For patients contemplating elective procedures in California, where they live matters. CHCF research finds rates for certain surgeries and other procedures vary dramatically across the state.

The Internet is a critical tool for gathering health information. A survey finds that 80% of Internet users look online for health information, making it the third most popular online pursuit after email and search engines.

This Health Affairs article by Carman et al. finds consumers hold crucial misconceptions about evidence-based health care and most believe that more care means better care.

A national survey looks at the use of and attitudes toward personal health records (PHRs) and other health IT. The findings indicate that users of PHRs say they become more engaged in their health as a result of being able to access their medical information online.

Small and user-friendly, smartphones are quickly being adopted by consumers and providers, who have a large and growing array of health-related applications to choose from.

This briefing discussed the interactions of federal and state privacy provisions, including those established by the recent federal economic stimulus legislation.

This issue brief analyzes the health privacy legal landscape in California before 2009 and discusses changes made by the enactment of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

The application of new tools for sharing medical data must keep in sight the personal privacy rights of patients. To help clarify the issues surrounding health privacy, CHCF cofunded a series of reports by the Center for Democracy and Technology.

This report examines the strengths and weaknesses of several leading web-based support tools. In particular, it presents evaluation frameworks and ratings in three decision categories: treatment options, hospital choice, and personal cost.

This report explores the readiness for health information technology (HIT) from the perspective of long term care providers: nursing facilities, residential care facilities, and community-based service providers.