Inside IHPI
News for the IHPI Community
JULY 2019

The worlds of medicine and federal policy can feel miles apart to those who spend their careers in the halls of hospitals or Capitol Hill. But Lena M. Chen, MD., M.S., felt comfortable in both arenas, and worked to understand how changes made in Washington, D.C. affected the lives of individual patients, including those she cared for herself.

Chen, who died July 21 at the age of 49 after a sudden catastrophic illness, strove to help those two worlds understand one another. She was both an associate professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan, and a senior advisor to a deputy assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

 
 
Research & Policy
HIGHLIGHTS

The Institute for Healthcare Policy & Innovation at the University of Michigan appointed two new members to its National Advisory Board: Dr. Joneigh Khaldun and Dr. Linda Elam.

 
Linda Elam, Ph.D., M.P.H.
 
Joneigh S. Khaldun, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.E.P., F.A.A.E.M.


IHPI's Early Career Faculty Advisory Council (FAC) recently welcomed five new members. The council advises IHPI leadership on how to best leverage its resources to promote the success of early career faculty and accelerate the impact of their research.


IHPI is grateful for the commitment and service of Tammy Chang, M.D., M.P.H., M.S., Holly Jarman, Ph.D., M.Res., Lauren Wallner, Ph.D., M.P.H., and Maria Woodward, M.D., M.S., who will all be rotating off the committee.

Learn more about all the members of the council and their health services research interests.
 
 
Featured
EXPERTS


AcademyHealth recently honored Gary Freed, M.D., M.P.H., with its 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award for Child Health Services Research and Policy. The award, given by AcademyHealth's Child Health Services Research Interest Group, recognizes leaders who have made significant contributions to the field of child health services through research, mentorship, and the translation of research into policy and practices that improve health and health care for children.


Six faculty members received one of the University of Michigan's top honors as Distinguished University Professors. Among those six are John Ayanian, M.D., M.P.P., IHPI Director and Alice Hamilton Distinguished University Professor of Medicine and Healthcare Policy. Also named is Anna Suk-Fong Lok, M.B.B.S., M.D., the Dame Sheila Sherlock Distinguished University Professor of Hepatology and Internal Medicine.

 

John Ayanian,
M.D., M.P.P.


Anna Suk-Fong Lok,
M.B.B.S., M.D.
Waljee appointed director of the Center for Healthcare Outcomes and Policy

 
Jennifer Waljee, M.D., M.P.H., M.S., associate professor of surgery, was named the new director for the Center of Healthcare Outcomes and Policy (CHOP). She succeeds newly named Chair of the Department of Surgery Justin Dimick, M.D., M.P.H.

CHOP aims to improve the efficiency of healthcare in the United States by optimizing clinical practice and informing health policy.

Dana Telem, M.D., M.P.H., associate professor of surgery, was selected as Division Chief for Minimally Invasive Surgery. She currently serves as the Director of the Michigan Comprehensive Hernia Program, which is dedicated to the treatment of abdominal wall, groin and diaphragmatic hernia. She has directed numerous national and local educational courses dedicated to resident and faculty education in these disciplines.
 

 
Jenna Wiens, Ph.D., assistant professor of computer science and engineering, will become a Precision Health co-director, effective Sept. 1. A presidential initiative announced in October 2017 and jointly founded by the Office of the Provost, Michigan Medicine, the College of Engineering, the College of Pharmacy, and the School of Public Health, Precision Health at U-M develops social, medical, computational, and engineering discoveries, translates these discoveries into treatments, and evaluates and increases the public health impact of effective therapies.


Three IHPI members will be honored this fall with the 2019 Distinguished Clinical and Translational Research Mentor Award, which recognizes faculty who foster the intellectual, creative, scholarly, and professional growth of their students, fellows, and trainees in the areas of clinical and translational health and research.


   
   

 
Assistant Professor, Learning Health Sciences, Medical School

How are ethical dilemmas in healthcare related to burnout among providers, and what can be done about it? Dr. Firn discusses ways to address potential ethical conflicts proactively, with the goal of making the overall healthcare environment safer, more equitable, and more compassionate.

READ THE Q&A
 
New Members
     
School of Nursing
 
College of Pharmacy
 
School of Nursing
 
Department of Internal Medicine, Medical School
     
Department of Psychiatry, Medical School
 
College of Architecture & Urban Planning

 

 

 
 
Upcoming
EVENTS
 
WED
8/7
 
12:30 --- 1:30 p.m.
NCRC Building 16 
Room 467C
2800 Plymouth Road

This informal session is designed to explain Twitter's features and how to get the most out of it as an academic health services researcher.

