A report prepared by UMass Medical School summarizes the findings of a qualitative study in which 33 uninsured individuals were interviewed about their experience living without health insurance. The findings can help to better understand the remaining barriers to coverage and inform strategies to reduce the uninsured.

Nearly three years ago, I wrote a TMM about Jorge.  This is the beginning of that piece:

We manage all program administration activities for the Massachusetts State Supplement Payment program, a federally mandated cash assistance program, saving the state more than $20 million per year.

Clinical Pharmacy Services has expertise in medication adherence strategies, prescriber outreach, clinical guideline development, pharmacy analytics, formulary management, pharmacoeconomic analysis and patient-centered medical homes. Our team develops and implements management strategies to contain overall costs and promote optimal therapeutic outcomes for Hepatitis C patients.

To ensure that individuals with disabilities and other potentially vulnerable populations have access to critical services and supports in emergencies or disasters, they must be included in emergency planning.  We have successfully implemented a comprehensive emergency planning and response education program in 29 Massachusetts communities, training nearly 1,000 responders, local government representatives, and individuals with disabilities and their families.  

A primary care practice group was interested in achieving Distinction in Patient Experience Reporting by the National Committee for Quality Assurance. Using the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) Patient-Centered Medical Home survey, our team conducted the surveys, analyzed the data, and submitted the results on behalf of the client.

UMass Medical School’s Work Without Limits is a statewide network of engaged employers and innovative, collaborative partners that aims to increase employment among individuals with disabilities. Our goal is for Massachusetts to become the first state in the nation in which the employment rate of individuals with disabilities is equal to that of people without disabilities.

This editorial calls for the American Psychiatric Association and other mental health organizations to oppose solitary confinement in U.S. prisons. The editorial reviews the arguments for supporting solitary confinement, referred to as segregation in U.S. prisons and outlines its negative impacts.

This paper finds that obesity prevalence for children with intellectual disabilities (ID) was 28.9% and 15.5% for children without ID. After adjusting for age, sex, race/ethnicity and poverty level, the odds ratio was significantly 1.89 times greater among children with ID than among those without ID.

We have been conducting a needs assessment to inform efforts to establish a state-level data collection and surveillance plan for systems of services for children and youth with autism spectrum disorder and developmental disabilities in response to a Massachusetts Autism Commission report calling for a statewide approach to meet needs. This poster shares identified gaps in services and coverage.