Coverage Matters

Coverage Matters
Author: Institute of Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 204
Release: 2001-10-27
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0309076099

Roughly 40 million Americans have no health insurance, private or public, and the number has grown steadily over the past 25 years. Who are these children, women, and men, and why do they lack coverage for essential health care services? How does the system of insurance coverage in the U.S. operate, and where does it fail? The first of six Institute of Medicine reports that will examine in detail the consequences of having a large uninsured population, Coverage Matters: Insurance and Health Care, explores the myths and realities of who is uninsured, identifies social, economic, and policy factors that contribute to the situation, and describes the likelihood faced by members of various population groups of being uninsured. It serves as a guide to a broad range of issues related to the lack of insurance coverage in America and provides background data of use to policy makers and health services researchers.

Science and Decisions

Science and Decisions
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 422
Release: 2009-03-24
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0309120462

Risk assessment has become a dominant public policy tool for making choices, based on limited resources, to protect public health and the environment. It has been instrumental to the mission of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as well as other federal agencies in evaluating public health concerns, informing regulatory and technological decisions, prioritizing research needs and funding, and in developing approaches for cost-benefit analysis. However, risk assessment is at a crossroads. Despite advances in the field, risk assessment faces a number of significant challenges including lengthy delays in making complex decisions; lack of data leading to significant uncertainty in risk assessments; and many chemicals in the marketplace that have not been evaluated and emerging agents requiring assessment. Science and Decisions makes practical scientific and technical recommendations to address these challenges. This book is a complement to the widely used 1983 National Academies book, Risk Assessment in the Federal Government (also known as the Red Book). The earlier book established a framework for the concepts and conduct of risk assessment that has been adopted by numerous expert committees, regulatory agencies, and public health institutions. The new book embeds these concepts within a broader framework for risk-based decision-making. Together, these are essential references for those working in the regulatory and public health fields.

Improving the Social Security Representative Payee Program

Improving the Social Security Representative Payee Program
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 182
Release: 2007-10-17
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0309111005

More than 7 million recipients of Social Security benefits have a representative payee-a person or an organization-to receive or manage their benefits. These payees manage Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance funds for retirees, surviving spouses, children, and the disabled, and they manage Supplemental Security Income payments to disabled, blind, or elderly people with limited income and resources. More than half of the beneficiaries with a representative payee are minor children; the rest are adults, often elderly, whose mental or physical incapacity prevents them from acting on their own behalf, and people who have been deemed incapable under state guardianship laws. The funds are managed through the Representative Payee Program of the Social Security Administration (SSA). The funds total almost $4 billion a month, and there are more than 5.3 million representative payees. In 2004 Congress required the commissioner of the SSA to conduct a one-time survey to determine how payments to individual and organizational representative payees are being managed and used on behalf of the beneficiaries.1 To carry out this work, the SSA requested a study by the National Academies, which appointed the Committee on Social Security Representative Payees. This report is the result of that study. Improving the Social Security Representative Payee Program: Serving Beneficiaries and Minimizing Misuse (1) assesses the extent to which representative payees are not performing their duties in accordance with SSA standards for representative payee conduct, (2) explains whether the representative payment policies are practical and appropriate, (3) identifies the types of representative payees that have the highest risk of misuse of benefits, and (4) finds ways to reduce the risk of misuse of benefits and ways to better protect beneficiaries.

Learning from Our Buildings

Learning from Our Buildings
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 137
Release: 2002-03-01
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 0309076110

In 1986, the FFC requested that the NRC appoint a committee to examine the field and propose ways by which the POE process could be improved to better serve public and private sector organizations. The resulting report, Post-Occupancy Evaluation Practices in the Building Process: Opportunities for Improvement, proposed a broader view of POEs-from being simply the end phase of a building project to being an integral part of the entire building process. The authoring committee recommended a series of actions related to policy, procedures, and innovative technologies and techniques to achieve that broader view. In 2000, the FFC funded a second study to look at the state of the practice of POEs and lessons-learned programs among federal agencies and in private, public, and academic organizations both here and abroad. The sponsor agencies specifically wanted to determine whether and how information gathered during POE processes could be used to help inform decisions made in the programming, budgeting, design, construction, and operation phases of facility acquisition in a useful and timely way. To complete this study, the FFC commissioned a set of papers by recognized experts in this field, conducted a survey of selected federal agencies with POE programs, and held a forum at the National Academy of Sciences on March 13, 2001, to address these issues. This report is the result of those efforts.

Clinical Practice Guidelines We Can Trust

Clinical Practice Guidelines We Can Trust
Author: Institute of Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 217
Release: 2011-06-16
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 030921646X

Advances in medical, biomedical and health services research have reduced the level of uncertainty in clinical practice. Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) complement this progress by establishing standards of care backed by strong scientific evidence. CPGs are statements that include recommendations intended to optimize patient care. These statements are informed by a systematic review of evidence and an assessment of the benefits and costs of alternative care options. Clinical Practice Guidelines We Can Trust examines the current state of clinical practice guidelines and how they can be improved to enhance healthcare quality and patient outcomes. Clinical practice guidelines now are ubiquitous in our healthcare system. The Guidelines International Network (GIN) database currently lists more than 3,700 guidelines from 39 countries. Developing guidelines presents a number of challenges including lack of transparent methodological practices, difficulty reconciling conflicting guidelines, and conflicts of interest. Clinical Practice Guidelines We Can Trust explores questions surrounding the quality of CPG development processes and the establishment of standards. It proposes eight standards for developing trustworthy clinical practice guidelines emphasizing transparency; management of conflict of interest ; systematic review-guideline development intersection; establishing evidence foundations for and rating strength of guideline recommendations; articulation of recommendations; external review; and updating. Clinical Practice Guidelines We Can Trust shows how clinical practice guidelines can enhance clinician and patient decision-making by translating complex scientific research findings into recommendations for clinical practice that are relevant to the individual patient encounter, instead of implementing a one size fits all approach to patient care. This book contains information directly related to the work of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), as well as various Congressional staff and policymakers. It is a vital resource for medical specialty societies, disease advocacy groups, health professionals, private and international organizations that develop or use clinical practice guidelines, consumers, clinicians, and payers.

