Health Equity

Performance-based incentives to primary-care physicians could end up increasing the disparities in care provided to lower-income patients and minorities, according to a study by the Rand Corp. The results are reported in the May edition of the journal Health Affairs.

The American Pain Society honored the recipients of its fourth annual Clinical Centers of Excellence in Pain Management Awards recognizing six of nation's outstanding pain care centers.  

A survey of safety-net health systems finds their costs for uncompensated care now average more than $2.3 million per hospital, according to a release from the National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems.

A recent survey of members of the California Medical Association found that although almost all of them would like to see some sort of health reform, they are evenly divided over which kind, according to a report by California Physician.

Citing federal statistics, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality says uninsured adults were more likely in 2007 to have problems accessing a physician specialist than people who had insurance coverage, according to a report by AHA News Now.

A poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation finds that Americans who oppose the health reform bills in Congress would still support several specific provisions, according to a release by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

A survey of more than 1,500 opinion leaders from the healthcare industry, academia and government found that an overwhelming majority of the leaders believe nurses should have more influence in health reform.

A new ban against hiring smokers at Memorial Hospital in Chattanooga is raising questions about whether such a policy amount to hiring discrimination, according to a report by the Chattanooga Free Press.

A recent report found that the four non-profit hospitals in Columbus, Ohio, provided nearly $400 million in community benefit to citizens of central Ohio in 2008, including $175 million in charity care, according to a Central Ohio Hospital Council news…

Two hospitals in Baltimore are turning to employees and physicians on staff to raise millions of dollars for current capital projects, according to a report by the Baltimore Business Journal.