December 2007/January 2008

Findings from a HCFO-sponsored study by Donald H. Taylor Jr., Ph.D., assistant professor at Duke University, were announced in a November 8, 2007 press release from the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization titled, "Hospice Care Saves Money for Medicare, New Study Shows." In this study, Taylor examined whether hospice care saves Medicare money and what impact hospice care had on out-of-pocket expenses incurred by families of terminally ill Medicare patients. He notes, "Given that hospice care has been widely demonstrated to improve quality of life of patients and families.the Medicare program appears to have a rare situation whereby something that improves quality of life also appears to reduce costs." The study findings were also featured in the November 27, 2007 New York Times article, "In Hospice Care, Longer Lives Mean Money Lost."

J. William Thomas, Ph.D., professor at the University of Southern Maine, was quoted in the November 12, 2007 American Medical News article, "Project Seeks Framework for Quality, Public Reporting," regarding the cost-efficiency of specialist physicians. He noted that it is challenging to develop accurate cost-estimates and that, "The reliability of cost-efficiency measures varies tremendously across clinical specialties." Thomas is currently conducting HCFO-sponsored research that examines ways to develop standard methods for measuring cost efficiency of specialist physicians, which will assist decision makers in developing physicians networks, assigning tiers, and implementing improved public reporting.

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