JUNE 2017 EDITION
 
As America ages, new national poll will track key health issues for those over 50

Nearly a third of U.S. adults have celebrated their 50th birthday ---- a sign of an aging nation. Now, a new poll based at the University of Michigan will take the pulse of this population on a wide range of health issues, and provide data and insights to inform healthcare policy, clinical practice, and future research. 


Later this month, the U-M Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation (IHPI) will release the first results from the National Poll on Healthy Aging (NPHA), with data on prescription drug use for people between the ages of 50 and 80. Directed by IHPI and sponsored by AARP and Michigan Medicine, U-M's academic medical center, the poll will issue new data 10 times a year focusing on key health-related issues facing older Americans.

 
 
EMS oversight best practices needed to improve pre-hospital care

Emergency medical services are often the first to provide acute care to critically ill patients. These services can include private, government or publicly owned paramedic and ambulance services, as well as fire departments with EMS personnel. But delivery of that care isn't always seamless. Nor are the quality levels universal.


The findings compelled  Mahshid Abir, M.D., assistant professor of emergency medicine at Michigan Medicine and director of the  University of Michigan Acute Care Research Unit, to evaluate the quality of EMS oversight in Michigan and explore how EMS systems could work together to improve patient care.

 
 
Hospital value-based purchasing program falls short of goals

After four years, a program designed to reward hospitals when they deliver high-quality care has not shown an impact on clinical process and patient experience measures, or mortality outcomes following hospitalization, according to a University of Michigan study.  The Hospital Value-Based Purchasing program, part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act administered by the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services, offers incentive payments to acute care hospitals that meet certain quality measures when treating Medicare patients.


The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine and led by Andrew Ryan, Ph.D., associate professor at the U-M School of Public Health, looked at whether the program improved how care was delivered at participating hospitals when compared with control hospitals not exposed to HVBP.

 
 
Sunset, sunrise: The launch of the IHPI Clinician Scholars Program

Michigan has been a training site for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars program for 22 years, and has trained 126 clinicians in statistical methods, study design principles, policy concepts, economics, leadership and more. But in 2015, the unthinkable happened. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation announced it was heading in a new direction and would sunset the Clinical Scholars Program's funding.


U-M and the other three institutions knew the program was too good to let it end. U-M became one of four sites to create the National Clinician Scholars Program (NCSP). The program educates nurses, pharmacists, and physicians together to serve as leaders, researchers, and change agents in healthcare, community health, and public policy.

 
  NEWS
Doctors write fewer prescriptions after sunshine laws reveal drug company payments

Payments by drug companies to doctors have become so common that most states have passed laws to promote transparency. Known as "sunshine" laws, they require drug companies to disclose payments to physicians.

Often one of the stated goals is to pressure doctors to prescribe lower-cost generic drugs instead of name-brand when possible. But does disclosure change the way doctors write prescriptions? And are there any other unintended consequences? The answer to both is yes, according to new University of Michigan research. Ross School of Business doctoral student Tong Guo and professors Puneet Manchanda, Ph.D., M.B.A., M.Phil., and S. Sriram studied the effects of a 2009 sunshine law in Massachusetts in three common drug categories.

 
 
STD treatment for two? Study shows patient value, cost savings

In some states, patients who test positive for chlamydia or gonorrhea leave the clinic with not only a prescription for themselves, but also one for their sexual partner ---- who was not seen by a doctor. Thirty-eight states allow this public health measure known as expedited partner therapy, or EPT, which advocates say goes a long way in preventing sexually transmitted infections (STIs).


And states with the most permissible EPT laws may have the most success treating and preventing STIs, suggests a new study led by Okeoma Mmeje, M.D., assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology, and published online in the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections.

 
 
Uninsured emergency department visits down after Medicaid expansion


Fewer uninsured patients are walking through the doors of emergency departments in states that expanded Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act, even though the total number of visits has increased since 2014, according to an Annals of Emergency Medicine study released today.

U-M authors Thomas Buchmueller, Ph.D., professor of business and Helen Levy, Ph.D., research professor at the Institute for Social Research, noted the results suggest that the coverage part of the ACA Medicaid expansion is working and people who need care can access care.

 
 
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MORE IHPI NEWS
 
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The Institute brings great minds together to address healthcare's biggest challenges. More than 500 investigators come to IHPI from U-M's top-ranked schools of medicine, nursing, public health, engineering, social work, law, business, and public policy, among others, as well as members of affiliated local research organizations.
Make Medicare Advantage more flexible to support value-based care, Fendrick tells Congressional panel

More than 19 million Americans receive their health insurance through Medicare Advantage plans offered by private insurance companies ---- a program aimed at increasing choice and flexibility. But those plans don't have enough flexibility to customize a key factor for the people they serve: how much they have to pay out of their own pockets when they see a doctor, fill a prescription or have a procedure. And that gets in the way of truly getting the most value out of the federal Medicare dollars that pay for their care.


