Evaluation and Measurement

Commonwealth Medicine, the health care consulting division of UMass Medical School, has an experienced research team dedicated to program evaluation and quality measurement. The highly-qualified experts in our Center for Health Policy and Research offer our clients a full range of services:

• Program evaluations
• Performance measurement
• Health care consumer experience
• Disparities assessment
• Pay-for-performance initiative design
  

With our strong background and up-to-date skills in these fields, we serve as a comprehensive, cutting-edge resource for our clients, especially those who seek particular expertise in the following areas:

• Evaluation of new and established programs
• Measurement of access to care, quality, and patient experience
• Design and testing tools to collect data
• Survey research
  

We have a long history of working closely with health care agencies and nonprofit organizations. We apply our expertise to further their public service mission as well as ours. The Commonwealth Medicine division’s recent research projects include the following:

• Evaluation of the Recovery Learning Center model in three areas of Massachusetts to determine how well the model helped improve access to regional peer support and community ties for people with mental illness.
• The Clinical Topic Review 2008, currently underway, assesses rates of behavioral health screenings that occur at paid, well-child visits in fiscal year 2007 for children enrolled in the MassHealth Primary Care Clinician Plan and Managed Care Organizations.
• The Community Case Management evaluation examines the processes and outcomes of planning, implementing, and operating a program to improve the quality of care for severely disabled children.
• The MassHealth Tobacco Cessation Benefit was mandated in the Massachusetts Health Care Reform Law of April 2006, and requires that MassHealth make tobacco cessation pharmacotherapy and counseling services available for all MassHealth members and evaluate tobacco cessation outcomes. The evaluation, using a survey sample of MassHealth members who have used the benefit as well as a comparison group, is assessing the effectiveness of the benefit in helping MassHealth members quit smoking permanently.
• Stroke Collaborative Reaching for Excellence (SCORE) Evaluation assesses hospitals’ experience participating in SCORE. The SCORE program employs a tiered approach to hospital-based quality improvement for the identification and treatment of patients at risk for stroke or with a stroke occurrence.