VA HSR&D Center for the Study of Healthcare Innovation, Implementation & Policy (CSHIIP)

Va Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles CA

Investigators

Abstract

The mission of the VA HSR&D Center for the Study of Healthcare Innovation, Implementation & Policy (CSHIIP) is to develop and test innovations that markedly improve the effectiveness and value of VA health care, from system, provider, and Veteran perspectives, while advancing scientific methods for accelerating adoption, implementation, spread, and scale-up of evidence-based practice. Our vision is to promote delivery of proactive, personalized, and patient-driven care that is evidence-based and continuously improving. We will leverage our 25-year focus on provider behavior and implementation science to achieve these priority goals: Goal #1: To improve primary care delivery, with an emphasis on access, team function, and care coordination in the context of VA’s medical home model (PACT) and medical neighborhood within and outside VA; Goal #2: To increase implementation, accessibility, and impacts of gender-sensitive comprehensive care for women Veterans through innovative care models and multilevel stakeholder engagement; Goal #3: To improve care quality, patient experience, and outcomes among high-risk, high-need Veterans, focused on subpopulations with serious mental illness, homelessness, substance use, as well as older adults, and acute care patients; Goal #4: To develop, test, and implement novel care models in emerging areas, including complementary and integrative health/whole health, specialty care, and emergency management/disaster preparedness; Goal #5: To recruit, train, mentor and retain researchers in our recognized areas of expertise, including health systems interventions, implementation science, and partnered research; and Goal #6: To accelerate our research impacts through strategic partnerships, Veteran and employee engagement, implementation and dissemination, and internal evaluation and communication. Leadership: CSHIIP is directed by Elizabeth M. Yano, PhD, MSPH, with overall responsibility for the Center’s strategic plan, scientific oversight and successful engagement of the Center’s Executive Steering Committee (ESC), academic affiliates, and principal VA partners. She is supported by Center Associate Director David Ganz, MD, PhD, and Chief Officers for Administration (Gooding, Caraveo), Training (Saliba), and scientific development in areas of Innovation and Dissemination (Taylor) and Implementation and Policy (Hamilton), as well as a Leadership Committee of senior HSR&D investigators. Comprised of our principal partners, affiliates, and experts in research, policy, and implementation, our ESC provides critical guidance on a regular basis. Primary Partners and Major Collaborations: Our VA principal partners are the Offices of Primary Care (Denietolis), Women’s Health Services (Hayes), and Organizational Excellence (Francis), VISN 22 (Revote), and VA Greater Los Angeles. Affiliates include UCLA Schools of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, and RAND Health. Our investigators actively collaborate with PIs at all of the other COINs and half of the CREATEs, being involved with 80+ VA medical centers in our multisite research and evaluation activities. Research Areas: Goals 1-3 represent our focused areas and Goal 4 represents our emerging areas. We also propose new research to improve employee experience, especially related to workplace safety issues (e.g., harassment of providers) that can profoundly affect employee engagement, resiliency, and retention. Selected Accomplishments of Center Investigators: From FY15-17, we have leveraged Center core funding an average of 19-fold across 125 research and operations projects. Core PIs have published 40% more papers (426) than our previous 3-year total, contributed substantial VA service to research, operations, and policy, and been widely recognized outside VA (e.g., National Academy of Medicine, NIH, AHRQ, PCORI, FDA, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the National Quality Forum, and more). Center impacts range from methodological advances and new care models to implementation/spread of new tools and policy changes.