CTS Site Visits

	Data Files
	Design and Methods
	Household Survey
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	Site Visits
	Employer Survey
	Followback Survey
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As part of the Community Tracking Study (CTS), HSC studies how local health systems are changing through site visits to 12 randomly selected U.S. communities.

Since 1996, researchers have visited the 12 communities approximately every two years to conduct in-depth interviews with leaders of the local health system. HSC explores how the organization, financing and delivery of health care have been changing and the impact of these changes on people. Researchers interview representatives of local hospitals, health plans, physician organizations, safety net providers, employers, key government agencies, policy makers and consumer groups. [Site Visit Methodology]

HSC is currently conducting the seventh round of site visits. Starting in July 2010, HSC will begin publishing Community Reports from each site, followed by cross-site analyses on trends uncovered through the visits. The cross-site analyses will be published as HSC Issue Briefs and peer-reviewed journal articles.

Previous site visits were fielded in 1996-97, 1998-99, 2000-01, 2002-03, 2005 and 2007. A list of publications from the 2007 site visits can be found here.

Reports

The 12 CTS sites are nationally representative, which allows researchers to identify national trends in health care delivery and financing. Cross-site analyses on the special study topics and other trends uncovered through the visits are published as HSC Issue Briefs, Research Briefs and peer-reviewed journal articles. The site visit information also provides HSC with a general foundation on how local health care markets are changing, which allows researchers to respond to formal and informal requests from policy makers and the media.

California Site Visits

HSC researchers recently completed site visits to six California communities to assess variations in health care affordabiliby, access and quality. The site visits were funded by the California HealthCare Foundation. More information can be found here.