title: Investment, innovation, and disparities: a complex relationship.
abstract: Robert Hurley and colleagues find growing disparities in health care. Their methods are rigorous, but key-informant interviews have limitations. Part of their argument rests on observations regarding the diffusion of technological and administrative innovations. The development of disparities will depend on how quickly innovations diffuse to underserved populations. While we look for other supporting data, decreasing public coverage for the poor, medications, and mental health services sends a clear signal from emergency departments. Human suffering reinforces the need to redouble our efforts to patch up coverage holes during good times and keep coverage from unraveling during lean times.
authors.affiliation: Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. tferris@partners.org
authors.forename: Timothy G
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Ferris
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Blumenthal
mesh_terms: D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004059:Diffusion of Innovation; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D019458:Insurance Coverage; D007348:Insurance, Health; D014481:United States