Announcing AcademyHealth’s New Home Page
In April, AcademyHealth launched a new and improved home page for its Web site. The goal of the redesign is to show, at a glance, the scope of work conducted by the organization, its members, and its partners, and to make relevant information and resources easily accessible to users.
The site now includes a list of “Some issues we’re working on,” which organizes by topic a wealth of relevant research and policy materials from AcademyHealth members and others, including publications, Annual Research Meeting abstracts, PowerPoint presentations, research, and policy analysis. This component will enable members and other constituents to see how AcademyHealth carries out its mission of transferring health care knowledge into action.
As with any Web site, the new home page is a work in progress. AcademyHealth invites members to visit the site and send their feedback to leanne.defrancesco@academyhealth.org.
Federal Health Data Recommendations for Improvement
Timely, accessible, reliable, and geographically relevant health data are critical for federal and state policymakers, practitioners, and researchers to monitor and improve coverage and access to health care. AcademyHealth undertook a special study to address concerns about the ability of current surveys to provide the necessary data to address state and federal policymakers' needs. The findings, available in a new report titled, "Improving Federal Health Data for Coverage and Access Policy Development Needs," provide a template for how to begin making improvements in the data sets.
The report addresses the following major themes:
- Scope and integration of current federal surveys;
- Specific improvements in current federal surveys;
- Increased investment in methodological research; and
- Increased integration and coordination among federal agencies.
Based on findings from three commissioned papers on federal health data and an expert meeting held in June 2004, the report calls upon the federal government to streamline current federal surveys by eliminating the redundancies in the information collected, and use the savings from this reduction in duplication to increase sample size in order to produce sub-national or state estimates. It also recommends that foundations complement the federal government investment in national surveys with targeted research to provide a better balance between ongoing surveillance and research.
Funded by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics, this report focuses on data needs for the federal and state levels related to health insurance coverage and access.
New Kaiser Family Foundation Report Examines Formulary Provisions
