Erica Humphrey | Steinhardt 2014
The Dartmouth Atlas Project has documented variations in the distribution of medical care and resources throughout the United States for more than 20 years. [1] Researchers at The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice use data to reveal differences across states, regions, counties, and from one hospital to the next, controlling for factors related to a lack of insurance by focusing exclusively on Medicare patients. The project aims to understand why such differences exist, as well as how physicians, hospitals, and policy-makers can change the way the healthcare system functions in order to increase both its efficiency and effectiveness. A closer look at the Health Service Areas (HSAs) of the state of New Jersey, for example, shows wide differences in diabetes discharges for ambulatory-sensitive care per 1,000 Medicare enrollees from 2008-2010. Because diabetes affects an estimated 25.8 million people in the U.S.—8.3% of…
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