Kudos for Rodger Kessler

Rodger Kessler, PhD, Assistant Professor of Family Medicine and CTS Faculty Scholar has been appointed Field Editor for the Society of Behavioral Medicine’s new journal, Translational Behavioral Medicine: Practice, Policy, Research.

Congratulations, Rodger!

New In the CTS Library - Case Study Research

Two new books inaugurate our new section on Qualitative Methods in the CTS library on S4 of the Given Courtyard.

Robert K. Yin.Case Study Research: Design and Methods. 4th edition. Sage, 2009.
Robert K. Yin. Applications of Case Study Research. 2nd edition. Sage, 2003.

Online chat with Whitehouse Senior Advisor on Health care reform

On Monday, November 2nd at 3:30 p.m. EST, Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett will hold an extended online chat to discuss how health insurance reform will impact minority communities and all Americans. You can submit questions in advance at the below link and also click on the link to get all the details:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ope/webform/valerie-jarrett-health-insurance-reform-all-americans

Kareem Dale
Special Assistant to the President
The White House
Phone: 202.456.4767
kdale@who.eop.gov

VERMONT CANCER CENTER 2009 Clinical & Translational Research Symposium

 REGISTRATION AND POSTER ABSTRACT DEADLINES  EXTENDED TO OCTOBER 30, 2009

WALK-INS WELCOME!

 VERMONT CANCER CENTER

2009 Clinical & Translational Research Symposium

Environmental Cancers: Risk Factors, Mechanisms and Therapies

 Friday, November 6, 2009

Grand Maple Ballroom

Dudley H. Davis Center

University of Vermont

Burlington, VT

Please join the Vermont Cancer Center, at the University of Vermont and Fletcher Allen Health Care, in collaboration with Dartmouth-Hitchcock Norris Cotton Cancer Center, for a free day-long research symposium featuring presentations focused on clinical and translational research at the Vermont Cancer Center, Norris Cotton Cancer Center, and other cancer research institutions, with particular emphasis on lung cancer/mesothelioma and skin cancers/melanoma.

For symposium agenda, online registration, and poster submission details, visit http://vermontcancer.org/researchsymposium09.

Registration for this event is free, but required by October 30, 2009. 

Please note: This event will focus on Environmental Cancers and not on Genitourinary/Gynecologic Cancers,

as was incorrectly listed on the Registration Page.

*****

CALL FOR SYMPOSIUM POSTER SUBMISSIONS

Participants may present posters on any area of cancer-related research, not only those relating to the symposium topics. Posters may have been presented elsewhere. A $125 award will be given in each of two categories: (1) Pre-doc/Post-doc or (2) Faculty/Staff. Poster abstract deadline extended: October 30, 2009. Space is limited.

This symposium is made possible with support from the Lake Champlain Cancer Research Organization.

For more information, please contact: Kelly O'Malley, Vermont Cancer Center Events Coordinator, 802-656-2176 / kelly.omalley@uvm.edu.

Veteran Administration Seminars

MARK your calendars for these cyber seminars in NOVEMBER 2009! Monday, November 2, 1:00pm ET VIReC Database and Methods Seminar Measuring Veterans Health Services Use in VA and Medicare (Part 1) by Denise Hynes, PhD,RN Linda Kok, MA Monday, November 9, 12:00pm ET QUERI Implementation Practice Seminar Does improving quality save money? A review of research and research methods. by John Ovretveit, PhD Tuesday, November 10, 12:00pm ET QUERI Implementation Research Deriving insights from naturally occurring implementation and QI processes: An overview of research methods and issues. by John Ovretveit, PhD Thursday, November 12, 12:00pm ET VIReC Clinical Informatics Seminar Survey of Clinical Reminder Use in the VA by Emily Patterson, PhD Wednesday, November 18, 2:00pm ET HERC Health Economics Seminar Methods of Calculating Costs by Kevin Frick, PhD

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For more information on these and other HSR&D
Cyber Seminars see the Cyber Seminar catalog online.

Questions? Email cyberseminar@va.gov

Roberto Fabri Fialho Scholarship

An annual scholarship of $1,500 will be awarded to a student in the final year of his or her Ph.D. dissertation research in the life sciences. It is awarded in memory of Roberto Fabri Fialho, Ph.D., (posthumous), Biology, 2001.

