ImproveHealthCare.org invites its reader audiences to submit cases to one of its three core sections:

Quality: The Institute of Medicine defines “health care quality” as the degree to which health services for individuals and populations increase the likelihood of desired health outcomes and are consistent with current professional knowledge.” This section of the site addresses problems of overuse, underuse, and misuse of medical care and the consequences for patients and providers.

Access: Forty-four million Americans lack health insurance. Millions more are under-insured or constantly fear losing their coverage. This section introduces readers to Medicare, Medicaid, and employer-based systems of coverage. Special attention is given to the challenges Americans face in accessing health care and the consequences that follow.

Disparities. The sections aims to help readers understand the ways in which gender, race, ethnicity or sexuality affect health care outcomes. The most recent research suggests that minorities are less likely to receive appropriate care even when variables like insurance status and income are accounted for.

Cases should follow a format similar to those cases present on the site:

• a title page that does not include the author’s name or institutional affiliations. Please include this information on a separate page.
  
  
• 5 “case days” taking the reader through a series of events or clinical encounters written from the perspective of the care providers, patients, or in the third person.
  
  
• 2-3 questions for discussion for each “case day”
  
  
• a post-case discussion 3-5 pages in length that leads the reader through the major ideas presented in the case
  
  
• a complete reference list that includes review articles, books, or web links that are appropriate to the case/issue addressed.

Cases will be reviewed by the appropriate section editors. Medical student writers are encouraged to seek out the assistance/editorial guidance of expert faculty on the topic on which they have chosen to write. Writers are further encouraged to contact us in advance of submission to confirm the suitability of their case.

Send submissions and inquiries to improvehealthcare@gmail.com