From RWJF Alerts - Resarch leading to Policy

RWJF Announces $300-Million Commitment to Improve Quality of U.S. Health Care
Disparities in the Quality of Care Spur Nation’s Largest Health Care Philanthropy to Attack the Problem in 14 Communities Across AmericaWith increasing reports of dangerous deficiencies in the quality of health care, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is making a $300-million commitment to improve quality in regions across the United States. The commitment to improve health care in 14 communities—together covering 11 percent of the U.S. population—is the largest effort of its kind ever undertaken by a U.S. philanthropy. Known as Aligning Forces for Quality, the community-focused program aims to lift the overall quality of health care, reduce racial and ethnic disparities and provide models for national reform.
Underscoring the scope of the problem, RWJF also released new research showing that the quality of care people receive can vary dramatically depending on their race and where they live. The new research, conducted by the Dartmouth Atlas Project at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice for the Aligning Forces for Quality initiative, analyzes Medicare claims to illustrate staggering variations in health care quality across the country. Researchers examined five different measures of care at the state level and in the 14 Aligning Forces for Quality communities.
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