Baystate Health (BH) has a long track record of innovation, outstanding performance, and national recognition for our quality of care. This commitment led to the establishment of the Center for Quality of Care Research in October 2008. Members of the center conduct research on quality, safety, and effectiveness, aiming to further enhance BH’s reputation, improve our understanding of the mechanisms behind high quality care, and contribute to the advancement of knowledge.
The mission of the Center for Quality of Care Research is to improve the care and outcomes of patients by developing innovative methods to measure the quality and outcomes of care, to evaluate the effectiveness of common treatments, and to improve care delivery through the design, implementation, and assessment of quality improvement interventions. Our efforts are guided by the belief that rigorous evaluation of quality and quality improvement methods is essential for sound decision making by patients, providers, institutions, and policy makers.
Highlights
In September 2012, Sarah Goff, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, was awarded a $1M three-year R21 award from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) entitled, “IDEAS for a Healthy Baby: Reducing Disparities in Consumer Use of Quality Data,” to carry out a randomized control trial to evaluate the impact of a patient navigator intervention on the use of publicly reported information about the quality of pediatric care by pregnant women.
At the end of 2011 Dr. Tara Lagu, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Medicine, and Dr. Mihaela Stefan, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, submitted K01 five-year career development award applications to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). Dr. Lagu’s study, “Defining Optimal Clinical Strategies for Critically Ill Heart Failure Patients,” and Dr. Stefan’s entitled, “Comparing Noninvasive and Invasive Ventilation in Patients with Acute Respiratory Failure” received competitive scores. Both investigators resubmitted their projects with revisions in July 2012.
Mihaela Stefan, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine and Dr. Goff were granted second-year renewals for their career development awards from Tufts University and the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Stefan is studying the comparative effectiveness of inhaled beta-agonists with or without cardioselective beta blockers in the treatment of acute exacerbation of COPD. Dr. Goff is examining the performance of hospitals within the Premier network as reflected in risk-adjusted obstetrical complication rates.
Dr. Lagu was awarded the Earl P. Charlton Fund Research Award from Tufts University School of Medicine for her project entitled, “Use of Mechanical Ventilation in Patients with Dementia.”
Dr. Peter Lindenauer, MD, MSc, Associate Professor of Medicine and Director of the Center for Quality of Care Research and Dr. Lagu submitted an R21 award application to AHRQ entitled, “Assessing Consumer Attitudes Toward Online Reviews of Hospital Care.”
Dr. Lindenauer’s mentee at Tufts Medical Center, JoAnna Leyenaar, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Pediatric Hospitalist, had her KM1 award from Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) entitled, “Comparative effectiveness of parenteral antibiotics for pediatric patients hospitalized with community acquired pneumonia,” renewed for the second year.
Dr. Lindenauer had his three-year R18 award from AHRQ to conduct an evaluation of Premier’s QUEST collaborative successfully renewed for the third and final year of the study.
Michael Rothberg, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, successfully renewed his three-year $1.1M R01 from AHRQ to study the treatment and outcomes of healthcare-associated pneumonia. Oral presentations stemming from this research were accepted this year at the CHEST 2012 Annual Meeting, the 34th Annual Meeting of the Society for Medical Decision Making, and the Infectious Disease Week 2012 Annual Meeting.Dr. Lindenauer’s five-year R18 award from the NHLBI to conduct a study across the Premier network entitled, “The Implementation and Outcomes of Noninvasive Ventilation in COPD,” was renewed for a second year.
Dr. Lindenauer’s contract with the Yale University Center for Outcomes Research & Evaluation and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services was renewed to continue work on the development and maintenance of hospital outcome measures in COPD and pneumonia.
Dr. Goff has continued her work on a Baystate Health Insurance Company-funded study entitled, “Obstetric Hand-offs: Identifying and Implementing Best Practices.”
Dr. Lindenauer served on the editorial board of the Joint Commission Journal of Quality and Patient Safety, the Journal of Hospital Medicine, and Perioperative Medicine. He was appointed as a temporary member to the Health Services Organization and Delivery (HSOD) study section at the Center for Scientific Review at NIH and served on a Special Emphasis Study Section Panel for Dissemination and Implementation Research at NHLBI. Dr. Lindenauer served on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Tufts CTSI and was a member of the Tufts CTSI Pilot Grant Review Committee. Dr Lindenauer served on the External Advisory Board of the Center for Healthcare Improvement and Patient Safety at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Dr Lindenauer was a keynote speaker at Baystate Academic Week and was visiting professor in Pulmonary department at the BU School of Medicine. He served as the conference co-chair of the AAMC-sponsored Innovations in Hospital Medicine. Dr Lindenauer was also appointed director of the research track within the residency program in internal medicine.
Dr. Rothberg served as an Associate Editor of the Journal of General Internal Medicine and as a member of the admissions committee at Tufts University School of Medicine and the Technical Assessment working group of the Society for Medical Decision Making.
Dr. Lagu served on the Development and Finance committees within the Society of General Internal Medicine and as a reviewer for the Journal of General Internal Medicine and the Journal of the Hospital Medicine. She was an invited speaker at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation annual meeting, at an AHRQ symposium on comparative effectiveness research, and was a grand rounds speaker at Thomas Jefferson University and Berkshire Medical Center.
Dr. Stefan served on the Scientific Affairs Committee of Tufts University School of Medicine, the Baystate Health Inc. Risk Management Grant program, and numerous other Baystate Committees. She was appointed co-director of scholarly activities in the Department of Medicine at Baystate Medical Center.
Dr. Evan Benjamin served on the Board of Trustees of Catholic Healthcare Partners, OH and chairs the Board Quality Committee. He served on the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine Hospital Patient Care Assessment Program.
The Center has continued to sponsor a well-attended, weekly research-in-progress meeting that brings together faculty from across the institution and regularly benefits from the participation of visiting scholars.
Faculty within the Center had an extremely productive and successful year with approximately 23 publications in leading peer-reviewed medical journals in a variety of disciplines, including: JAMA, Critical Care Medicine, Chest, Journal of Hospital Medicine, and Thorax.
For a complete listing of Center for Quality of Care Research publications
Future Work
In 2013, we will continue to develop and carry out innovative research projects designed to improve care delivery and patient outcomes, we will collaborate with and mentor faculty from across Baystate Health, and we will continue to seek external funding to support and grow the Center.
For more information on the Center for Quality of Care Research
For more information on Quality at Baystate Health
For more information on the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
