The 2001 IOM report, Crossing the Quality Chasm: A New Health System for the 21st Century, identified six fundamental aims for healthcare — that it be safe, effective, patient-centered, efficient, equitable, and timely. Of these, “timeliness is in some ways the least well studied and understood,” the IOM says. The new report, Transforming Health Care Scheduling and Access: Getting to Now, aims to answer two questions: How can timely care be ensured in various healthcare settings
National Ambulatory Medical Care Surveys (NAMCS) persistently indicate that problems diagnosed as “mental and behavior disorders” account for at least 20% of visits in primary care practice. One of the most difficult tasks for primary care physicians has been the discussion with patients and families about disorders whose resulting behaviors either make patients unhappy or make people they interact with unhappy. Despite several Federal laws requiring employers, health insurers, and health ca