Roberto Fabri Fialho, Ph.D. was born and received his primary education in his hometown of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In 1989 he arrived at the University of Vermont to pursue his graduate education in Biology. He received his M.S. degree in 1993 and completed his Ph.D. just weeks before his untimely death in 1999 following an extended struggle with cancer. Despite his illness, Rob was an active member of the Biology Department, a creative and brilliant scholar and scientist, an admired teacher of UVM undergraduates, and a much loved friend to many.

Applications for the award are solicited from students pursuing Ph.D.s in the life sciences who expect to complete their degrees in the current academic year. An application form is available from the Graduate College and must be received no later than Monday, November 30, 2009. Selection of the scholarship recipient will be made by a faculty panel convened for this purpose by the Dean of the Graduate College.

This scholarship is made available through the generosity of Michael D. Upton, MD (College of Medicine `94), and friends and family of Roberto Fialho.

Applications must be made through the Graduate College. The deadline for receipt of materials is November 30, 2009

CTS Solstice Retreat

Save the date, Thursday, December 10, for our Solstice Retreat which will be held at the Littenbergs. Dr Alan Wertheimer, CTS and NIH Bioethicist will be our guest. We need to know if you can came so we can plan with the Littenbergs. Please let Deb Henry know if you would like to attend, and we will send out a more precise invitation closer to the date.
Thanks so much!

Alan Rubin

Socio-economic status of the patient and doctor–patient communication: does it make a difference?

From Sharon M. Henry, P.T., Ph.D., A.T.C.
Professor and Interim Associate Dean of Research
Department of Rehabilitation and Movement Science

Hello everyone,

I thought this article might be of interest given the upcoming Burak
lectureship on 11/3. Please share.

Sharon

Patient Education and Counseling 56 (2005) 139–146
Socio-economic status of the patient and doctor–patient communication: does it make a difference?
S. Willems∗, S. De Maesschalck, M. Deveugele, A. Derese, J. De Maeseneer
Department of General Practice and Primary Health Care, Ghent University, UZ-1K3, De Pintelaan 185, B-9000 Gent, Belgium
 

Abstract
 

This systematic review, in which 12 original research papers and meta-analyses were included, explored whether patients’ socio-economic status influences doctor–patient communication.
 

Results show that patients from lower social classes receive less positive socio-emotional utterances and a more directive and less participatory consulting style, characterised by significantly less information giving, less directions and less socio-emotional and partnership building utterances from their doctor. Doctors’  communicative style is influenced by the way patients communicate: patients from higher social classes communicate more actively and show more affective expressiveness, eliciting more information from their doctor. Patients from lower social classes are often disadvantaged because of the doctor’s misperception of their desire and need for information and their ability to take part in the care process.
 

A more effective communication could be established by both doctors and patients through doctors’ awareness of the contextual communicative differences and empowering patients to express concerns and preferences.

Health Insurance for Hedgehogs

Here is a link to a piece on Planet Money from National Public Radio regarding health insurance.

"How much would you pay to protect someone or something you love? Kristin Zorbini Bongard and her husband love their pet hedgehog, Harriet, so much that they spend about $80 a year on health insurance for her. Even with the coverage, they shelled out $1,911.20 for the hedgehog's cancer treatment.
Economist Tim Harford, the Financial Times' Undercover Economist, who admits to not being a pet person, says the problem with pet insurance is not that it's for pets. It's that it causes waste, because you're spending someone else's money."
http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2009/10/podcast_insurance_for_a_hedgeh.html

New NIH Application Procedures

Major changes for applicants! Shorter page limits … restructured forms … new instructions For application submissions due on or after January 25, 2010, the time is now to find out how.

http://enhancing-peer-review.nih.gov/restructured_applications.html

What I'm reading - Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science, by Atul Gawande

This was a great, thought-provoking book. Published in 2002, it was written by Atul Gawande during his surgical residency at Brigham and Women's hospital in Boston. Gawande discusses the human factor in medicine in the book's three main sections: 1. Fallibility - where he reflects on physician training and learning curves, 2. Mystery - where he focuses on what doctors do when they just don't know the answer, and 3. Uncertainty - where he discusses the medical decision making process. He writes in an entertaining, articulate manner by telling stories and substantiating them with published data and literature. It's an easy, enjoyable read.

If anyone wants to borrow the book just let me know!

New in the Library: Quality Improvement

As requested...

