MARCH 2017 EDITION
 
As D.C. healthcare debate heated up, our director reflected

A new chapter in the debate about the Affordable Care Act is now on the table as the American Health Care Act has been withdrawn in Congress. Evidence from IHPI researchers will continue to inform the healthcare reform debate.

Our director John Ayanian, M.D., M.P.P., sat down for a public radio interview during the healthcare debate with Cynthia Canty of Michigan Radio's Stateside program.

 
 
IHPI congratulates winners of NEJM SPRINT Data Analysis Challenge

A team of IHPI researchers is among three winners of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) SPRINT Data Analysis Challenge. The SPRINT Challenge's goal was to explore the potential benefits of sharing data from clinical trials. NEJM asked individuals and groups to analyze the dataset underlying the SPRINT article, "A Randomized Trial of Intensive versus Standard Blood-Pressure Control," and challenged them to identify a novel scientific or clinical finding.

Three IHPI members and a U-M graduate student are part of the team that claimed third prize in the New England Journal of Medicine's SPRINT Data Challenge, which allowed 140 teams from around the world to compete to create new knowledge and tools from the raw data of a major clinical trial for hypertension.

The team, led by Stanford University researcher Sanjay Basu, M.D., Ph.D., included IHPI members Brian Denton, Ph.D., U-M professor of engineering, Rod Hayward, M.D., U-M professor of internal medicine, and Jeremy Sussman, M.D., M.Sc., U-M assistant professor of internal medicine.


 
 
IHPI Clinician Scholars Program names new cohort

Eight new scholars with a variety of clinical backgrounds and research interests will comprise the 2017 --- 2019 cohort of the University of Michigan IHPI Clinician Scholars Program, part of the National Clinician Scholars Program.

The IHPI Clinician Scholars Program, along with three other national program sites, University of California, Los Angeles, University of Pennsylvania, and Yale University, offers unique clinical and community-based research training through intensive mentorship for clinicians as change agents driving policy-relevant research and partnerships to improve health and healthcare.

Read short bios of the individuals who will make up the new class of scholars, and who will begin their training at U-M this summer.

 
  NEWS
Drug and alcohol problems linked to increased veteran suicide risk, especially in women

A new long term study finds veterans who have drug or alcohol problems are more than twice as likely to die by suicide as their comrades. The new University of Michigan study, led by Kipling Bohnert, Ph.D., also showed women veterans with substance use disorders have an even higher rate of suicide ---- more than five times that of their peers.


The research, published in the journal Addiction by a team from U-M and the Department of Veterans Affairs, finds that much of the difference in suicide risks might be explained by veterans who have both mental health conditions and substance use issues. Additional authors of the study included Mark Ilgen, Ph.D. and John McCarthy, Ph.D., M.P.H.

 
 
Medicaid expansion boosts access, reduces cost for poor

States that participated in Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act saw increased insurance rates and access to care, less worry about paying medical bills, but also longer wait times among low-income residents, according to new research.

In a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Sarah Miller, Ph.D., of the University of Michigan and Laura Wherry of the University of California, Los Angeles, analyze survey data from states that participated in the Medicaid expansion and states that declined. The study comes as Congress debates a proposed replacement of the Affordable Care Act.

Miller
 
 
Taking opioids before surgery means higher costs, more problems afterward

Surgery patients often go home from the hospital with a prescription for painkillers to take as they recover. But a new study, led by  Jennifer Waljee, M.D., M.S., and members of the Michigan-OPEN team, suggests that doctors should also focus on patients who were taking such medicines before their operations.

People who received prescriptions for opioid painkillers in the months before elective abdominal operations had longer hospital stays, and a higher chance of needing follow-up care in a hospital or rehabilitation facility, than patients who weren't taking such medications before they had the same operations, the study finds.

 
 
 
Which self-help websites actually improve health? New research yields a list


From depression to weight loss, insomnia to cutting back on alcohol or cigarettes, the Internet teems with sites that promise to help people improve their health.  Which of these really help---- with evidence from gold-standard studies to back up these claims? 

A U-M team led by Research Associate Professor Mary Rogers, Ph.D., and published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, compiled  a list of over 40 sites backed by evidence from randomized controlled trials. It includes sites that offer people help with reducing their use of alcohol, tobacco and marijuana; managing mental health issues; improving diet and physical activity; and addressing insomnia, chronic pain, cardiovascular risk and childhood health issues.

 
 
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MORE IHPI NEWS
 
Looking for an expert? Start your search on our Experts page. Use category filters, or search by name or keyword.

The Institute brings great minds together to address healthcare's biggest challenges. More than 490 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.
 
Adler-Milstein: Information blocking---- is it occurring and what policy strategies can address it?

In an original investigation piece for The Milbank Quarterly, IHPI member Julia Adler-Milstein, Ph.D., addresses the concerns Congress has raised about providers and electronic health record vendors knowingly engaging in business practices that interfere with electronic health information exchange (HIE).

Such "information blocking" is presumed to occur because providers and vendors reap financial benefits, but these practices harm public good and substantially limit the value to be gained from EHR adoption. Crafting a policy response has been difficult because, beyond anecdotes, there is no data that captures the extent of information blocking.

 
Adler-Milstein
 
 
Advancing evidence-based policies on critical issues: AcademyHealth National Health Policy Conference

The AcademyHealth National Health Policy Conference (NHPC) provided an extensive overview of the nation's 2017 health policy agenda. For two days, the nation's leading healthcare decision-makers and policy leaders used the existing evidence base to provide clarity on the most critical healthcare issues and immediate policy priorities in U.S. healthcare.


Several members of the Institute for Healthcare Policy & Innovation (IHPI) lent their expertise to the conference discussions, including IHPI Director John Ayanian, M.D., M.P.P., Mark Fendrick, M.D., and Amy Kilbourne, Ph.D., M.P.H.

 
  EVENTS
See all upcoming events on our Events page
 
Pandemic! Contagious Crises From AIDS to Zika

Date: April 7, 2017
Time: 1:00 --- 5:45 p.m.
Location: University of Michigan, Biomedical Science Research Building,
Kahn Auditorium, 109 Zina Pitcher Place, Ann Arbor, MI 48109


Mark your calendars for this national conference on pandemics, co-sponsored by the U-M Center for the History of Medicine and the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation.

Speakers include Dr. Paul Farmer, co-founder, Partners In Health, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN medical correspondent.

If you cannot attend, the event will be live-streamed:
 
 
Michigan Health Policy Spring Forum "Health Policy: A Review of the First 100 Days of the Trump Administration"

Date: May 1, 2017
Time: 1:00 --- 4 :00 p.m.
Location: Eagle Eye Golf Course, 15500 Chandler Road, Bath Twp, MI 48808

The introduction of the American Health Care Act has kicked off the debate on the promise to "repeal and replace" Obamacare. What does it mean? How will it affect Michigan?

The keynote presentation will be provided by Dr. Gail Wilensky who is currently Senior Fellow at Project HOPE and has a distinguished career in healthcare working with the Pres. George H. W. Bush administration. A panel of Michigan experts will provide insight on how the various health care proposals will affect Michigan.

IHPI is a co-sponsor of the Michigan Health Policy Spring Forum.
 
CHEAR National Poll on Children's Health: Celebrating 10 years


The Child Health Evaluation and Research Center (CHEAR) established the National Poll on Children's Health in 2007. The poll measures opinions, perceptions, and priorities regarding major healthcare issues and trends for U.S. children and people in their communities. Their March 2017 report tackles sick kids and whether or not parents can get same-day doctor appointments.

 
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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