Highlights of Active Research and Evaluation Projects
Leveraging Integrated Models of Care to Improve Patient-Centered Outcomes for Publicly-Insured Adults with Complex Health Care Needs
This project examines the impact of in-home and digitally-driven care management strategies for adults with multiple chronic conditions and Medicaid and Medicare/Medicaid primary insurance coverage.
Specialty Medical Homes to Improve Outcomes for Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Behavioral Health Conditions
Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is a chronic disease that can negatively affect a person’s mental health, physical health, and healthcare utilization. This study aims to determine how two multidisciplinary specialty medical home approaches can best address patient, provider, and health system needs.
Comparative Effectiveness of Readmission Reduction Interventions for Individuals with Sepsis or Pneumonia
This study compares five ways to remotely monitor the health and wellbeing of patients with multiple chronic conditions once they return home from the hospital after treatment for sepsis or lower respiratory tract infection.
Building Capacity to Address Rural Maternal Health Disparities
This project aims to establish a collaborative network representing patients, caregivers, payers, providers, community organizations, policy makers, and advocacy organizations that commit to a collaboration focused on eliminating severe maternal morbidity disparities in underserved, under-resourced rural communities through patient-centered outcomes research/comparative effectiveness research.
Family Trauma-Informed Community for Blair County
This project aims to build a coordinated trauma informed system of care in Blair County to enhance the wellbeing and resilience of children, families, and those working in the child welfare system.
Growing Resilience in Adolescents and Children (GRACE) Project
With funding from HRSA's Rural Communities Opioid Response (RCORP) Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health program, we will establish a consortium that uses evidence-based practices to cultivate a coordinated continuum of care that is better equipped to address the complex behavioral health (BH) needs of children and youth in several communities in Pennsylvania. The project will establish and expand sustainable BH care services for children and adolescents aged 5-17 years from these communities.
PCORI® Health Systems Implementation Initiative (HSII)
UPMC was selected by PCORI® to join 41 other health systems as participants in PCORI®’s Health Systems Implementation Initiative (HSII), where participating health systems share experiences through a learning network and have access to funding opportunities to implement and evaluate PCORI®-funded evidence in real-world healthcare settings.
PCORI® Health Systems Implementation Initiative (HSII) Capacity Building Phase
The first phase of PCORI® HSII includes Capacity Building Projects which supports healthcare system participants to undertake activities that enhance their ability to conduct successful implementation of PCORI® evidence and program evaluation.
Highlights of Completed Research and Evaluation Projects
Consortium for Opioid Response in Bedford and Somerset (CORBS)
The Consortium for Opioid Response in Bedford Somerset (CORBS) leveraged existing community resources to provide a comprehensive and integrated approach to address substance use disorders (SUD) in Bedford and Somerset Counties, PA.
Community-Based Healthcare Project
This project sought to evaluate the impact of alignment for dual-eligible members receiving either their Medicare or Medicaid, or both, from UPMC.
Targeted Capacity Expansion: Medication Assisted Treatment – Prescription Drug and Opioid Addiction
Through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Medication-Assisted Treatment – Prescription Drug and Opioid Addiction (MAT-PDOA) funding, the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP), in collaboration with the UPMC Center for High-Value Health Care (CHVHC), aimed to increase access to medication assisted treatment (MAT) in several rural Pennsylvania counties using an integrated hub-and-spoke model.
Utilizing a Learning Collaborative Approach to Support Behavioral Home Health Dissemination
PCORI® funds Dissemination and Implementation projects to increase awareness and promote the use of PCORI® research findings to improve healthcare practices and health outcomes. For this project, we conducted dissemination and implementation activities for the results of the research project: Helping Adults with Serious Mental Illness Improve Their Health and Wellness.
UPMC Conference on Accelerating Patient-Centered Outcomes Research/Comparative Effectiveness Research (PCOR/CER) in a Learning Health System
In 2019, the UPMC Center for High-Value Health Care, the Wolff Center at UPMC, and the project team’s UPMC patient collaborator organized and conducted a one-day conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania focused on accelerating stakeholder-driven PCOR/CER in a learning health system.
Amplifying the Patient’s Voice: Person-Centered vs. Measurement-Based Approaches in Mental Health
This study compared the effectiveness of two technology-supported approaches to improving people’s experience with medication management and shared decision making in mental health care.
Optimizing Behavioral Health Homes for Adults with Serious Mental Illness
This study compared the ways in which two behavioral health home approaches impacted outcomes for adults with serious mental illness receiving services at community mental health centers.
Improving Care Value for Children: A New Pathway for Achieving High-Value Care for Medically Complex Children
This study focused on developing replicable methods and strategies for Medicaid payment reform to achieve high-value care for children with medically complex conditions.