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WBUR and Boston Globe Spotlight Primary Care Access Problems Based on MHQP Data
(April 2024)
MHQP is pleased to have played a key role in providing data and contacts to help create three recently published prominent stories about the critical issue of primary care access in Massachusetts.
Thanks to
MHQP and MSCA Seek New Research Directions for Sickle Cell Disease Pain Crisis Care
(April 2024)
MHQP and the Massachusetts Sickle Cell Association (MSCA) have joined forces again to identify new research directions aimed at improving pain crisis care for people with sickle cell disease (SCD), a life-threatening, inherited blood disease. This project builds on a prior collaboration between the two organizations focused on SCD
Award Winning Primary Care Practice Increasingly Challenged to Survive in Today’s Environment
(March 2024)
“The joy I get from caring for patients, there’s not a more rewarding experience. That’s the one piece that really keeps me going back to work.”
That’s how David Weinstock, DO, of Grove Medical Associates in Auburn, Massachusetts, describes why he loves being a primary care physician. He shares these
MHQP Announces Winners of 2023 Patient Experience Awards
(February 2024)
MHQP is pleased to announce the winners of the 2023 “MHQP Patient Experience Awards.” MHQP introduced this award program in 2018 as a way to recognize the primary care practices that perform highest on our annual Commercial Patient Experience Survey, the only statewide survey of patient experience in primary care in Massachusetts.
In 2023, MHQP received more than
MHQP’s Statewide Survey Shows Patients Continue to Experience Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Massachusetts
(February 2024)
Black and Asian patients reported worse experiences in primary care than White patients across many categories in MHQP’s 2023 statewide Patient Experience Survey, the results of which were released today. The same was true of Hispanic/Latino patients when compared to non-Hispanic/Latino patients.
Evidence has shown that positive patient experiences are associated with better health
MHQP Receives RWJF Evidence for Action Grant to Advance Health Equity Through Social Risk Adjustment Methods
(February 2024)
MHQP is honored to announce that we have received a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Evidence for Action program, in partnership with the Cambridge Health Alliance Health Equity Research Lab. This project will facilitate an exploration of social risk factors in adjustment models,
Patient Experience Scores for Adults Improve Since Before the Pandemic, Except in One Key Area: Access
MHQP’s statewide Patient Experience Survey confirms that patients are struggling to access primary care.
Scores for pediatric care declined in other critical areas as well.
(February 2024)
The results of MHQP’s annual statewide Patient Experience Survey, which were released today, offer an important indication of how patients’ experiences have shifted during and after the pandemic.
First
Lessons from US and Global Scorecards to Help Improve How We Measure the Health of Primary Care
(February 2024)
In an article published in Health Affairs Forefront, MHQP’s CEO Barbra Rabson and her colleagues, Christopher Koller from the Milbank Memorial Fund, and Joseph Ross, Asaf Bitton and June-Ho Kim from Ariadne Labs, review the lessons we’ve learned from scorecards designed to measure and strengthen primary care in
2023: A Year of Expanding Our Impact
(January 2024)
2023 was an eventful year for MHQP, a year in which we continued expanding beyond our historical focus on measuring patient experience and took important steps to help strengthen primary care and advance health equity in Massachusetts. These efforts culminated in the launch of two major initiatives — the
MHQP Receives PCORI Award to Help Advance Equity in Endometriosis Care for Black Women
(January 2024)
MHQP is pleased to announce that, in partnership with the Endometriosis Association, we have received a funding award through the Eugene Washington PCORI Engagement Award Program, an initiative of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, to identify new research directions to reduce disparities in endometriosis care for Black women, as
We Need Bolder Actions to Take On Our Primary Care Crisis
(December 2023)
By Barbra G. Rabson
In a post earlier this year, I noted the threat to the sustainability of our state’s health care system if it continues to prioritize spending on hospital care and underspend in primary care. Since then, I have been encouraged by some welcome
Julita Mir, MD, Brings Insights and Expertise as MHQP’s New Board Chair
(December 2023)
The focus of Julita Mir’s career is at the nexus of all that MHQP stands for: optimizing patient experiences, building primary care relationships, and working to achieve equitable care for vulnerable populations. As an internist, infectious disease specialist and healthcare executive, the things that matter to her are the things
