Inside IHPI
News for the IHPI Community
APRIL 2020

Based on responses to IHPI's member survey about COVID-19 related research activities and expertise, we identified several common areas of research interest, and faculty who have volunteered to lead work groups focusing on these topics. IHPI staff will bring these groups together by scheduling virtual meetings and providing connections with existing IHPI resources.

If you are interested in joining one of the groups, sign up by Monday, May 4.

VIDEO REPLAY---- IHPI Town Hall
with Dr. Ayanian

IHPI Director, John Ayanian, M.D., M.P.P., gives an update on how IHPI is responding to and supporting members during COVID-19 followed by an interactive Q&A session.




The National Poll on Healthy Aging publishes its data for public use on an ongoing basis to help advance research on aging. A new wave of National Poll on Healthy Aging data is now available for download at the National Archive of Computerized Data on Aging (NACDA).

Saini selected as new director of
VA CCMR

Sameer Saini, M.D., M.S., associate professor of internal medicine, has been selected as the director of the Veterans Affairs Ann Arbor Center for Clinical Management Research (VA CCMR).

Saini served as acting director of the VA Ann Arbor CCMR for the last 6 months. He also serves as director of the Gastroenterology Early Career Faculty Mentoring Program and associate director of the NIH T32 GI Epidemiology Training Program at U-M.
 
Saini
Kerr receives SGIM national award

Kerr
 
Eve Kerr, M.D., M.P.H., professor of internal medicine, is the 2020 recipient of the Society of General Internal Medicine John M. Eisenberg National Award for Career Achievement in Research. The award recognizes innovations in patient care, research, and student education.
Vaughn wins 2020 young investigator award

Valerie Vaughn, M.D., M.Sc., assistant professor of internal medicine, is the 2020 winner of the Society of Hospital Medicine's Junior Investigator Award. The award recognizes a hospitalist or clinician-investigator whose research interests focus on the care of hospitalized patients, the organization of hospitals, or the practice of hospitalists. 
 
Vaughn

Anthony
 
Denise Anthony, Ph.D., M.A., professor of Health Management and Policy, was appointed the director of the master's degree in Health Informatics (MHI) program. The master of health informatics degree is a two-year multidisciplinary program and a joint degree of the U-M School of Information, the School of Public Health and the Medical School.


JAMA Health Forum editors John Ayanian, M.D., M.P.P., director of U-M IHPI, and Melinda Buntin, Ph.D., professor of health policy at Vanderbilt University, discuss changes in U.S. health care and health policy driven by the coronavirus pandemic.


 
A web page dedicated to information and updates
from IHPI experts about the Novel Coronavirus.
 
 
Research & Policy
HIGHLIGHTS

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Michigan Medicine is teaming with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and 25 other Michigan hospitals to collect clinical data on COVID-19 patients to be included in an extensive registry that will provide insight into best practices in treating patients with the virus.

Titled MI-COVID19, the comprehensive, multi-site registry led by Scott Flanders, M.D., professor of internal medicine, and Hallie Prescott, M.D., M.Sc., assistant professor of internal medicine, will likely be one of the largest collections of COVID-19 patient data to date. It was developed at Michigan Medicine by a team that already leads other BCBSM-funded quality collaboratives.

 
 
 
Featured
EXPERTS

A new Health Affairs Blog post analyzes the coverage requirements of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. Under the new law, COVID-19 testing and the associated visit is fully covered for most people. Lead author Kao-Ping Chua, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of pediatrics at U-M Medical School, explains how many patients evaluated for COVID-19 exposure or symptoms consistent with COVID-19 may still be financially liable. 

 

Chua


 
"Almost every aspect of the healthcare system is impacted by medical education. I believe we are required to theorize, investigate, and intervene in novel ways within this educational system to find additional remedies to persistent health equity issues."

 
New Members 
 
Clinical Lecturer, Internal Medicine, Medical School
 
 
 
Connect to 
EDUCATION &
RESOURCES
 
 
IHPI will be hosting weekly student lunch-and-learn sessions and skill-building seminars during June and July for students working with IHPI faculty this summer.


MDiabetes has announced a call for proposals for up to $50,000 to study the impact of COVID-19 on and improve the care of those with diabetes and related disorders. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis, with funding available immediately.

 
LitCovid is a curated literature hub for tracking up-to-date scientific information about the 2019 novel coronavirus. It is the most comprehensive resource on the subject, providing a central access to 6277 (and growing) relevant articles in PubMed.

Questions?
Email: mlibrary-ncrc@umich.edu
 
 
FUNDING

The Donaghue Foundation is offering its Greater Value Portfolio grant program that will fund research projects for two years with a maximum amount of $400,000 per award for the purpose of advancing promising approaches to achieve a higher value healthcare system.

 
To support your pandemic-related research, the IHPI Data & Methods Hub
has created a Google sheet of available COVID-related data sources.


Have questions or resources that you would like to share widely with other IHPI members and the Data and Methods team?
Email ihpi-data@umich.edu
 
 
 
Upcoming
EVENTS

AcademyHealth remains committed to providing a forum to convene health service researchers this year, and are reviewing a number of vendors and formats to develop a new, meaningful, virtual ARM experience later this summer. New dates for the virtual event will be announced shortly.

 
 
 
The Latest
NEWS


By keeping as many people at home as possible, the numbers of serious cases of COVID-19 are now below or just above what hospitals in most areas can handle, says Howard Markel, M.D., Ph.D., professor of pediatrics and director of the U-M Center for the History of Medicine.

 

While Michigan Medicine has been on the forefront of telehealth, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused the number of virtual care visits to skyrocket. Patients and clinicians describe why this model of care is likely to continue to flourish post-outbreak, especially for those who are high risk.

 

 
Released ahead of print by Health Affairs, a study by a U-M research team addresses the different aspects and impact of surprise out-of-network bills in ground and air ambulance transportation. The current COVID-19 crisis brings the issue to the forefront.


As social distancing and stay-at-home orders continue in many states in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, feelings of isolation and loneliness may be amplified among older adults. Past findings from the U-M National Poll on Healthy Aging can provide clues about older adults' current experiences.

 

A new analysis in JAMA Neurology identifies long-term hypertension as a possible explanation for why black people are more likely than white people to develop dementia later in life.

"The study results suggest that blacks' higher cumulative blood pressure levels contribute to black-white differences in later-life cognitive decline," says lead author Deborah Levine, M.D., M.P.H., associate professor of internal medicine.

 

 
As more and more hospitals across the U.S. admit patients with COVID-19, a Michigan team led by Vineet Chopra, M.D., M.Sc., and Valerie Vaughn, M.D., M.Sc., offers advice for doctors "drafted" for duties outside their norm.

 
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Inside IHPI is published monthly by the University of Michigan Institute for Healthcare Policy & Innovation.

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