Keyte B, Locher D. The Complete Lean Enterprise: Value Stream Mapping for Administrative and Office Processes.  2004.

Weick KE, Sutcliffe KM. Managing the Unexpected: Resiliant Performance in an Age of Uncertainty. 2nd edition. 2007.

The library is in Given Courtyard S455, next to FRED. You may borrow books by signing and dating the card in the book and leaving the card on the card pile.

The X-files: How not to get tangled up by the new versions of PowerPoint, Word, Excel, etc.

Microsoft released new versions of its Office Suite (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, etc.) that use a new file format. The new versions have an "x" at the end of the file name (e.g., myslides.pptx) compared to the older versions (myslides.ppt). There are some advantages to using the new Office 2007 versions, but at least one really big disadvantage: older versions of the software cannot open the new files with the "x" at the end.

Notably, Fletcher Allen computers, such as the ones in the CCTS Education suite on the 4th floor of the Given Courtyard, including the computer in FRED (S461), have the older Office 2003 software and may not be able to read your files. So, if you plan to bring files from another computer with the new versions of the software, save your work as a "97-2003" file. (You can read these back into the newer software for later editing as needed.)

I will also try to get converter programs loaded onto the computers.

UVM students, staff and faculty can get the new Office 2007 software for $10 at the Computer Depot in the Davis Student Center. Bring your CatCard ID.

Gates Foundation Global health Grants

Submissions to Round 4 of Grand Challenges Explorations is November 2, 2009, a $100 million initiative to encourage bold and unconventional global health solutions. Anyone can apply, regardless of prior experience or institutional affiliation. Previous winners include graduate students, entrepreneurs at private companies, and creative thinkers from all fields of research.

Initial grants will be $100,000 each, and projects showing promise will have the opportunity to receive additional funding of up to $1 million. Full descriptions of topics and application instructions are available at: http://www.grandchallenges.org/explorations.

We look forward to receiving innovative ideas from scientists around the world and from all scientific disciplines. If you don't submit a proposal yourself, we hope you will forward this message to someone else who might be interested.

Thank you for your commitment to solving the world's greatest health challenges.

NIH Proposal Scoring

Reviewers have been instructed to provide scores for each individual review criterion, and an overall impact/ priority score for each application. These scores are given in whole numbers on a 9-point rating scale according to the following descriptions and additional guidance:

Score	Descriptor	Additional Guidance on Strengths/Weaknesses
1	Exceptional	Exceptionally strong with essentially no weaknesses
2	Outstanding	Extremely strong with negligible weaknesses
3	Excellent	Very strong with only some minor weaknesses
4	Very Good	Strong but with numerous minor weaknesses
5	Good	Strong but with at least one moderate weakness
6	Satisfactory	Some strengths but also some moderate weaknesses
7	Fair	Some strengths but with at least one major weakness
8	Marginal	A few strengths and a few major weaknesses
9	Poor	Very few strengths and numerous major weaknesses
Minor Weakness:An easily addressable weakness that does not substantially lessen impact Moderate Weakness: A weakness that lessens impact Major Weakness: A weakness that severely limits impact

The final overall impact/priority score for each application is calculated by determining the average of the overall impact/priority scores given by all eligible review panel members to one decimal point and multiplying by ten. Thus, the new scores range from 10-90 in whole numbers.
For example, if we consider a final overall impact/priority score of 55, we can see that the score should reflect a "good" to "satisfactory" application that the reviewers judged to be of moderate impact, and that it has some strengths, but also one or more moderate weaknesses.
For more information about the guidance given to reviewers, download the Reviewer Orientation at http://enhancing-peer-review.nih.gov/reviewer_orientation.ppt or visit the Enhancing Peer Review Web site at http://enhancing-peer-review.nih.gov/index.html.

University Scholar Seminar - Russ Tracy

UNIVERSITY SCHOLAR SEMINAR

Presented by

Russell P. Tracy, PhD
Professor of Pathology and Biochemistry
Director, Laboratory for Clinical Biochemistry Research

Inflammation, Atherosclerosis and Aging: the Inflammation Hypothesis of Aging

 “…inflammation of the inner arterial coat [is] the starting point of the so-called atheromatous degeneration.” R. Virchow, 1859.

“Longevity is a vascular question, which has been well expressed in the axiom ‘a man is as old as his arteries.’ To a majority of men, death comes primarily or secondarily through this portal.” William Osler, 1892.

