Health Policy Websites

As future physicians who care about underserved populations, it’s important for us to be advocates for our patients. There is a need now, more than ever, for physicians to be willing to step up to the plate and be a part of the decisions that affect these vulnerable populations.

www.nachc.org  – click on their “policy and issues” tab or “publications and resources” or “advocacy and voter registration”  you’ll find a lot of healthcare-related articles and resources.  NACHC is one of the primary “safety-net” institutions in the US.

www.kaiseredu.org –  This is one of the most comprehensive sites that produces resources and research related to healthcare policy and public health.  One can sign up for a regular email alert of policy issues through Kaiser.

http://www.hshsl.umaryland.edu/resources/sitesbysub/healthpolicy.html –  provides a list of all the university-related academic websites for health policy.

http://www.herndonalliance.org/ – Information on health care reform and how to talk about it. 

http://www.commonwealthfund.org/topics/  – Information on insurance, quality of care, health policy, grants, publications and fellowships

http://www.ncqa.org/tabid/63/Default.aspx – National Committee for Quality Assurance – Report cards on clinics, hospitals, state of national healthcare, online tutorials. 

http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/measurix.htm – Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality – fact sheets, tutorials, surveys, publications on issues in quality of care and skill building on how assess and solve these problems.