This report describes the process of providing integrated care for patients with substance use disorders at three sites in central Massachusetts: Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center, Family Health Center of Worcester, and Community Healthlink. It identifies common practices that improve care coordination and presents key findings.
Our Work
Technical Report
July 21, 2016
Technical Report
July 14, 2016
Health insurance coverage data from state tax filings for 2011 and 2012 is used to address a gap in research that has focused on health insurance coverage in a given 12-month period and to provide a better understanding of the population in Massachusetts that is prone to remain uninsured over consecutive years.
Journal Article
July 01, 2016
Twenty-five women with physical disabilities across the U.S. who had had a baby in the past 10 years were interviewed for this study. The results shed light on the unmet needs and barriers to the care of women with mobility disabilities during pregnancy and childbirth. The study findings highlight the need for policy and practice recommendations for perinatal care of women with mobility disabilities.
Poster
June 27, 2016
An overview and review of a Perioperative Surgical Home pilot developed using hte guiding principles of the patient-centered medical home. The PSH coordinates care and decisions from the decision to operate through return to primary care.
Poster
June 27, 2016
A summary of the way the Worcester Division of Public Health was able to improve care for its patients after being awarded a Prevention and Welllness Trust Fund grant from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
Poster
June 26, 2016
A detailed review of the teaching assistance and shared learning UMass Medical School provided in the area of behavioral health integration to participants of the Primary Care Payment Reform program, an alternative payment pilot developed by the Massachusetts Medicaid program, MassHealth.
Poster
June 25, 2016
A comprehensive look at The Southern New England Practice Transformation Network (SNE-PTN), which supports implementation of person-centered, high quality, efficient, and coordinated care. SNE-PTN is funded under the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Transforming Clinical Practices Initiative.
Technical Report
June 16, 2016
A chart pack produced by the Massachusetts Medicaid Policy Institute (MMPI), a program of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation, in partnership with the Health Law & Policy team at UMass Medical School. This updated edition includes MassHealth enrollment as of January 2016 and spending from state fiscal year 2015.
Journal Article
June 06, 2016
The study concludes that antiviral treatment with sofosbuvir and/or simeprevir was requested for a relatively small proportion of Hepatitis C-infected members of MassHealth, the Massachusetts Medicaid program, with nearly all approved. Prescriber prioritization or patient barriers to care, rather than prior authorization, determined access to treatment. Support may be needed to ensure patients with SUD benefit from advances in HCV treatment.
Webinar
June 02, 2016
The Massachusetts High-Risk Pediatric Asthma Bundled Payment Model, created by UMass Medical School on behalf of MassHealth, is one of two innovative models featured in this webinar about how select states are using Medicaid to pay for supportive services.
Technical Report
June 01, 2016
This report includes findings from the evaluation of the 2013-2015 Connecting Consumers with Care grant program.
The evaluation assessed outreach and enrollment progress, described practices used to reach and enroll consumers in health insurance, and characterized efforts to increase consumer self-sufficiency.
Blog
June 01, 2016
An overview of the Academic Consortium on Criminal Justice Health's 9th Annual Academic & Health Policy Conference on Correctional Health in CorrDocs, the newsletter of the American College of Correctional Physicians. The conference is supported by the University of Massachusetts Medical School and co-hosted this year by George Mason University.
White Paper
May 24, 2016
Provides policy recommendations to address current barriers to employment for people with psychiatric disabilities, who can successfully obtain and maintain employment with supports that include increased access to career development, supported employment, and critical health services.
Journal Article
May 02, 2016
Justice-involved people have higher rates of substance, mental health, and chronic medical disorders than the general population. This commentary provides rationale and a blueprint for engagement of academic health science institutions to harness their capabilities to tackle one of the country’s most vexing public health crises.
Technical Report
April 15, 2016
Pipeline Trends is produced by the Clinical Pharmacy Services division and is distributed at least once a year. It provides an overview of promising new agents, investigational indications, projected generic entry, FDA updates and industry trends.
Presentation
April 13, 2016
This presentation describes how to use data to develop outcome-based measures to ensure the quality of home and community-based services (HCBS).
Technical Report
April 12, 2016
This fact sheet presents a summary of the effects of Chapter
58 of the Acts of 2006, "An Act Providing Access To Affordable, Quality, Accountable Health Care," as reported in the many studies that have focused on Massachusetts’ reform. This high-level review summarizes the findings in various categories, including insurance coverage, access to care, health care utilization, and affordability for consumers.
Technical Report
April 01, 2016
This report provides a comprehensive overview of the MA Personal and Home Care Aide State Training (PHCAST) Grant Project funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Bureau of Health Professions, Division of Nursing. The grant aimed to improve existing training for home care aides, offer training for personal care attendants, increase transferability of the workforce, and reduce turnover.
Case Study
April 01, 2016
We work with multiple state agencies and a multidisciplinary team to oversee clinically robust prior authorization requirements for specific behavioral health medications and polypharmacy regimens in pediatric members in the Massachusetts State Medicaid program.
Poster
March 21, 2016
Primary Care Payment Reform (PCPR), an alternative payment pilot program of MassHealth with learning collaborative support from UMass Medical School, demonstrated that behavioral health integration is a necessary component of whole-person care and a complex, but highly accomplishable task.
Poster
March 21, 2016
An analysis of the Massachusetts Patient-Centered Medical Home (MA PCMHI) at 46 participating practices finds that primary care practice transformation takes time; care transitions, including emergency room and post-discharge follow-up care, require the development of new clinical workflows; and the processes of care are more likely to improve before outcomes are affected.