Papers Examine Potential Challenges For Obama Administration, Congress; Perspectives Examine Expected Demand For Home-Based Health Care Services, More

Main Category: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance
Also Included In: Public Health;  Caregivers / Homecare;  Seniors / Aging
Article Date: 05 Dec 2008 - 3:00 PDT

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"Doctors, Dollars & Quality," Health Affairs: The Web-exclusive package includes a series of papers and perspectives that examine the relationship of several factors -- the supply of physicians, the composition of the physician work force, the quality of health care and overall health spending -- that could pose challenges to the incoming Obama administration and new Congress in their efforts to overhaul the U.S health care system (Health Affairs release, 12/4).

"Home Delivery -- Bringing Primary Care to the Housebound Elderly," New England Journal of Medicine: In the perspective, Susan Okie, a national correspondent for NEJM, discusses how the demand for home-delivered primary care for the elderly is expected to increase over the next 20 years. According to Okie, meeting the medical needs of an aging population likely will "require increasing reliance on midlevel providers (nurse practitioners and physician's assistants), as well as the use of multidisciplinary teams" of practitioners, who will be able to visit "patients in rest homes, assisted living facilities and nursing homes, as well as at home and in a medical office" (Okie, NEJM, 12/4).

"Revisiting Duty-Hour Limits -- IOM Recommendations for Patient Safety and Resident Education," NEJM: In the perspective, John Iglehart, a national correspondent for NEJM, discusses the recent recommendations by an Institute of Medicine panel that aim to improve patient safety by alleviating fatigue among medical residents, providing greater supervision of residents and improve the process for transferring responsibility for patients between shifts, among other measures (Iglehart, NEJM, 12/3).

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