November 29, 2016

Innovative Learning Health System projects awarded grant funding

After an extensive selection process, The Department of Learning Health Sciences and the University of Michigan Office of Research are pleased to announce the awardees of a pilot grant program to accelerate development of systems, methods and technologies that support the science underlying the development of a ubiquitous global Learning Health System (LHS).

Congratulations to the two selected teams for their interesting and innovative submissions!

Scaling a Regional Learning Health System: The Development of a Collaborative Quality Improvement Consolidation Center – (CQIC2) at the University of Michigan

  • Darrell A. Campbell, Jr., MD, Project Director, Michigan Surgical Quality Collaborative
  • Michael J. Englesbe, MD, Associate Professor of Surgery, Transplant, Co- Director, Michigan Surgical Quality Collaborative
  • Greta Krapohl, PhD, RN, Associate Director, Michigan Surgical Quality Collaborative
  • Elizabeth Seese, MS, CCRC, Program Manager, Michigan Surgical Quality Collaborative
  • Gretchen Spreitzer, PhD, Keith E. and Valerie J. Alessi - Professor of Business Administration, Professor of Management and Organizations, Faculty Director, Center for Positive Organizations

Building on the Collaborative Quality Improvement Learning Health System (CQI - LHS) model established in Michigan, this team proposed scaling the regional system to a broader national platform. Under the interdisciplinary leadership of the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation (IHPI), the Collaborative Quality Improvement Consolidation Center (CQIC2) would have the opportunity to emerge as a leader in accelerating a clinically-led, practice-based, catalyst for scaling regional quality improvements on a national scale. This proposal addressed Challenge #2 as presented in the initial small grants program announcement (see program background).

Integration of a Mobile Application for Heart Failure into the Learning Health System

  • Michael Dorsch, PharmD, MS, Clinical Associate Professor, College of Pharmacy
  • Clayton Scott, Associate Professor, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
  • Scott L. Hummel, MD, MS, Assistant Professor, Medicine/Cardiovascular Medicine, Director, Heart Failure Program, Ann Arbor Veterans Affairs Health System
  • Todd Koelling, MD, Associate Professor, Internal Medicine, Medical Director of Heart Failure, Co-Director, Heart Failure and Heart Transplantation Management Program
  • Larry An, MD, Associate Professor Internal Medicine, Director of the Center for Health Communications Research (CHCR) and Scientific Director of the Cancer Survivorship Program
  • Allen Flynn, PharmD, Technical Lead, Knowledge Grid program and Research Analyst, Department of Learning Health Sciences

Drs. Dorsch, Koelling, Hummel, An and Flynn are at the forefront of designing novel technologies that effortlessly assist in monitoring heart failure status, increase adherence to evidence based medications, promote health behavior modifications, and provide health information back to patients within a learning health system framework. They will use this award to supplement existing funding by addressing the following:

  1. Integrating motivational messages for heart failure patients that will evoke a behavior health change into a mobile application based on the Michigan Tailoring System,
  2. Integrating remote monitoring sensors data into the mobile application to enhance the use of the data within an algorithm, and
  3. Creating an algorithm, using machine learning, that predicts clinical worsening of heart failure using remote monitoring.
  4. Develop knowledge objects to hold, manage, and facilitate deployment of the clinical worsening of heart failure predictive algorithm using the Knowledge Grid platform under development in the Department of Learning Health Sciences.

This proposal addressed Challenge #1 as presented in the initial small grants program announcement (see program background).

We had a very competitive pool of 14 applicants with many great ideas. Thank you to all who applied!