WHAT: The October 11th New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) features a special article, "The Quality of Ambulatory Care Delivered to Children in the United States." The article summarizes a study that assessed the extent to which care processes recommended for pediatric outpatients are delivered. It found that on average, children in the study received 46.5 percent of the indicated care. WHO: Dr. Charles Homer, CEO of the nonprofit National Initiative for Children's Healthcare Quality, co-authored a companion NEJM editorial, "The Quality of Children's Healthcare Matters - Time to Pay Attention." Regarding the special article, the editorial notes: "High quality healthcare matters for all children... [yet] problems with the quality of children's care are as severe as those occurring elsewhere in our healthcare system. Improvement of the performance of the children's healthcare system will require system wide change. Even more innovation is needed in new models of care and in the substantive redesign of the organization, human resources, finance and delivery of health services underlying the children's healthcare system." Dr. Homer is available to discuss:
-- Steps that can be taken to improve the quality of children's
healthcare system wide
-- Implementing healthcare standards to enhance quality of care in
programs through state and federal policy, including the State Children's
Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and Medicaid
Dr. Homer is also an associate professor of the Department of Society,
Human Development and Health at the Harvard University School of Public
Health and an associate clinical professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical
School.
The editorial's co-author is Dr. James M. Perrin, a professor of pediatrics
at Harvard Medical School and director of the Division of General
Pediatrics and the Center for Child and Adolescent Health Policy at the
Massachusetts General Hospital for Children.
WHEN:
Dr. Homer is available immediately via phone.
About the National Initiative for Children's Healthcare Quality
As an independent action-oriented pediatric quality improvement
organization, NICHQ is focused on bridging the gap between the current and
desired state of healthcare for children. The organization is directed by
leading healthcare professionals to raise awareness, help clinicians and
practices improve care and reduce disparities, and conduct research to
identify best practices in pediatric care. For more information, call
866-787-0832 or visit www.nichq.org.
Contact Information: Contact: Barb Heffner 781-672-3112 508-397-1138 (cell)