AQPQ

The authors of AQPQ are now engaged in various research and development activities that are dedicated to improving the health care service delivery system in the United States, in China, and around the world.

In a regional project, we are collaborating with Mr. Kirk Kamien of MRK Associates to provide analytical expertise to the Department of Health (DOH) of the State of Rhode Island on Capitol Hill in Providence, R.I. We are addressing the community impact of the proposed consolidations of the state’s four largest hospital based provider systems into a pair of integrated health delivery systems; information about these mergers is posted on the web site of DOH.

We are also providing advice to Ms. Larraine Ahto of Henry Street Settlement House’s Community Consultation Center, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, to enhance their health care “safety net” for medically under-served residents with special needs in the local community. The Settlement House has been serving immigrants and other residents for over a century; information about these services can be accessed by selecting the Behavioral & Health Services link on the Program / Service drop-down menu on its home page.

Furthermore, we are exploring the potential for self-directed consumer use of internet based social networking technologies: (a) to improve the collection and analysis of health outcomes data, and (b) to enhance health and wellness education activities. In January 2010, for instance, we hosted a trio of online demonstration seminars for the Business Learning Institute of the Maryland Association of CPAs, as well as for the University of New Haven, to demonstrate a global virtual reality based system called HealthyWorlds. Guest speakers addressed applications of the technology for employee assistance plans in the United States and China, for medical providers and employees affiliated with global employers, for hospital based acute care services, and for children with behavioral health needs.