CHP/PCOR Quarterly Update, winter 2006 issue

This issue of CHP/PCOR's quarterly newsletter, which covers news from the fall 2005 quarter, includes articles about:

  • a study concluding that the implantable cardioverter defibrillator -- one of the most expensive medical devices on the market -- is worth its high cost, in appropriate patients, because it prevents sudden cardiac deaths;
  • the evolution and broad application of the Quality Indicators, a set of practical tools developed by CHP/PCOR researchers that are used by hundreds of U.S. hospitals, medical groups, health insurers, state health agencies and business coalitions to screen for quality problems;
  • a study finding that the Internet can be a valuable tool to help patients with stigmatized illnesses (such as mental illness) find information about and seek treatment for their illness;
  • CHP/PCOR-hosted seminars on global health themes, given by Jack Chow of the World Health Organization -- who discussed combating malaria, TB and HIV/AIDS -- and Dean Jamison of the NIH's Fogarty International Center, who discussed evaluating countries' performance on health; and
  • a prestigious national award won by two CHP/PCOR trainees at the annual meeting of the Society for Medical Decision Making.