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We conduct health systems research that partners University of Wisconsin faculty with healthcare and community organizations to improve health across the state and nation.
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Primary Care Academics Transforming HealthcareBridging primary care clinical transformation & rigorous scientific study to benefit patients and communities
UW Primary Care Academics Transforming Healthcare (PATH) collaborative was featured in an American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) news article highlighting their recently published article titled “A Simple Framework for Weighting Panels Across Primary Care Disciplines.” Read the AAFP article and interview with co-author Dr. Sandra Kamnetz here.
To read the publication, click here.
Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are an issue of public health importance, as approximately 722,000 people are afflicted by an HAI every year (1 in 25 hospitalized patients) and 75,000 people with HAIs die. Daily bathing treatments with chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) for hospitalized patients is one evidence-based intervention targeting HAIs. However, it is often challenging to implement these daily bathing treatments... Read more
High blood pressures are the most prevalent and reversible cardiovascular disease risk factors among adults with chronic conditions, who are often vulnerable to gaps between specialty and primary care. Increasing preventive services to address hypertension could prevent more early deaths than any other preventive service. To address these issues, the BP Connect staff protocol was created to connect patients with high blood pressure in a specialty visit back to primary care for timely follow-up.
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Patient experience is an aspect of health and health care that has received increasing attention in the U.S. For patients and caregivers facing a new diagnosis, or needing to make a health-related decision, other people’s experiences of the same diagnosis, treatments, and impact on the life course have always been valued. With the advent of web-based health information, the influence of patient experience has grown even more rapidly.
Recognizing this gap, researchers at four universities—including UW-Madison—and the Veterans Administration formed a collaboration called the Health Experiences Research Network (HERN) in order to bring an internationally-vetted method of rigorously collecting diverse health experiences to the U.S.
In 2016, they launched www.HealthExperiencesUSA.org with an inaugural module on diverse young adults’ experiences with depression, a disease that can have significant consequences for future social, occupational, and health outcomes.
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Approximately 1 in 15 young adults in the United States have high blood pressure, but young adults have the lowest rates of blood pressure control (achieving a blood pressure <140/90 mmHg) compared to other adult age groups, and many young adults have reported having few resources to address their needs for heart health education.
To address these problems, the MyHEART program was developed with young adults and healthcare team members to address a broad range of topics. MyHEART has multiple components, including young adult education and research programs across multiple healthcare systems.
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To prevent the long-term complications of diabetes among children, our program tailored diabetes self-management resources offered to children and their families at two pediatric diabetes centers, meeting the individual needs of over 2,200 Wisconsin children with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and their families. In addition, elements of this program were incorporated into diabetes clinics at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. The study’s methods for engaging youth and families has inspired others like the American Diabetes Association and the Wisconsin Department of Public Health to make use of similar strategies.
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Management of diabetes lies almost entirely in the hands of those who live with the condition. The Wisconsin Institute for Healthy Aging and the Health Innovation Program are providing individuals with diabetes the resources they need for effective self-management of their disease.
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To prevent death from colorectal cancer, we increased colorectal cancer screening in UW Health clinics from 63% to 81% within four years and have maintained screening rates above 80% for the past five years. This represents an average increase of ~11,000 additional patients screened for colorectal cancer each year at UW Health.
We are currently working to expand our screening program across rural Wisconsin in partnership with the Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality.
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To find high-risk patients who might benefit from additional health and social services, we have developed and implemented an artificial intelligence system to identify patients in need of enhanced care coordination in partnership with one of our state’s largest health systems (UW Health). We are currently screening over 120,000 patients in Dane County each month using the system.
In the upcoming year, we will extend this system across the southern half of Wisconsin in partnership with one of the state’s largest health plans, screening an additional 166,000 patients each month.
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Diabetic eye disease is the leading cause of blindness among working-age adults in Wisconsin, where there are currently over 135,000 adults with diabetes. Early screening and treatment can prevent 90% of blindness, but only half of adults with diabetes get their recommended yearly eye screening.
In response, Dr. Yao Liu created the UW Teleophthalmology Program that enables patients in rural locations to get screened by their primary care providers during regular clinic visits without having to make a second trip or appointment. The images are then sent to UW-Madison, where eye specialists read the images and send reports back to primary care for local follow-up as needed.
