and Chris Fleming discuss the three major unanswered questions about the future of telehealth.
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