“Yep, son, we have met the enemy and he is us!” Pogo to Porky (as written by Walt Kelly), 1971

Over the last 15 years we have come to understand that the human inflammatory response is a major part of atherosclerosis, the pathophysiological process that leads to most of the heart disease in the world. This position was held by some in the past, but not well understood by most researchers and practitioners in the field until recently. Additionally, we have come to understand that inflammation as a response to a variety of stressors is part of not only atherosclerosis, but many (all?) of the chronic diseases associated with aging, such as  insulin resistance, osteoporosis, dementia and others. Our laboratory has contributed to this work through molecular, cellular, and genetic epidemiology in a variety of fields.

Because of this work, some of which we will discuss in this talk, we and others recently have proposed a broad concept, an “inflammation hypothesis of aging”. This hypothesis suggests that the cumulative lifetime burden of our own inflammatory responses, while critically important to short-term survival, plays a major role in the aging process itself.  Within this conceptual framework, we propose that the time-dependent inflammation-driven deterioration of individual organ function has multi-organ system-wide consequences, which ultimately yield an exponential decline in health (i.e., frailty and death). This decline starts at an age which appears to be at least in part driven by evolutionary biology and natural selection. We also propose that the rate of decline in any individual is a function of the environmental stresses to which she/he must respond, and the degree of response which is in turn driven by genetic architecture and physiological response capacity. Finally, we propose that within this framework, many diseases can be viewed as organ-specific accelerated aging with systemic ramifications. If validated, this view has implications for a broad range of translational research issues from pharmaceutical development to diagnostic biomarkers and the interpretation of high resolution biomedical imaging.

4:00 PM, Thursday, October 22, 2009

Memorial Lounge, Waterman Building

The University Scholar Awards Program annually recognizes distinguished faculty members for sustained excellence in research and scholarly activities.  The Scholars are selected by a panel of distinguished faculty, based upon nominations submitted by UVM colleagues.

Refreshments at 3:45 and after the Seminar

Sponsored by the Graduate College

Doris Duke Foundatioon Clinical Scientist Development Award

The Doris Duke Clinical Scientist Development Award provides grants to junior physician-scientists to facilitate their transition to independent clinical research careers. The foundation plans to award up to 14 three-year grants in 2010 of $125,000 per year in direct costs and $10,000 per year in indirect costs to junior faculty level physician-scientists conducting clinical research in any disease area.

Applicants must:

• Be a physician-scientist conducting clinical research in any disease area;
• Have received an M.D. or a foreign equivalent from an accredited institution;
• Be working in a U.S. degree-granting institution, but do not have to be a U.S. citizen;
• Have a full-time faculty level position not higher than the Assistant Professor level; and
• Have been appointed to their first full-time faculty level position between January 1, 2005 and January 1, 2010. (All full-time post-fellowship Instructor level positions will be considered full-time faculty level appointments.) 

Send nominations to Ira Bernstein, Senior Associate Dean for Research at Ira.Bernstein@uvm.edu

 

Mary M. Childers, PhD: “Access, Aptitude, Attitude: Higher Education, Health Care and Lower-income People”

“Access, Aptitude, Attitude: Higher Education, Health Care and Lower-income People”

• Mary M. Childers, Ph.D. 
• Author of Welfare Brat: A Memoir 
• Dartmouth College Ombudsperson
• Faculty Member, Higher Education Resource Services

Mary Childers is the author of Welfare Brat, a memoir that she has used to inspire honest and realistic problem-solving among people who struggle with poverty and those who try to assist them. She brings to this work extensive experience as a change agent and advocate for dispute resolution. At Dartmouth College she served as Director of the Office of Equal Opportunity and at Brandeis University she was Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences and Senior Advisor to the Provost. She has provided discrimination prevention and diversity training for faculty and staff at over twenty institutions. After receiving a Ph.D. in English Literature at the State University of New York at Buffalo, she taught at several universities and published articles on literature and a variety of equity issues.

