Project on Other Health Care Issues

  Measured Care: Bar Codes Enable a Detailed Analysis of Services Provided to "HCBC Residents" in New Hampshire's Assisted-living Facilities - May 2003 

This report investigates the types and numbers of services provided to seniors in assisted living facilities (ALFs). One finding is that residents receive far more professional care—from registered nurses, in particular—during the beginning of their stay in an ALF than in the months that follow. Another is that single largest consumer of staff time was simply reminding residents to take their medications. The data was collected using optical scanner and bar codes. The ALF staff  used scanners to record every interaction with every resident in their facilities for a full year, more than 800,000 in total. This technology might also be applied to advantage in other service delivery settings.

  Over-Prescribed: Many NH High Schools Require Too Many Physicals for Student Athletes - August 2002  

This paper investigates the evidence for and patterns of requirements for pre-participation sport physical exams for high school athletes. It finds that many New Hampshire schools require more exams than medical evidence indicates are necessary. Eliminating those unwarranted examinations could save the families of New Hampshire’s student athletes somewhere between $160,000 and $800,000 per year in medical costs: a savings of roughly 50 to 75 percent over the course of a high-school student’s sports career.

  Under the Influence: Alcohol, Drugs, Crime, and Treatment in New Hampshire (Discussion Draft) - July 2002

This paper documents the extent of alcohol and drug problems among the offender population in New Hampshire and catalogues the treatment options available to those offenders.  The analysis shows that approximately 12,700 people in custody or recently released from a state prison or county jail have committed an alcohol- or drug-related crime or have a history of alcohol or drug abuse.  The state has the capacity to treat only about 4,700 of those offenders each year.  The report concludes that expanding treatment options and reducing prison terms could save the state money while also increasing public safety.  The paper builds on the Center's September 2001 report,  The Fiscal Consequences of Incarceration Policies, 1981-2001.