FROM THE FOUNDATION

The Social Life of Health Information

A new Pew Internet/CHCF national survey finds the Internet has joined doctors and family members as one of the top three ways people search for answer to their health care questions.

Evaluating One-e-App

CHCF and The California Endowment funded the development of One-e-App, a Web-based program that enables users to apply for multiple public insurance programs at once. Read a business case assessment by The Lewin Group.

Privacy, Security, and the Stimulus Bill

The recently enacted economic stimulus legislation includes a number of improvements to federal health privacy law. This brief looks at issues of privacy and security in the wake of ARRA.

Consumer Information

Thursday, June 21, 2007

New England Hospital Posts Patient Outcome Surveys on Web Site

Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center's Web site provides data on the percentage of patients who experienced symptom relief after surgery and whether they would chose surgery again, CBS' "Evening News" reports. Patients use hospital laptops to complete surveys that are used to compile the data.

Physicians at the medical center said the Web site resulted in fewer surgeries because the decision to operate is based more on patient preference than surgeon preference.

Beginning Friday, Medicare will post on its Web site a hospital report card with information about survival rates for heart attacks and heart failure. At least 20 states provide similar online data, the "Evening News" reports.

The segment includes comments from:

  • William Abdu of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center;
  • Jim Conway of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement; and
  • Patients receiving care at Dartmouth-Hitchcock (Andrews, "Evening News," CBS, 6/20).
Video of the segment and expanded CBS News coverage are available online.



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