5,000 steps a day to avoid higher health insurance costs? When money talks, people walk
Study explores what happens when people who are obese are given an ultimatum by their health insurer: Exercise or pay more for health insurance.
News: Health Care Delivery, Policy, and Economics
Michigan Surgical Quality Collaborative named as one of 77 federal patient safety organizations nationwide
The Michigan Surgical Quality Collaborative, a statewide initiative based at UMHS to improve quality and safety in operations performed in Michigan hospitals, has been named one of the nation's official Patient Safety Organization.
More partners join Medicare improvement effort launched by U-M Health System and IHA
A partnership designed to improve care for Medicare participants in southeast Michigan, while making the best use of Medicare dollars, has expanded.
Study finds dementia care costs among highest of all diseases; comparable to cancer, heart disease
The costs of caring for people with dementia in the U.S. are comparable to – if not greater than – those for heart disease and cancer.
Cash for weight loss? Works better when employees compete for pots of money, study finds
Do cash rewards for healthier habits work? Maybe, says a new study, if you add on one more condition – peer pressure.
University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center named in honor of Samuel and Jean Frankel
Michigan’s top heart and heart surgery program has a new name – the University of Michigan Samuel and Jean Frankel Cardiovascular Center. The change recognizes $50 million in giving from the Samuel and Jean Frankel Foundation.
State of Michigan names Matthew Davis, M.D. as state's new chief medical executive
The Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) today announced the appointment of Matthew M. Davis, M.D., M.A.P.P., as Michigan's Chief Medical Executive effective March 18, 2013. As Michigan's Chief Medical Executive, Davis will serve Michigan citizens by providing professional medical leadership, expertise and coordination in addressing public health issues, workforce issues, and health policy development to the MDCH.
A growing commitment to the community: U-M Health System donates over $360M in services
UMHS provided nearly $362 million worth of hospital-based community benefits in fiscal year 2011, including free or reduced-price care, health classes and support for training new doctors and medical research.
Seeking equality in all aspects of health care, UMHS names first Assoc. VP for Health Equity & Inclusion
More than a decade into the 21st century, Americans still face tremendous variations in health and health care, depending on what they look like, where they come from, what they earn and other factors. Addressing this inequality will be the focus of a new UMHS leader: Carmen R. Green, M.D.
The ethics of access: U-M doctors compare two federal health care reform efforts
Two major health reform laws, enacted 25 years apart, both try to meet an ethical standard to provide broad access to basic health care. Neither quite gets there -- but it’s not too late for modern health care reform to bring the nation closer to a goal of comprehensive and coordinated care for all, say a trio of U-M doctors in a new opinion paper.
1,800 Michigan doctors launch effort to improve health care for Medicare patients
More than 1,800 Michigan physicians will work together to tackle the challenge of providing better medical care and slowing the growth of health costs, in a new effort that will help them care for 81,000 of their Medicare-enrolled patients.
More Doctors, Hospitals Partner to Coordinate Care for People with Medicare
The Physician Organization of Michigan ACO has been selected as one of 106 new Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) in Medicare, ensuring as many as 4 million Medicare beneficiaries across the United States now have access to high-quality, coordinated care, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today.
Better stroke care, everywhere: NIH-funded study boosts local hospitals' clotbuster use
From the moment a stroke occurs, patients must race against the clock to get treatment that can prevent lasting damage. Now, a new study shows the promise – and the challenges – of getting them state-of-the-art treatment safely at their local hospital, saving precious minutes.
Doing the right thing when things go wrong
UMHS prides itself on high-quality and safe care. Now, a new study says our response when things don't go as planned serves as a model for the nation that other hospitals can and should copy.
UMHS helps protect our own patients -- and patients across Michigan -- through Keystone initiatives
Even as UMHS works to improve the safety and quality of care for our own patients, we're also helping lead statewide efforts to do the same for patients across the state, together with the MHA Keystone Center.
U-M recruits Harvard health care research leader as first director of Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation
A Harvard University doctor and leader in health policy research who has devoted his career to making health care better and more fair will head a large new U-M nstitute that focuses on those same goals.
To help veterans, and all Americans, VA health researchers tighten ties with U-M
Research to improve the health of the nation’s veterans, and all Americans, will soon get a boost when a large team of researchers from the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System moves to U-M's North Campus Research Complex.
Shifting care from hospitals to outpatient centers could save millions
Outpatient urological surgery costs significantly less when performed in physician offices and ambulatory care centers. But results may reflect the lower cost of treating patients who are less seriously ill.
Report: Michigan could save nearly $1 billion over 10 years by expanding Medicaid eligibility
A report released today by the Center for Healthcare Research & Transformation (CHRT) in partnership with two economists at the University of Michigan shows that the State of Michigan could save nearly $1 billion over 10 years—while extending comprehensive health insurance to more than 600,000 Michigan citizens—if the state expands Medicaid eligibility beginning in 2014 as provided for under the Affordable Care Act.
Fixing the system: U-M lecture will focus on ethical reform of health care in U.S.
Jeremy Lazarus, M.D., president of the AMA, will be this year’s keynote speaker at the 17th-annual Waggoner Lecture on Ethics and Values in Medicine, sponsored by U-M’s Department of Psychiatry.
The cost of glaucoma care: Small group of patients accounts for large part of costs, study finds
A small subset of patients with open-angle glaucoma account for a large proportion of all glaucoma-related charges in the U.S., according to new data published by U-M researchers and their colleagues.
Saving dollars while improving care: U-M did both in Medicare project, new study says
In a nationwide program that aimed to provide better care at a lower cost for Medicare participants, U-M made the most progress in reducing costs and improved the quality of care patients received.
U-M Health System and MidMichigan Health Seek to Affiliate in Novel Partnership
MidMichigan Health and the University of Michigan Health System have announced plans to affiliate as clinical and business partners. When complete, this will be the first such affiliation outside Southeast Michigan by UMHS.
W.K. Kellogg Foundation awards U-M grant to address inequities in children’s eye care
A two-year grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation will allow U-M ophthalmologists and researchers, along with collaborators around the state, to tackle disparities in children’s eye care.
Beyond office hours: New app, patient portal, to allow U-M patients mobile access to health records
University of Michigan portal allows patients to virtually take their health records with them.