Which hospitals are best or worst? Hard to tell
Consumers using national hospital rating systems to judge the quality of particular hospitals may have a tough time doing so because those ratings often disagree, according to a new study that included two authors from Harvard T.H. Chan…
Base Ebola quarantine policies on science
Quarantining health care workers returning to the U.S. after caring for Ebola patients in West Africa isn’t a science-based strategy, according to Ashish Jha of Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH). Doing so, in fact, could dissuade these…
U.S. hospitals prepare for Ebola
Ashish Jha, K.T. Li Professor of International Health at HSPH, and director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, has done a number of interviews with national media outlets over the last few days on controlling the spread of…
Hospitals converting to for-profit status show better financial health, no loss in quality of care
For immediate release: Tuesday, October 21, 2014 Boston, MA — Switching from nonprofit to for-profit status appears to boost hospitals’ financial health but does not appear to lower the quality of care they provide or reduce the proportion…
Investing in health systems may stem Ebola outbreak
A broad humanitarian response that includes investments in health care staff, medical resources, and health systems is more likely to be effective in halting the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa and creating sustainable models for responding to…
‘Multiple failures’ in handling of first U.S. Ebola patient
Health officials’ handling of the first Ebola patient diagnosed in the U.S. appeared to involve “literally multiple failures,” according to Harvard School of Public Health’s Ashish Jha. Jha, professor of health policy and management, was quoted in an…
Quality missing from global health agenda
August 7, 2014 -- Today more people than ever have health insurance. In the U.S., millions have signed up for coverage since the 2008 passage of the Affordable Care Act. Globally, there’s a high level of interest in…
Developing better ways to measure hospital safety
As part of the Affordable Care Act, hospitals with high rates of adverse events among patients—such as hospital-acquired infections, medication errors, or surgical mishaps—are now subject to penalty from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Under…
Restoring trust at the VA
In the wake of revelations about veterans’ long wait times for hospital and clinic medical appointments, compounded by a cover-up, the Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system should rethink aspects of its management and sharpen its focus on…
The provocative pragmatist
[ Spring 2014 ] With a mixture of research, persuasion, and social media moxie, Ashish Jha seeks to drive health care improvements Several years ago, Ashish Jha got the call that middle-aged children dread. His mother was on the phone…
