Following are descriptions of current CAPP research studies:

Is Integration in Large Medical Groups Associated With Quality?
Integrated care systems allegedly provide better care. This study of 97 large medical groups nationally provides suggestive evidence that this may be true.

Led by Leif Solberg of HealthPartners Research Foundation, this study was initiated in 2007 to document care management capabilities in CAPP groups and examine the relationship between degree of integration and use of care management processes.  The study found that use of care management processes is positively related to degree of integration and that functional integration is more important than structural integration or risk bearing characteristics in understanding the relationship to use of care management processes.

The paper was published June 2009 in  the American Journal of Managed Care.
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Group Practice Performance Study - CAPP launched a study to test the feasibility of linking three important data sources: (1) data from CAPP multispecialty group practices identifying physicians within their groups; (2) Medicare claims data from Dartmouth’s Medicare fee-for-service claims database; and (3) National Survey of Physician Organizations (NSPO) - NSPO1 and NSPO2 data on organizational attributes and care management processes at these organizations. This linked data will be analyzed to provide insight into differences in performance across these organizations and the association between better performance and the presence of specific organizational attributes and specific care management processes. In addition, the study hopes to be able to compare the performance of CAPP groups and the other providers within their hospital markets. As of February 2007, the data collection phase is completed, and initial analyses are being formulated. This study is being led by Elliott Fisher, MD, of the Dartmouth Center for Evaluative Clinical Sciences, Larry Casalino, MD, of the University of Chicago, and Stephen Shortell, PhD, of University of California, Berkeley.

“Obama Visits Clinic Known for Quality Care, Controlling Costs,” by David Brown, The Washington Post, July 23, 2009

The Post takes a more in-depth look at The Cleveland Clinic, a CAPP medical group, that was touted by President Obama as a model of health care efficiency and quality.

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“Yes, models for cost-efficient health care do exist,” by Jim Landers, The Dallas Morning News, July 28, 2009

CAPP group Scott & White is featured in this article that reviews some of the Dartmouth findings on organizations that can curb health care costs.

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“Atul Gawande: The Cost Conundrum Redux,” by Atul Gawande, The New Yorker, June 23, 2009.

Gawande responds to the skeptics of his highly publicized New Yorker article.

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“The Cost Conundrum: What a Texas town can teach us about health care,” by Atul Gawande, The New Yorker, June 01, 2009

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