That was the message that Mark Fendrick, M.D., professor of internal medicine and director of the Center for Value-Based Insurance Design, brought to Congress on June 7, as he testified before the Health subcommittee of the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee.

 
 
IHPI director & members win awards from AcademyHealth

The nation's leading national organization for health services and policy research has chosen three IHPI members as winners of its 2017 Annual Research Meeting (ARM) awards. Each award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the field, and will be presented at the meeting June 25 --- 27 in New Orleans.

Distinguished Investigator Award: John Z. Ayanian, M.D., M.P.P., IHPI director and professor of internal medicine at the U-M Medical School

Alice S. Hersh New Investigator Award: Julia Adler-Milstein, Ph.D., associate professor at the U-M School of Information and the U-M School of Public Health

Outstanding Dissertation Award: Rebecca Lee Haffajee, J.D., Ph.D., M.P.H. assistant professor of health management and policy at the U-M School of Public Health.

 
 
Patel recognized by the American Thoracic Society for early career achievement

Minal Patel, Ph.D., M.P.H., assistant professor of health behavior & health education at the School of Public Health, has been recognized by the American Thoracic Society (ATS) with the 2017 ATS Assembly on Behavioral Science and Health Services Research Early Career Achievement Award.

The award is given annually to an individual who has made the most outstanding scientific contributions relevant to behavioral and social science regarding lung diseases, critical illness or sleep disorders early in his or her career.
 
Patel
 
  EVENTS
See all upcoming events on our Events page
 
IHPI Research Seminar Series: Navigating the New and Improved MAPS---- How and why to use it when prescribing opioids

Date:  July 18, 2017
Time:  4:00 p.m.--- 5:00 p.m.
Location: U-M Frankel Cardiovascular Center Danto Auditorium,1500 East Medical Center Drive, Ann Arbor
Speakers : Kim Gaedeke, director, Bureau of Professional Licensing, Michigan Department of Licensing Affairs, and  Rebecca Haffajee, J.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., assistant professor of health management and policy, School of Public Health

The Michigan Automated Prescription System or "MAPS" enables practitioners to determine if patients are receiving controlled substances from other providers and to assist in the prevention of prescription drug abuse. This seminar will walk participants through recent changes in the MAPS system, how best to use it, and why it is important.
 
 
Special Topics Seminar: The State of the Health Care Debate with Jonathan Cohn

Date:  July 13, 2017
Time:  4:00 p.m.--- 5:00 p.m.
Location: North Campus Research Complex, Research Auditorium, Building 10
Speaker : Jonathan Cohn, senior national correspondent, HuffPost

Jonathan Cohn, senior national correspondent at HuffPost, writes about politics and policy with a focus on social welfare. He is also the author of Sick: The Untold Story of America's Health Care Crisis---- and the People Who Pay the Price. Jonathan worked previously at the New Republic and American Prospect, and has written for The Atlantic, New York Times Magazine, and Self. His journalism has won awards from the Sidney Hillman Foundation, the Association of Health Care Journalists, World Hunger Year, and the National Women's Political Caucus.
 
Michigan Integrated Center for Health Analytics and Medical Prediction (MiCHAMP)

This new collaborative is harnessing national, regional and local healthcare data to develop medical prediction models that address complex clinical problems. Through rich interactions with data science methodologists, informaticians, and clinical researchers, investigative teams aim to transform patient care to improve quality and decrease healthcare costs. MiCHAMP is led by Brahmajee Nallamothu, M.D., professor of internal medicine.


 
 
ABOUT IHPI
The Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation is committed to improving the quality, safety, equity, and affordability of healthcare services.

To carry out our ambitious mission, our efforts are focused in four areas:
  • Evaluating the impact of healthcare reforms
  • Improving the health of communities
  • Promoting greater value in healthcare
  • Innovating in IT and healthcare delivery

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IHPI Informs is published monthly by the University of Michigan Institute for Healthcare Policy & Innovation.
 
CONTACT US
U-M Institute for Healthcare Policy & Innovation
North Campus Research Complex (NCRC)
2800 Plymouth Road, Building 16
Ann Arbor, MI 48109

Christina Camilli-Whisenhunt
IHPI Communications Manager
camillic@umich.edu
734-764-9782

Kara Gavin
IHPI Research & Policy Media Relations Manager
734-764-2220
 
Eileen Kostanecki
IHPI Government & External Relations Director
202-554-0578

Patrick Cliff
IHPI Associate Director of Development
pcliff@umich.edu
734-998-7705
 
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