The Center's FREE health policy seminar series: 2014

From health care reform in the United States to health care costs around the world, the Center is pleased to host leading health policy experts at our lunchtime seminar series. The seminars take place once a month at the Center's offices for approximately one hour.  

The Center's FREE Health Policy Seminar Series: 2014

May 21, 2014
"The Dementia Initiative: Bringing Humanity to Long-term Care"
Lené Levy-Storms, Associate Director of the UCLA/Borun Center for Gerontological Research, and Professor in the UCLA departments of Social Welfare and Medicine/Geriatrics

Dementia is a devastating condition, not only for aging individuals but for their families and for society itself. While the prevalence of persons living with dementia has been rapidly increasing, it was not until the Affordable Care Act of 2010 that the phrase, "dementia care training," was even added to federal regulations on long-term care workforce training requirements. 

One of the unique challenges to caring for persons living with dementia is moving from a disease-centered approach (focused on treating clinical symptoms) to a "person-centered approach" focused on more humanistic and holistic treatments. This new approach emphasizes developing a relationship with the patient, understanding their needs and concerns, and taking into account their psychological, as well as physical, state.

Levy-Storms describes The Dementia Initiative, a national coalition of researchers, practitioners, and policy-makers engaged in efforts to promote a person-centered approach into dementia care. She provides an overview of the trend towards person-centered care and describe in more detail a range of specific person-centered care practices, as well as the scientific and clinical evidence to date of the effectiveness of these practices.

April 30, 2014 
"Health Care Reform in California: How Did We Do in Year One?"
Gerald Kominski, Director of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and professor in the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health

Nearly 1.4 million Californians have enrolled in health care coverage through Covered California and an additional 1.9 million through an expanded Medi-Cal program. Do these numbers exceed expectations? Will they be revised up or down in the coming year? And what can we do to enroll the remaining uninsured in 2015?

Kominski discussed what the numbers mean and what we can learn to make enrollment efforts even more successful in year two. 

April 23, 2014
"Patients Without Patience: An Empirical Model of Waiting in the ICU"
Elisa Long, assistant professor in Decisions, Operations & Technology Management at the UCLA Anderson School of Management

More than 5 million patients are admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) annually, accounting for 14 percent ($107 billion) of total hospital expenditures. As demand for ICU care increases, patients often endure excessive wait times for bed assignment due to capacity shortages, further straining emergency departments.

Long presented a study on efficient use of intensive care unit (ICU) resources. Specifically, she developed a model that estimates whether the amount of time a patient waits for a bed has an impact on their health. Long also examined whether rapid discharge from the ICU (in order to free up beds) has an adverse effect on whether that patient is readmitted later. 

March 19, 2014
"Promise or Peril? How Low-Income Older Californians Are Faring in the Face of Major Health Care Delivery Changes"
Kathryn Kietzman, Research Scientist at the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research
Jacqueline Torres, Graduate Student Researcher, UCLA CHPR

About 400,000 California seniors insured through both Medicare and Medi-Cal are currently being enrolled in a Medi-Cal managed care program called Cal MediConnect -- unless they actively opt out of the program. The new program, designed to improve care coordination, increase efficiency, and result in better health outcomes, has also created concern and confusion among seniors eligible for the program.

Kietzman and Torres presented recent data that show how this physically, socially and financially vulnerable group may be affected by the transition into Cal MediConnect, and how it will affect their ability to live at home.  

January 22, 2014
"Patient-Centered Care: The Movement, the Evidence and Does It Save Money?"
John Ovreteit, Director of Research and Professor of Health Innovation and Evaluation, Karolinska Institute

If quality and safety improvement are all about the patient, why is there a growing and influential "patient-centered care movement"? Is it because 20 years of quality and safety improvements have been successful, or is there another reason? Is it only about health care or is there a public health and health policy aspect? Øvretveit considers the meaning of "patient-centered care" and the international movement, and provides examples of some of the ideas and evidence of impact. His presentation also outlines the future implications for patients, researchers and health care workers.