Penn State Team to Evaluate Health Care Quality Improvement Initiative
September 27, 2006
(University Park, Pa)— Dr. Dennis Scanlon, associate professor of health policy and administration in the Penn State College of Health and Human Development, has been selected to serve as the external evaluator for an initiative sponsored by the Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS).
The Center’s Regional Quality Improvement Initiative, which is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), seeks to test Medicaid’s capacity to promote system-wide improvements in chronic care delivery. The project will join Medicaid and state employee purchasers with their commercial counterparts, as well as regional health plans, consumer organizations, and providers to develop cross-system strategies to coordinate and improve care for people with chronic conditions. Three sites – Arkansas, Rhode Island, and Rochester, New York – have been selected for the project.
Dr. Scanlon's role will be to evaluate the potential for State Medicaid programs to lead quality improvement initiatives, as well as to measure the outcomes of those initiatives in Arkansas, Rhode Island, and New York.
Scanlon’s research focuses on national efforts to reduce medical errors and improve health care quality. He is a recipient of a RWJF Investigator Award in Health Policy Research and also has received funding from the Centers for Disease Control, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the California HealthCare Foundation and the Integrated Benefits Institute.
The Center for Health Care Strategies is a national non-profit organization devoted to improving the quality of health services for people served by publicly financed care, especially those with chronic illnesses and disabilities. CHCS advances its mission by working directly with state and federal agencies, health plans, and providers to design and implement cost-effective improvements in health care services. For more information, visit www.chcs.org.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. For more than 30 years the Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in our lifetime. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org.
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Editors: Dr. Scanlon can be reached at (814) 865-1925 or dxs62@psu.edu. For additional information, please contact Abby Diehl, director of college relations for the Penn State College of Health and Human Development, at (814) 863-2207 or abbyd@psu.edu.