Health Policy Research Update

Collaborations between health care facilities and Medicare quality improvement organizations can result in improved care, particularly in areas for which the facility had requested help from QIOs, a study in the Annals of Internal Medicine found. Researchers recommend that future QIO evaluations include surveys to health care providers to determine how much quality measures would have improved without the QIO assistance.

This week's Health Policy Research Update also includes studies examining:

• Cost effectiveness of pay-for-performance systems; and
  
  
• Implementation of computer physician order-entry systems.