Public health educational publication, Spring 2002

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

I I A NEW S DISSERTATIONS for Nonprofit Management, Summer 2001, pp. authored with Gary Henry) in the Winter 2002 46-65. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, pp. Patrice latarola and David Sandman success­ fully defended their dissertations in the Fall Melissa M. Bottrell, James F. O’Sullivan, and 93-109- 2001 term: Melissa A. Robbins (*oi) (with co-authors Ethel Catherine Hamilton (PhD *01) was awarded the L. Mitty and Mathy D. Mezey): “Transferring Medical Care section’s Student Paper Award at Equity and Distribution of Resources and dying nursing home residents to the hospital: the American Public Health Association meeting Performance Across Elementary and Middle DON perspectives on the nurse’s role in transfer for presenting her dissertation, “The Impact of Schools within Large Urban School Districts; decisions,” Geriatric Nursing, 2001, pp. 313-17. Health Insurance on the Lives of Low Income Evidence from NYC, by Patrice latarola. Alton Yaroni (with co-author David Rosenbloom): Adults — The Effectiveness of the Vermont Committee: L. Stiefel (Chair), A. Schwartz, R. “The Transferability of New Public Management Health Access Plan.” Berne, N. Fruchter, and D. Denison. Reforms; Caveats from Israel,” Israel Affairs, Joe Benning (Ph.D. ‘01) just began his employ­ Man to Man: The Impact of Male Patient and Summer 2001, pp. 81-99. ment as a senior economist at the Chicago Physician Gender Concordance on Receipt of Board of Trade after having served as a Visiting Preventative Care, by David Sandman. PhD ALUMNI REPORT Fellow at Rutgers’ Center for Global Change and Committee: J. Billings (Chair), J. Blustein, J, Suk-Won Lee (PhD ‘01) was recently appointed Governance this past fall. Cantor, J. Boufford and D. Delia. assistant professor of public administration at Wagner PhD-student Laura Peck has been PUBLICATIONS Seoul National University in Korea. appointed Assistant Professor at the Arizona Ross Rubenstein (PhD ‘97) recently published State University School of Public Affairs. Colin Chellman with Professor Dwight Denison: “Double Bottom Line Investment: Responsible “Paying for Grades; Impact of Merit-Based Investing in Nonprofit Organizations,” Journal Financial Aid on Educational Quality” (co­

From The Examining Room to The Chat Room—Is Information Technology the Prescription for Better Healthcare? The lanuary Wagner-Commonwealth Health orders; and 48% decrease in laboratory tests. Dialogue, entitled “From Examining Room to These savings contributed to a 12.4% decrease Chat Room: Is Information Technology the in length of average stay and 8.7% decrease in Prescription for Better Health Care,” examined re-admissions, and generated nearly $20 the growing use of information technology in million in increased admissions. They also led health care across a spectrum from hospital­ to much better information at the point of care, based clinical and administrative information better regulatory compliance and increased systems to the provider-patient relationship, patient satisfaction. and the consumer use of the internet for health While acknowledging that real progress has information. been made. Dr. Anderson challenged the From left to right, Dean Io Ivey Boufford, George Anderson, The dialogue brought together some of the top notion that health care was in the middle of a Mary jo Deering, Ann Sullivan and Thomas Delbanco. experts in these areas; “technological revolution.” “Off the shelf” Ann C. Sullivan, senior vice president and chief solutions to health care IT needs are usually opinion; and 28% said it affected their decision information officer of Maimonides Medical not available, medical software development is about whether or not to visit a doctor. Center in Brooklyn, which was named one of expensive, and medical applications using The National Committee on Vital and Health the most Influential IT Organizations in the products created for other purposes often do Statistics has been pushing for the develop­ United States by Advance Executives-, Thomas not work. “Yes, we are experiencing real ment of a National Health Information Delbanco, M.D., chief of the Division of General change,” he said. “But the transformation is Infrastructure (NHII) in order to capitalize more Medicine and Primary Care at Beth Israel slow and far from complete.” fully on dramatic transformations in informa­ Deaconess Medical Center; Mary Jo Deering, Dr. Delbanco framed his analysis of IT useful­ tion and communication technologies to deputy director for Management and e-Health ness in terms of how it helps in the doctor­ improve health on a national and global scale. in the U.S. Department of Health and Human patient relationship. He said IT has given Dr. Deering said the NHII should be a set of Services’ Office of Disease Prevention and doctors and patients the ability to easily technologies, standards, applications, systems, Health Promotion; and Dr. George Anderson, “convene around a shared patient record.” values, and laws that support all facets of indi­ MD, who has had a 30-year career in health This, combined with a streamlining of informa­ vidual health, health care, and public health, care information technology and who has tion flow to clinicians, administrators and and that connects distributed health informa­ served as president and chief executive officer clerks, helps keep the patient fully informed. tion in the framework of a secure network with of Oceania, Inc., which developed software He regrets that IT has brought about a loss of strict confidentiality protections. But, she said, solutions for physicians and other healthcare privacy of the medical record, but said that at to implement the NHII, strong federal leader­ providers. this point, “there’s no going back.” ship, increased health-related IT funding and Sullivan said Maimonides’ IT system, Eclipsys, According to Dr. Deering, a Pew Internet and laws that protect privacy and make health data is used by all parties in the hospital and has American Life Project survey found that 70% of gathering easier are needed. brought extraordinary efficiencies. They have those who search for health information on the Funded by a generous grant from The Commonwealth Fund, the Wagner-Commonwealth Dialogue Series creates opportu­ seen a 68% decrease in medication processing internet said that information influenced their nities to facilitate the timely translation of health services time; 60% decrease in medication discrepancies; decision about treatment; 50% said it led them research findings -even work in progress-from the researcher 20% overall decrease in duplication of ancillary to ask a doctor new questions or get a second to practitioner, policymakerand the informed public.

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