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The mission of the UW Health PATH collaborative is to bridge primary care clinical transformation and rigorous scientific study in order to improve our health system for the benefit of patients and communities. We will disseminate learnings locally and nationally, emphasizing scholarly contributions.
We are a multidisciplinary coalition of physicians and change leaders. Primary care Academics Transforming Healthcare (PATH) members are experienced in clinical delivery and span all three primary care departments (family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics), Quality, Safety, and Innovations, Population Health, and the Center for Patient Partnerships.
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To reduce tobacco use, we improved quit line referrals for tobacco users by 20-fold through Quit Connect, a 90-second clinic staff protocol that integrates the electronic health record with the Wisconsin tobacco quit line. This protocol is being implemented in both primary care and specialty care clinics in multiple Wisconsin health systems including Gundersen and UW Health, with a pending grant to implement at Grady Memorial public hospital in Atlanta (83% African American, 40% uninsured).
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To reduce disparities in healthcare quality, we are partnering with the Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality and the Collaborative Center for Health Equity to measure and publicly report on disparities in the quality of healthcare in Wisconsin.
In 2019, we will release a statewide report documenting disparities in the quality of care for health systems across Wisconsin by race, ethnicity, and payer.
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Opioid misuse and abuse has become a significant public health problem in virtually all areas of the United States, including Wisconsin, where 827 people died from opioid overdoses in 2016-- up 35 percent from the previous year. Clinical guidelines for safer use of opioids were initially proposed in 2009, and have since evolved into the CDC’s widely publicized 2016 guidelines for opioid prescribing. The uptake of these guidelines has been variable across the U.S. healthcare system.
To assist in the uptake of clinical guidelines, University of Wisconsin researchers implemented a program to coach primary care doctors to follow opioid prescribing guidelines. This work was done through the use of a novel implementation strategy, called systems consultation, which was designed to promote clinical guideline implementation for opioid prescribing in primary care.
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Family-centered care has many benefits, including improved clinical outcomes, increased patient and family engagement and satisfaction, and more effective use of health care resources.
In the hospital setting, one way to achieve these benefits is through family-centered rounds (FCR) at the bedside. In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends FCRs as part of its policy statement on the pediatrician’s role in patient- and family-centered care.
Despite their benefits, FCRs can be challenging to operationalize at the institutional level. That’s why PROKids has developed a checklist to help implement FCRs effectively and sustainably.
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HIP supports the development and dissemination of tools for evidence-based health system and healthcare change through its website, HIPxChange. On HIPxChange, you’ll find tools to improve patient and family engagement, transitions in care, mental health, cancer screening and care, research tools, and more. Learn more
Our vision is to be the leading organization in the nation that integrates health systems research with clinical practice and community programs. Learn more
We are housed within the University of Wisconsin - Madison School of Medicine and Public Health.
HIP brings together investigators, trainees, and staff from a variety of schools and departments across the University of Wisconsin - Madison to examine current health care issues and identify ways to transform healthcare.
HIP provides investigators the resources they need to conduct health services research and work with our partners—from developing study ideas to disseminating results.
We are frequently looking for faculty, staff, and students to assist us in a variety of projects.
Why Physicians Should Trust in Patients
Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Quality and Safety
Dr. Rachel Grob et al. discusses the efficacy of patient-physician partnerships and co-produced care to improve quality and safety of care, patient health outcomes, and patient experience.
What Words Convey: The Potential for Patient Narratives to Inform Quality Improvement
Quality and Safety
Dr. Rachel Grob et al. explored the potential of systematically elicited narratives about experiences with outpatient care to enrich quality improvement and found that most narratives convey experiences that are potentially actionable by those committed.
Developing primary care teams prepared to improve quality: a mixed-methods evaluation
Learning Health System, PATH, Quality and Safety
The UW PATH collaborative describes the implementation, mixed-methods evaluation results, and lessons learned from instituting a Microsystems approach across 6 years with 58 primary care teams at a large academic health system.
Content validity of the PROMIS® family relationships measure for children with chronic illness
Children and Young Adults, Chronic Conditions
Dr. Elizabeth D. Cox et al. conducted a qualitative study of patients and their parents and found the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System® Family Relationships measure reflects the experiences of children with chronic illness.