Care for Chronic Conditions
 “Trends in Diabetes Prevalence and Care Among Medicare Beneficiaries in Maryland—2002.” Angela Merrill, December 2004. Diabetes is a chronic medical condition that can lead to serious complications, including blindness, lower-limb amputations, cardiovascular disease, and kidney disease. Since the 1950s, rates of diabetes have increased significantly across the country. This brief summarizes a study commissioned by the Maryland Health Care Commission and the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to determine rates of diabetes prevalence, use of routine preventive care, and adverse outcomes associated with diabetes among the state’s Medicare beneficiaries. Findings suggest that certain groups, such as African Americans and those dually enrolled in Medicaid and Medicare, have higher rates of disease, experience more adverse effects, and receive fewer preventive services.
 “Diabetes Prevalence, Outcomes, and Preventive Services Among Maryland Medicare Beneficiaries, 2002.” Angela Merrill and So Sasigant Limpa-Amara, January 2005. Diabetes is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. Preventive care practices—such as dilated eye exams and control of blood glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol—can help avoid severe complications of the disease. This report for the Maryland Health Care Commission and the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene presents rates of diabetes prevalence and of preventive service use and adverse outcomes among Maryland Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes. The state will use the baseline rates to (1) assess the prevalence of diabetes among Medicare beneficiaries in Maryland, (2) compare results in Maryland to the Healthy People objectives, (3) monitor trends in preventive care and outcomes, (4) compare state trends to national trends, and (5) develop interventions to increase the provision of services and reduce diabetes prevalence and complications.
Community Tracking Study
 "Leadership Changes Reinvigorate Cleveland's Health Care Market." Sally Trude, Gloria J. Bazzoli, Jon B. Christianson, Anneliese M. Gerland, Andrea Staiti, and Erin Fries Taylor, June 2005. New leaders at Cleveland’s two major hospital systems—the Cleveland Clinic Health System (CCHS) and University Hospitals Health System (UHHS)—have helped strengthen the organizations’ financial positions and soothe long-standing rivalries, according to a new report from the Community Tracking Study. Read more on the Community Tracking Study.
New Web Pages
Collecting and managing high-quality information on health care programs and policies is a central part of our core business. A new Survey Research web page highlights Mathematica’s broad experience in health care surveys of the general population, plans, professionals, programs, employers, and coalitions.
The quality of the nation's health care varies widely across populations, geographic areas, providers, and health insurance arrangements. A new web page on our Health Policy Research site summarizes Mathematica’s recent work with pay for performance, public reporting of quality data, disease management, and use of technology to monitor and improve care—four of the most promising strategies available to policymakers and private health care leaders to encourage quality improvement.
Performance measurement is an important tool for organizations that want to know whether they are on a path to achieve their goals. A new page on our Labor Policy Research site outlines the tools that Mathematica has developed to help clients monitor, evaluate, and improve their programs.
On the Move: Staff News and Changes
 Jerry West has joined Mathematica as a senior fellow in the Surveys and Information Services Division. Previously director of the Early Childhood and Household Studies Program at the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics, he is responsible for designing, directing, and analyzing Mathematica’s large-scale surveys in the fields of education and early childhood development.
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