Read article – The Washington Post via Kaiser Health News | 2/28/18
Cites comments by Amber Barnato, the Susan J. and Richard M. Levy Distinguished Professor in Health Care Delivery, professor of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, and professor of medicine, in an article that examines how many elderly patients undergo an operation in the year before they die, even though the evidence shows that many are more likely to be harmed than to benefit from it. (Picked up by NPR and NHPR.)

Read article – Cites data compiled by researchers at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, which found that less than 11 percent of Medicare beneficiaries took advantage of the free annual “wellness” visit benefit in 2012.

Read article – Quotes Elliott Fisher, director of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, who recently participated in a panel discussion at the Healthcare Costs Innovation Summit in Washington, D.C., that addressed value-based payment models. “I think we are missing the whole emphasis on cost,” said Fisher. “We need to have much better information using patient-reported outcome measures about how patients are before they get surgery.”

Read article – Quotes Timothy Fisher, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology, in an article about a new study that found that states that give midwives a greater role in patient care achieve better results on key measures of maternal and neonatal health.

Read article – An article about the Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center’s recent annual meeting mentions that the keynote speaker was George T. Blike, professor of anesthesiology and community and family medicine at the Geisel School of Medicine and of The Dartmouth Institute. Blike spoke on the topics of quality of care and patient safety.

Read article – An opinion piece by Cassie Kosarek, Geisel ’20, in which she shares three myths about medical school to help prospective students know what it is like to pursue a medical education.

Read article – Includes commentary by Ellen Meara, professor of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, in which she discusses the widening health gulf between those who get a college degree and those who don’t, and what colleges can do about it. “Colleges can devote resources and expand access to low-income students and students from less-educated communities. Once the students are admitted, colleges can help them navigate financial aid and curricular support to improve graduation rates,” says Meara.

Read article – An opinion piece by H. Gilbert Welch, professor of medicine and of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, in which he discusses the problems with liquid biopsy tests. “The enthusiasm for finding things that might benefit people in the future ignores the fact that doing so can cause people to have problems now. In short, a bad test can do as much damage as a bad drug,” says Welch. “Worrisome liquid biopsies will start a cascade of subsequent, not-so-simple tests and procedures. People will be hurt in the process.”

Read article – A feature story about physician-scientist Steven Leach, MD, who is about five months into his new role as director of Dartmouth’s Norris Cotton Cancer Center. Leach talks about how important Dartmouth’s collaborative environment is to the Cancer Center’s ability to meet its multiple missions, and shares some of his goals regarding research, patient care, and recruiting.

Read article – Quotes H. Gilbert Welch, professor of medicine and of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, about recent research he coauthored that examined how living in an area with high rates of CT scans affects nephrectomy risk. “Whether it entails radical or partial nephrectomy or renal ablation, treatment for an incidentally detected renal mass is associated with a significant risk of harm,” wrote Welch. “In addition to the perioperative case-fatality rates … all these interventions require general anesthesia, elevating the risk of cardiovascular events.”