Whether such a model best serves patients ought to be rigorously tested, a process that should also apply to reform suggestions, such as those offered by Mr. Hahn. In fact, health care for the last phase of life urgently needs trials of innovations, probably trials that primarily use the methods of targeting, evaluation, and dissemination developed for continuous quality improvement. Because three quarters of persons in the United States die while receiving care that is financed by Medicare, the Health Care Financing Administration is in a uniquely pivotal position to shape, lead, and finance a serious research effort to learn how to improve care for the last phase of life. Duquesne Law Review. J Am Geriatr Soc.
Quality comes home.
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