THUR
8/8
 
12:00 --- 1:00 p.m.
NCRC B10 IHPI Collaboratory (G079)
2800 Plymouth Road

Code Lab is a monthly one-hour meeting with the goal to facilitate a space for analysts to give and receive feedback on statistical code.


 
 
 
 

Consider applying to serve on the Study Team Workforce Development Working Group (The Working Group) to share your knowledge, experience, and skills related to study team training and education at the University of Michigan.


 
 
 
The Latest
NEWS


Whether it's a rare treat or a weekly routine, spending time with grandchildren brightens life for many older adults. Finding from the National Poll on Healthy Aging suggests many of them could do more to reduce the risk of their medications harming their grandchild.

More than 80% of the grandparents polled say they keep their medication in the same place as usual when their grandchildren visit their house ---- and 72% keep them in their purse or bag when they go to visit their grandchildren.



Patients hospitalized with pneumonia often receive excess antibiotic therapy, and much of the overprescribing happens at hospital discharge, finds a new study of antibiotic prescribing in the 43 hospitals that are part of the Michigan Hospital Medicine Safety Consortium. The study, recently published in Annals of Internal Medicine, was led by Valerie Vaughn, M.D., M.Sc.



A new federal rule issued could reduce out-of-pocket costs for key drugs and services for people with chronic conditions in high-deductible health plans with health savings accounts. The U.S. Department of the Treasury gave health insurers more flexibility to cover the cost of certain medications and tests for people with common chronic conditions who are enrolled in many high-deductible health plans.

The rule change came about in part because of research and over a decade of policy engagement by A. Mark Fendrick, M.D., and his colleagues at the U-M Center for Value-Based Insurance Design.

 
Recent study by Lewei (Allison) Lin, M.D., M.Sc., assistant professor of psychiatry, revealed a dramatic rise in opioid overdose deaths among American veterans from heroin and synthetic opioids


A new study led by Sarah Miller, Ph.D., assistant professor of business, on the connection between expanded Medicaid coverage and mortality rates finds that a sizable number of people are alive today because of the coverage.

 
 
Headlines
 
 
 
 
 
 
MORE HEADLINES
 
 
 
Connect to 
EDUCATION &
RESOURCES
 

IHPI is sponsoring an R01 Boot Camp program in conjunction with the Medical School's Mentored Research Academy: R01 Boot Camp. The IHPI Boot Camp will accommodate 8 --- 10 early career faculty and will be open to all assistant professors who are IHPI members, regardless of the school or college in which they are appointed.

 
Health Data Visualizations offers ready-made visualizations on a wide range of domestic and global health topics. Notable tools include the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, and Policy Map.

Visit: Building 18, Room G018
Health Services Research Guide

Monday, August 19
1:00 --- 4:00 p.m. (drop in any time!)
Taubman Health Sciences Library (THSL), Room 4360
1135 Catherine Street

Michigan Research Experts is a searchable database of research expertise across the University of Michigan. Is your profile up-to-date? Michigan Research Experts faculty profiles are auto-populated by various electronic records, but it's also easy to customize your listing. Attend this drop-in editing workshop to learn how to curate your profile, and have your questions answered by the Michigan Research Experts help team.

 
 
Opportunities for
FUNDING
 
 
Application Deadline: September 20, 2019
Award Amount: up to $90,000

Funding is geared toward pioneering work based on innovative concepts that promises high reward, major impact, promotion of public interest, and potential for major expansion around data science.

Application Deadline: September 27, 2019
Award Amount: $300,000

The Searle Scholars Program makes grants to selected academic institutions to support the independent research of outstanding early-career scientists who have recently been appointed as assistant professors on a tenure track appointment.

Application Deadline: November 1, 2019
Award Amount: $50,000.00, with intent to match 1:1 for total award of $100,000

The purpose of this program is to support U-M faculty who are interested in implementing and evaluating mental health services or clinical interventions that promote integrated care and seek to improve access to evidence-based practices for lower income and Medicaid eligible populations with behavioral health care needs in the state of Michigan.
 
 
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
Support IHPI
If you are interested in supporting health services and health policy research at the University of Michigan, click here.

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

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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
Director, Communications & Marketing 
camillic@umich.edu

Kara Gavin
Research & Policy Media Relations Manager
 
Lauren Hutchens
Senior Communications Specialist

Eileen Kostanecki
Director, Policy Engagement and External Relations
ekostan@umich.edu
202-554-0578