Phase II I/UCRC Florida Atlantic University Site: Center for Health Organization Transformation.

Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton FL

Investigators

Abstract

Phase II I/UCRC Florida Atlantic University Site: Center for Health Organization Transformation The proposal requests Phase II funding for the Florida Atlantic University (FAU) to establish a site for the Texas A&M University led Center for Health Organization Transformation (CHOT). The research agenda proposed by FAU site coincides with the most expansive changes in the healthcare industry in the U.S. Recent changes in healthcare system have introduced a series of changes in the healthcare industry, including the creation of new healthcare organizations such as Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) and new programs to improve healthcare quality, safety, and efficiency through the promotion of healthcare information technology. There is also an increased focus on disease prevention and wellness/health promotion. These changes necessitate new research on healthcare processes, patient centered healthcare delivery, and alternative payment models. The FAU site will build upon the already established CHOT partnerships and provide further complementary expertise. FAU?s proposed site will complement existing CHOT strengths by contributing expertise from the domains of engineering, business, medicine and nursing. The FAU site offers an interdisciplinary team of researchers to conduct research in the areas of (1) patient centered care delivery (e.g. patient satisfaction, community health, care coordination, wellness and preventative care and transition of care, (2) healthcare information technology (e.g., clinical decision support systems, health information systems, big data analytics, health applications, home health solutions), (3) medical technology (e.g., medical devices, user-centered health devices, healthcare digital infrastructure, sensors and robotics in healthcare), and (4) healthcare delivery systems (e.g., economic and policy evaluation, alternative payments, population health, vulnerable populations). The FAU site will create synergies with existing CHOT sites and attract additional industry partners, expanding CHOT?s collaborations between academic research and health-industry leaders. The FAU site broadens participation of underrepresented groups in several ways. FAU has a large Hispanic population with more than 48% of undergraduate students currently enrolled in FAU?s College of Engineering and Computer Science (CECS) are from underrepresented populations. The project team will actively engage students in research that enable research performed by the graduate and undergraduate students to be shared with other students; the Center will expand opportunities of mentoring and graduating students from multiple disciplines such as engineering, nursing and business from under-represented populations at the BS, MS, and PhD levels.