Selected Research Projects
1. Optimal Care Delivery Model -- optimizing capability and efficiency
Individual health systems provide various services and allocate different resources for patient care. In this study, we
investigate optimal care delivery models for health systems through standardizing, consolidating services of tertiary services
within the organization, and optimizing resources for the overall patient care so as to increase quality and timeliness of care,
maximize financial performance, and decrease practice variability across the organization.
2. Reducing Medication Errors
This project involves a partnership between health systems leaders and Georgia Tech to design and implement a novel
simulation/optimization model for the medication workflow. The analysis will aid in understanding the types, causes, and impact
of medication errors occurring at different stages of the workflow. Process optimization will be performed to mitigate errors
and improve quality of care.
3. Optimizing EMR Usage - beyond adoption -- Health Information Technology
Clinical data from electronic medical record (EMR), laboratory and imaging systems, etc, provide a wealth of information for advancing
diagnoses, optimizing healthcare delivery operations, and improving patient care. Fundamental difficulties with efficient usage of clinical informatics systems includes continual evolution and the ability to analyze large-scale distributed datasets to uncover important information for medical decisions. This project deals with health information technology to advance patient care. Our team will develop medical decision making tools through systematic modeling and analysis of clinical and health data that are generated from EMR, laboratory and imaging systems.
4. Chronic Disease Management
As both the healthcare costs and the number of U.S. citizens who are diagnosed with one or more chronic conditions continues to rise, unique ways of reducing costs to the public must be explored. Chronic illness healthcare costs account for 75% of the $2 trillion healthcare budget. Reducing the occurrence of these conditions and finding ways to help patients reduce unnecessary healthcare provider visits can help alleviate the costs. One approach to reduce costs and provide patients with more accessible care is to create remote patient monitoring systems that can be used from the home to connect with the doctor. These systems would:
- Allow patients to receive more frequent interaction with healthcare providers
- Expand the reach and influence of healthcare providers to those who have difficulty visiting the doctor
- Provide a tailored approach to individualized treatment
- Promote active participation of patients in the management of their healthcare
- Encourage and influence healthy lifestyles
- Provide more accurate patient health tracking and medication compliance
