Issue Briefs

ssue Briefs are designed to provide readers with relatively short, analytical research results that are policy relevant. Issue Briefs include the broader context for the research and lay out the range of related policy implications. The publications offer original HSC research results, summarize and make more accessible HSC research results that appear in peer-reviewed journals or report HSC conference proceedings. Most of the Issue Briefs are based on data from the CTS household, physician and employer surveys, CTS Site Visits or the Health Tracking Household and Physician Surveys.

Title	Date	Document Info
Small Employers and Self-Insured Health Benefits: Too Small to Succeed?	July 2012	Issue Brief No. 138
Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance: Down but Not Out	October 2011	Issue Brief No. 137
Rising Hospital Employment of Physicians: Better Quality, Higher Costs?	August 2011	Issue Brief No. 136
Key Findings from HSC's 2010 Site Visits	May 2011	Issue Brief No. 135
Physicians Slow to E-mail Routinely with Patients	October 2010	Issue Brief No. 134
Even When Physicians Adopt E-Prescribing, Use of Advanced Features Lags	July 2010	Issue Brief No. 133
Innovations in Preventing and Managing Chronic Conditions: What's Working in the Real World?	June 2010	Issue Brief No. 132
Electronic Medical Records and Communication with Patients and Other Clinicians: Are We Talking Less?	April 2010	Issue Brief No. 131
Modest and Uneven: Physician Efforts to Reduce Racial and Ethnic Disparities	February 2010	Issue Brief No. 130
Expectations Outpace Reality: Physicians' Use of Care Management Tools for Patients with Chronic Conditions	December 2009	Issue Brief No. 129
Impact of Health Care Price Transparency on Price Variation: The New Hampshire Experience	November 2009	Issue Brief No. 128
Hospital Strategies to Engage Physicians in Quality Improvement	October 2009	Issue Brief No. 127
Designing Effective Health Care Quality Transparency Initiatives	July 2009	Issue Brief No. 126
Rising Rates of Chronic Health Conditions: What Can Be Done?	November 2008	Issue Brief No. 125
Massachusetts Health Reform: High Costs and Expanding Expectations May Weaken Employer Support	October 2008	Issue Brief No. 124
Despite Regulatory Changes, Hospitals Cautious in Helping Physicians Purchase Electronic Medical Records	September 2008	Issue Brief No. 123
Community Efforts to Expand Dental Services for Low-Income People	July 2008	Issue Brief No. 122
Health and Wellness: The Shift from Managing Illness to Promoting Health	June 2008	Issue Brief No. 121
Safety Net Hospital Emergency Departments: Creating Safety Valves for Non-Urgent Care	May 2008	Issue Brief No. 120
Consumer-Directed Health Plans: Mixed Employer Signals, Complex Market Dynamics	March 2008	Issue Brief No. 119
Health Plans Target Advanced Imaging Services	February 2008	Issue Brief No. 118
Relief, Restoration and Reform: Economic Upturn Yields Modest and Uneven Health Returns	January 2008	Issue Brief No. 117
Community Health Centers Tackle Rising Demands and Expectations	December 2007	Issue Brief No. 116
Hospital Emergency On-Call Coverage: Is There a Doctor in the House?	November 2007	Issue Brief No. 115
Health Care Cost and Access Challenges Persist	October 2007	Issue Brief No. 114
Massachusetts Health Reform: Employers, Lower-Wage Workers and Universal Coverage	July 2007	Issue Brief No. 113
Distorted Payment System Undermines Business Case for Health Quality and Efficiency Gains	July 2007	Issue Brief No. 112
High-Performance Health Plan Networks: Early Experiences	May 2007	Issue Brief No. 111
Consumer Tolerance for Inaccuracy in Physician Performance Ratings: One Size Fits None	March 2007	Issue Brief No. 110
Benefit Design Innovations: Implications for Consumer-Directed Health Care	February 2007	Issue Brief No. 109
Physician Financial Incentives: Use of Quality Incentives Inches Up, but Productivity Still Dominates	January 2007	Issue Brief No. 108
Behind the Slow Growth of Employer-Based Consumer-Driven Health Plans	December 2006	Issue Brief No. 107
Clinical Information Technology Gaps Persist Among Physicians	November 2006	Issue Brief No. 106
The Community Safety Net and Prescription Drug Access for Low-Income, Uninsured People	April 2006	Issue Brief No. 105
Stretching the Safety Net to Serve Undocumented Immigrants: Community Responses to Health Needs	February 2006	Issue Brief No. 104
Do Specialty Hospitals Promote Price Competition?	January 2006	Issue Brief No. 103
Can Money Buy Quality? Physician Response to Pay for Performance	December 2005	Issue Brief No. 102
Rising Pressure: Hospital Emergency Departments as Barometers of the Health Care System	Nov. 18, 2005	Issue Brief No. 101
Perception, Reality and Health Insurance: Uninsured as Likely as Insured to Perceive Need for Care but Half as Likely to Get Care	October 2005	Issue Brief No. 100
Balancing Margin and Mission: Hospitals Alter Billing and Collection Practices for Uninsured Patients	October 2005	Issue Brief No. 99