Employers Value Telehealth’s Convenience But Are Skeptical About Its Impact on Cost, MHQP/AIM Study Shows
(October 2023)
When telehealth usage surged during the pandemic as a safe way for patients and providers to interact, MHQP conducted a series of surveys among providers and patients to provide real-time feedback to the field about this rapidly evolving tool. The input we received was extremely valuable in helping
MHQP Introduces Measured Equity, a Statewide Initiative to Measure Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Patient Experiences
(September 2023)
We can no longer ignore the systemic racial and ethnic disparities in patient experiences that plague our healthcare system. Organizations across the state are taking action to address these disparities, but these complex issues can only be effectively addressed by working collaboratively across organizational lines, not in organizational siloes. At the Health Equity Trends Summit assembled by
MHQP Begins Annual Process to Update Clinical Guidelines with a Health Equity Focus
(September 2023)
It’s a valued resource for some, but not known by many ― MHQP’s Clinical Guidelines. Since 2001, MHQP has been helping to ensure all patients receive the same high standard of care through the annual publication of consistent, evidence-based, best practices guidelines for Adult Preventive Care, Pediatric Preventive Care
Autumn Bailey, Symone Woodham and Julia Banas Bring Fresh Perspectives to MHQP
(September 2023)
Over the past two years, MHQP has been pleased to have added a new cadre of young talent, as we have welcomed Julia Banas, Symone Woodham and Autumn Bailey to our staff. Each brings a unique background and offers a unique set of skills. Yet they all share two things in common: an interest in public health
Barbra Rabson Joins ABFM Board of Directors
(September 2023)
Barbra Rabson, MHQP’s President and CEO, has been invited to join the Board of Directors for the American Board of Family Medicine (ABMF) as one of two non-physician members.
Founded in 1969, ABFM is a not-for-profit, private organization whose mission is to improve the health of the public through
Unsustainable: An Honest Assessment of Massachusetts’ Healthcare Performance
By Barbra G. Rabson
(July 2023)
Last month, the Commonwealth Fund published its annual scorecard on state health performance and gave Massachusetts the top overall ranking. The ranking was based on several metrics collected in 2019, 2020 and 2021 covering seven categories ― Reproductive and Women’s Health, Access and
MHQP Data Spotlights the Troubling State of Pediatric Care in Boston Globe Article
(June 2023)
An article by Jessica Bartlett in this past Sunday’s Boston Globe asserts that “independent pediatric practices are struggling to survive.” MHQP is pleased to have helped bring attention to this critical issue by providing data cited by the author.
The article focuses on Middleboro Pediatrics, an independent practice located in
“The Failing Health of Primary Care in the US,” a Podcast Hosted by Zeev Neuwirth and Featuring Barbra Rabson and Katherine Gergen Barnett
(June 2023)
Barbra Rabson, MPH and Katherine Gergen Barnett, MD have teamed up again to raise concerns about the state of primary care in Massachusetts and across the country, this time on a podcast hosted by Zeev Neuwirth, MD.
As Dr. Neuwirth’s guests for episode #152 of his award-winning podcast series,
Welcome Karina Santamaria, New Director of Research
(May 2023)
“My plans were to go to medical school, but then I found this whole other world of solving health problems. I’ve learned there are many different roads to get to an endpoint.”
That’s how Karina Santamaria, MHQP’s new Director of Research, describes the evolution of her career path that led
MHQP Receives Second PCORI Award to Help Improve Care for Patients with Sickle Cell Disease
(May 2023)
In the summer of 2022, MHQP partnered with the Massachusetts Sickle Cell Association (MSCA) to lead a set of convenings to explore new directions for research into patient-centered approaches to help people with sickle cell disease (SCD) self-manage their pain. This effort was made possible through an award from
MHQP Surveying MassHealth Members About Their Patient Experiences of Care
(May 2023)
MHQP is pleased to announce that we have again been selected by the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as its vendor to survey members of MassHealth, the state’s Medicaid program, about their experiences of care. MHQP completed a five-year contract for
Celebrating Barbra Rabson on her 25th Anniversary at MHQP
(May 2023)
When Barbra Rabson joined MHQP as its part-time executive director in April 1998, MHQP was not yet an official organization. In fact, she started out as a contractor for the Massachusetts Hospital Association, which was serving as MHQP’s incubator.
The concept of MHQP was born three years earlier, when the late
