In this study, we investigate one of the mechanisms that may detract from the effectiveness of health care quality report cards: voluntary versus mandatory participation of nursing homes in public quality reporting.
Satisfaction with care in Massachusetts nursing homes is high, but family members are less satisfied with the physical and social activities available to residents.
We identified five current cancer coverage state laws and interviewed experts on their perceptions of the relevance of the laws and how well they meet the current needs of cancer care given rapid changes in therapies.
Early evidence suggests that opioid duration limits had a variable association with postoperative opioid prescribing and should only be part of a larger, multifaceted effort to reduce excessive postoperative opioid prescribing.
Teachers are largely responsible for implementing social and emotional learning (SEL) programs and policies. How do teachers in Massachusetts feel about the importance of SEL? And what are their opinions on approaches to and support for SEL instruction?
This web-based tool aims to inform policymakers about the rates of neonatal abstinence syndrome by county across eight states from 2009 to 2015. This analysis is displayed via maps and interactive charts.
Massachusetts residents will soon vote on the Patient Safety Act, a mandate to increase nurse-to-patient ratios in acute care facilities. Evaluating existing data on the impact of a similar nurse staffing law implemented in California in 2004 may help inform voters as they head to the polls.
When patients are prescribed opioids in risky ways, their chance of dying increases, and their odds of death go higher as the number of risky opioid prescriptions increases.
Massachusetts veterans have unmet needs for education, employment, health care, housing, financial, and legal services. Researchers assessed these needs to help inform state investments and guide efforts to remedy barriers to access.
Massachusetts veterans have unmet needs for education, employment, health care, housing, financial, and legal services. A better understanding of these needs can inform investments in services and guide efforts to remedy barriers to access.
This interactive tool features data from a study of the education, employment, health care, housing, financial, and legal needs of Massachusetts veterans and can help inform investments in services and guide efforts to remedy barriers to access.
Part of a series highlighting innovative models and best practices for local health departments' involvement in Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act outreach and enrollment, this report describes a case study on Boston and Massachusetts.
This report summarizes seven case studies to highlight innovative models and best practices that leverage local health department efforts in outreach and health insurance enrollment activities tied to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
In a RAND study about the landscape of patient safety in Massachusetts, researchers interviewed expert observers (patients, health care leaders, and others) about progress to date and future opportunities to produce safer patient care.
By enabling access to affordable private health insurance and expanding access to subsidized public health insurance, the Affordable Care Act alters the calculus of disability claiming decisions. Research offers empirical evidence that, on net, disability applications are likely to decrease.
Orlando Sentinel editorial writer Darryl E. Owens interviewed Brian Michael Jenkins, senior adviser to the president of RAND. They discussed last year's Boston Marathon bombing and the current threat of terrorist acts in the United States.
We cannot assume, based on Boston's response to the marathon bombings, that other U.S. cities are as prepared. Emergency managers and public safety agencies remain focused on disaster preparedness, but some hospitals have lapsed into thinking that it is a costly distraction from daily business.
