Division of Health Services Research and Policy

The mission of the Division of Health Services Research and Policy in the Department of Community and Preventive Medicine is to improve the health of individuals and populations through contributions to the understanding of the role of health services on health.

Division News

Dr. Yoo receives 5-year career development K Award from the National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease. His research, “Effects of Individual Behavioral Responses on Benefits of Influenza Vaccination,” aims to examine the determinants of flu vaccination receipt among Medicare elderly, and to construct computer simulation models for predicting the population-wide benefits of influenza vaccination programs.

Dr. Veazie receives R21 grant from the National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Mental Health. He will be the Principal Investigator on a study to develop a web-based decision lab for the study of physician decision-making. The initial work will investigate the role of patient race in physician decisions to prescribe antidepressants to the elderly. 

Dr. Noyes awarded University of Rochester Medical School Dean’s Teaching Fellowship. This prestigious fellowship prepares future leaders of medical education.

Dr. Temkin-Greener continues her NIH funded R01 grant project investigating the impact of team performance on risk-adjusted patient care outcomes in 206 New York State nursing homes. Her research team has assessed the characteristics of facilities that foster teams and the impact of teams and other management practices on staff turnover. The findings will be presented at the Gerontological Society of America annual conference in San Francisco, November 2007.

Dr. Friedman submits 5-year T32 Training Grant renewal application in conjunction with Dr. Peter Szilagyi, who is the Co-Principal Investigator for the proposed postdoctoral program in health services research. The Division has one of only 18 PhD Predoctoral Training Programs in the United States funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, which provides an annual stipend, tuition payments, insurance coverage, and conference travel for 5 of our PhD students.

Dr. Yoo’s book selected one of the 20 Best Books in Economics and Business in Japan in 2006. “Health Economics for ‘Reform’” (in Japanese), had the honor of being selected and ranked 14th out of “20 Best Books in Economics and Business in 2006” by Nikkei Newspaper, which is the “Wall Street Journal” of Japan with more than 3 million subscribers. Dr. Yoo has given a series of invited presentations in Japan, including at the Japan Health Economics Association (keynote speaker), Nippon Keidan-ren (trans. Japan Business Federation) 21st Century Public Policy Institute, Asahi Newspaper (circulation of 8 million), the Japan Medical Association, Health Policy Institute, and others.

Dr. Veazie receives grant from the Institute of Informed Medical Decision Making. He will be co-investigator with principal investigator Dr. James Dolan on a study of the use of graphical presentation technologies in facilitating patient decisions regarding the choice of pain medications for osteoarthritis.

Dr. Noyes named as Director of the Health Systems Theme in the U of R Medical School double-helix curriculum.

Dr. Temkin-Greener’s contract with the National PACE Association renewed. Dr. Temkin-Greener received a contract for the 4th consecutive year to assess the impact of the CMS risk-adjusted payment model on PACE programs and to develop program-level quality indicators. For these purposes, individual level health data are being submitted by 38 PACE program nationally to the PACE Data Analysis Center which Dr. Temkin-Greener directs at the University of Rochester. 

Dr. Friedman completes his 5-year career development K Award from the National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Mental Health to study the relationship of depression and function to health care services use and expenditures of older persons. He has recently submitted for publication two papers resulting from this work: The Effect of Major and Minor Depression on Medicare Home Health Services Use, and Major Depression and Emergency Medical Services Utilization in Community-Dwelling Elderly Persons with Disabilities.

Dr. Noyes starts new study with the U of R School of Nursing. This fall she started as a Co-Investigator on this research study with Dr. Ying Xue, who is the Principal Investigator. The study aims to understand the use of supplemental registered nurses by hospitals and its impact on the quality of care and costs.