U.S. National Library of Medicine

Introduction to Health Services Research : A Self-Study Course

Case Description | Case Background | Case Objectives | Case Exercise

Case 3. Medicare Reimbursement Reforms (Page 5 of 37)

Phase One: Thinking About the Issues

Q1a. Determine the problems or issues inherent in this research case and and begin to define the questions you need to ask.

Suggested Solution

Now that you have read over the case and background information you can begin to ask questions and plan your strategy for retrieving information of use to your researcher. In developing and answering the questions posed above you may want to

• list approaches used to research the Medicare prospective reimbursement system and its effects on length of stay, hospital reimbursment, quality of care and cost savings
• examine various sources for published literature in health services research related to the the topics listed in the previous bullet
• find current health services research projects in relevant topics
• find relevant existing journals, datasets and instruments for further examination
• visit and examine the key government and non-profit organizations with an interest in this area for possible funding and information
• evaluate retrieved articles and related content for quality
• determine how to keep current with new information on this and related topics

It is also worth examining the historical background to the Prospective Payment System and DRGs for added insights.

Next question...