On November 14, Ashish Jha, MD, K.T. Li Professor of Health Policy, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Director, Harvard Global Health Institute, and Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, delivered the keynote session of the 28th Annual Symposium on Health Care Services: Research and Practice. Researchers, policymakers, clinicians, and administrators attended the Symposium, which was sponsored by the GNYHA Foundation and the United Hospital Fund (UHF). The focus of the 2017 Symposium was on data and measurement, particularly as it pertains to the measurement of patient engagement in a health care setting.
In his presentation, Dr. Jha discussed how to think about evidence and data and the ways in which they can be most useful. He presented five myths about data and provided examples from his own research and experience to illustrate why these assumptions are not accurate. Each debunked myth included a key takeaway to keep in mind when looking at data, stressing that all data is useful and that it is in the analysis or interpretation where things go awry. Dr. Jha also emphasized that with measurement it is important to focus on measuring what matters, but that some metrics are easier to measure and it is often those that are rewarded by policy makers.
Following the keynote presentation, a panel discussed how their organizations are implementing programs to measure patient engagement, and challenges and successes that have arisen as these organizations strive to meet their goals. Jessica Steinhardt, MPH, Director, Ambulatory Care Initiatives at the Staten Island Performing Provider System (PPS), discussed their patient activation project using the Patient Activation Measure (PAM) survey to improve the level of patient engagement and reduce emergency department visits. Allison W. McIntyre, MPH, CCRC, URMFG Clinical Program Manager, Patient Reported Outcomes at the University of Rochester Medical Center discussed their implementation of UR VOICE, their platform to collect patient-reported outcomes. Leigh H. Simmons, MD, Medical Director, MGH Health Decisions Science Center discussed her institution’s efforts to implement shared decision making.
The Symposium also included a poster session on program evaluation and research in New York. Fifteen posters were presented on a range of issues including community and population health, health care technology, service delivery transformation, and public health issues.
Collaborating Partners
The Symposium is organized in collaboration with leading health services research institutions in the New York metropolitan region, each of which is represented on the Symposium Planning Committee.
The Symposium is organized in collaboration with:
Past Symposiums