Appendix Project

Appendix Project
Author: Kate Zambreno
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 153
Release: 2019-04-23
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 163590076X

On the ongoing project of writing about grief; Zambreno's addendum to Book of Mutter. “I came up with the idea of writing these notes, or talks, out of a primary desire to not read from Book of Mutter, and instead to keep gesturing to its incompleteness and ongoingness, which connects, for me, to the fragmentary project of literature, and what I long for in writing." —from Appendix Project Inspired by the lectures of Roland Barthes, Anne Carson, and Jorge Luis Borges, Kate Zambreno's Appendix Project collects eleven talks and essays written in the course of the year following the publication of Book of Mutter, Zambreno's book on her mother that took her over a decade to write. These surprising and moving performances, underscored by the sleeplessness of the first year of her child's life, contain Zambreno's most original and dazzling thinking and writing to date. In Appendix Project Zambreno thinks through the work of On Kawara, Roland Barthes, W.G. Sebald, Bhanu Kapil, Walter Benjamin, Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, Marguerite Duras, Marlene Dumas, Louise Bourgeois, Doris Salcedo, Jenny Holzer, and more.

Primer to the Immune Response

Primer to the Immune Response
Author: Tak W. Mak
Publisher: Newnes
Total Pages: 703
Release: 2013-12-23
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 012385461X

Written in the same engaging conversational style as the acclaimed first edition, Primer to The Immune Response, 2nd Edition is a fully updated and invaluable resource for college and university students in life sciences, medicine and other health professions who need a concise but comprehensive introduction to immunology. The authors bring clarity and readability to their audience, offering a complete survey of the most fundamental concepts in basic and clinical immunology while conveying the subject’s fascinating appeal. The content of this new edition has been completely updated to include current information on all aspects of basic and clinical immunology. The superbly drawn figures are now in full color, complemented by full color plates throughout the book. The text is further enhanced by the inclusion of numerous tables, special topic boxes and brief notes that provide interesting insights. At the end of each chapter, a self-test quiz allows students to monitor their mastery of major concepts, while a set of conceptual questions prompts them to extrapolate further and extend their critical thinking. Moreover, as part of the Academic Cell line of textbooks, Primer to The Immune Response, 2nd Edition contains research passages that shine a spotlight on current experimental work reported in Cell Press articles. These articles also form the basis of case studies that are found in the associated online study guide and are designed to reinforce clinical connections. Complete yet concise coverage of the basic and clinical principles of immunology Engaging conversational writing style that is to the point and very readable Over 200 clear, elegant color illustrations Comprehensive glossary and list of abbreviations

A Strategic Vision for Department of Energy Environmental Quality Research and Development

A Strategic Vision for Department of Energy Environmental Quality Research and Development
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 182
Release: 2001-11-01
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0309075602

The National Academies' National Research Council undertook this study in response to a request from the Under Secretary of Energy to provide strategic advice on how the Department of Energy could improve its Environmental Quality R&D portfolio. The committee recommends that DOE develop strategic goals and objectives for its EQ business line that explicitly incorporate a more comprehensive, long-term view of its EQ responsibilities. For example, these goals and objectives should emphasize long-term stewardship and the importance of limiting contamination and materials management problems, including the generation of wastes and contaminated media, in ongoing and future DOE operations.

Biomaterials Science

Biomaterials Science
Author: William R Wagner
Publisher: Academic Press
Total Pages: 1612
Release: 2020-05-23
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 0128161388

The revised edition of the renowned and bestselling title is the most comprehensive single text on all aspects of biomaterials science from principles to applications. Biomaterials Science, fourth edition, provides a balanced, insightful approach to both the learning of the science and technology of biomaterials and acts as the key reference for practitioners who are involved in the applications of materials in medicine.This new edition incorporates key updates to reflect the latest relevant research in the field, particularly in the applications section, which includes the latest in topics such as nanotechnology, robotic implantation, and biomaterials utilized in cancer research detection and therapy. Other additions include regenerative engineering, 3D printing, personalized medicine and organs on a chip. Translation from the lab to commercial products is emphasized with new content dedicated to medical device development, global issues related to translation, and issues of quality assurance and reimbursement. In response to customer feedback, the new edition also features consolidation of redundant material to ensure clarity and focus. Biomaterials Science, 4th edition is an important update to the best-selling text, vital to the biomaterials’ community. The most comprehensive coverage of principles and applications of all classes of biomaterials Edited and contributed by the best-known figures in the biomaterials field today; fully endorsed and supported by the Society for Biomaterials Fully revised and updated to address issues of translation, nanotechnology, additive manufacturing, organs on chip, precision medicine and much more. Online chapter exercises available for most chapters