Goins KV, Zapka JG, Geiger AM, et al. Implementation of systems strategies for breast and cervical cancer screening services in health maintenance organizations. American Journal of Managed Care. 2003 Nov;9(11):745-755.

This study concludes that organizations seeking to improve performance of breast and cervical cancer screening should consider multiple strategies aimed at multiple targets and should ensure that strategies used for one type of cancer are considered for others.

Glasgow RE, Orleans CT, Wagner EH. Does the chronic care model serve also as a template for improving prevention? Milbank Quarterly. 2001;79(4):579-612, iv-v.

An evidenced-based model of chronic illness management is shown to apply equally to preventive interventions. Successful examples of prevention programs in cancer screening and counseling for health behavior change illustrate the utility of the model for prevention and across different types of health care organizations.

Epping-Jordan JE, Pruitt SD, Bengoa R, Wagner EH. Improving the quality of health care for chronic conditions. Quality and Safety in Health Care. 2004 Aug;13(4):299-305.

In an effort to battle chronic conditions in health care, the World Health Organization and the MacColl Institute for Healthcare Innovation joined together to interpret the Chronic Care Model (CCM) from a global perspective. The resulting framework, the Innovative Care for Chronic Conditions (ICCC), expands community and policy features of improving health care for chronic conditions and provides a flexible yet comprehensive foundation on which to construct or reshape health systems according to local resources and demands.

Gawande A. The Bell Curve. The New Yorker. December 6, 2004.

What happens when patients find out how good their doctors really are? This article by Atul Gawande in the December 6, 2004 issue of The New Yorker magazine, chronicles the efforts of Cincinnati Children's Hospital to improve its care for cystic fibrosis patients and to become more open about its performance data with support from IHI.

Holman H. Chronic disease — the need for a new clinical education. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2004;292(9):1057-1059.

It is axiomatic that medical education should prepare students well for the clinical problems they will face in their future practice. However, that is not happening for the most prevalent problem in health care today: chronic disease. This article discusses these issues.

Camp A, Chaufournier R, Hupke C, Langley G, Little K. Transforming diabetes health care part 2: Changing lives. Diabetes Spectrum. 2004;17(2):107-111.

The Health Disparities Collaboratives initiative of the Department of Health and Human Services Bureau of Primary Health Care has allowed hundreds of health centers around the country to improve process and clinical outcomes for people with diabetes. This article reports on the results of these efforts from facilities participating in the collaboratives.

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See related article: Transforming diabetes care part 1: Changing practice

Hupke C, Camp A, Chaufournier R, Langley G, Little K. Transforming diabetes health care part 1: Changing practice. Diabetes Spectrum. 2004;17(2):102-106.

An initiative of the Department of Health and Human Services Bureau of Primary Health Care demonstrates that system-wide changes to improve care for chronically ill, underserved patients are possible and sustainable. This article describes that initiative and some of the results it has achieved collaboratively across the country.

Full Text Available! Click View Article below.

See related article: Transforming diabetes care part 2: Changing lives

McCulloch D, Davis C, Austin B, Wagner E. Constructing a bridge across the quality chasm: A practical way to get healthier, happier patients, providers, and health care delivery systems. Diabetes Spectrum. 2004;17(2):92-96.

Usual medical care is not organized for effective and productive interactions between medical providers and their patients. This article highlights this problem by describing a typical office visit from the perspectives of a patient and a primary care physician.

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Goldman DP, Joyce GF, Escarce JJ, et al. Pharmacy benefits and the use of drugs by the chronically ill. Journal of the American Medical Association. May 2004;291(19):2344-2350.

This study examines how changes to the design of health plan benefits among privately insured populations affected the use of the most common drug classes. In addition, the study identified populations more likely to be at risk for adverse health effects and isolated their responsiveness to cost sharing.

Bodenheimer T, Lorig K, Holman H, Grumbach K. Patient self-management of chronic disease in primary care. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2002;288(19):2469-2475.

This article makes the case for educating patients with chronic conditions in self-management techniques. The authors believe, and clinical trials have shown, that including self-management education in patient care can improve outcomes and reduce costs.