• Tuesday, November 3, 2009 • 3:30 – 4:30 p.m.
• Davis Auditorium, Medical Education Complex
• Reception and book signing immediately following:
• 4:30 – 6:00 pm – outside of Davis Auditorium
• Book purchases available from 2:30 onward outside Davis Auditorium
• Hosted by Sharon Henry, PhD, PT, Professor, Rehabilitation and Movement Science
• Co-sponsored by the Department of Rehabilitation and Movement Sciences, CNHS
• For more information call Sharon Henry: 656-8146

2010 Pfizer Fellowships

Pfizer, Inc. is accepting applications for the Fellowship Program. 2010 Pfizer Fellowships: Depending on the particular Fellowship area, applicants will be EITHER junior physician-scientists/ researchers OR (postdoctoral fellows) who hold an appointment as a postdoctoral fellow/trainee or equivalent at an accredited academic medical or research institution and will not hold a full-time tenure track faculty position or the equivalent in the first year of this fellowship. These career development awards support researchers early in their careers - Fellowship grants are awarded on a competitive basis with grant payments typically beginning in July of each year for 2 years and will be made in the following areas:

• Pfizer Fellowships in Clinical Practice
• Pfizer Fellowship In Health Disparities
• Pfizer Fellowships in Health Policy
• Pfizer Fellowships in Clinical Oncology

New in the CTS Library

Joint Committee on Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing of the American Educational Research Association, the American Psychological Association, and the National Council on Measurement in Education. Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing. American Educational Research Association, Washington, DC, 1999.

This handbook has chapters on Validity, Reliability, Scaling, Test Administration, Scoring, Fairness, and other topics that are broadly of interest to test developers, survey designers.

Vermont Vascular Medicine Conference

An Interdisciplinary Conference devoted to Hemostasis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Medicine

Date:  Friday, October 16, 2009

Time:  9:15 – 10:15 am

Place:  HSRF 400

Speaker: 

Ira Bernstein, MD

Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science

Senior Associate Dean for Research

Title: 

Hypertension in Pregnancy and its Relationship to Risk Factors for Ischemic Cardiovascular Disease

Light breakfast will be served

Reception Honoring Rich Pinckney

2009 Frymoyer Scholar Reception

The UVM College of Medicine

Invites you and your guest to a reception honoring the

2009 Frymoyer Scholar

and the donors who made possible

The John and Nan Frymoyer Fund for Medical Education

"The Art of Compassion – A Workshop Series for Medical Professionals"

Richard Pinckney, M.D., M.P.H.

Assistant Professor of Medicine

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

The Robert H. and Cynthia K. Hoehl Gallery, HSRF

4:00 pm

Kindly RSVP by October 21, 2009

802-656-4014 or email: medalumni.relations@uvm.edu

"Seminar on Scientific Writing"

-Special Seminar-

David Pierson, M.D.

Professor of Medicine

University of Washington, Seattle

"Seminar on Scientific Writing"

Friday, October 16th

12:00pm - 1:00pm

HSRF 200

Call for Abstracts: The Quality of Behavioral Healthcare - A Drive for Change Through Research

Call for Abstracts

 

The gaps between research, practice and policy, in all configurations, significantly impair the rapidity of progress for improving health care quality. Given the tremendous disease burdens associated with drug abuse, problem alcohol and mental health conditions, and the impact of these conditions on other medical disorders, greater research focus is needed to align

• consumer preferences and values in care,
• improved care coordination across providers and service sectors,
• implementation strategies and workforce development to accelerate the adoption of evidence-based practices, and
• approaches highlighting how purchasers and employers might encourage delivery of high-quality behavioral healthcare.

This scientific conference will encourage linkages between these often separate areas of behavioral services research into a more integrative behavioral health services research (BHSR) platform.

 

This second year of a 3-year NIDA R13 scientific conference grant (with additional support provided by NIMH and NIAAA), continues the effort to 1) develop a collaborative and strategic research agenda to improve the quality of behavioral healthcare to people (across the life span) who suffer from drug abuse, problematic alcohol use, and mental health problems, and, 2) engage and partner researchers and other key stakeholders such as afflicted individuals, families, providers, policymakers, and communities to contribute to and implement a quality improvement agenda. A 'virtual collaboratory' will also be used to connect conference participants and to encourage and support the development of new research teams.

 

Currently there is no one place for addictions, mental health and alcohol services researchers to meet exclusively and at one time on shared priority topics germane to behavioral health services research (BHSR). No professional group or association for BHSR exists. Common problems abound and often work does not cross the disciplines, so this 2010 scientific conference will highlight innovative strategies to improve the quality of behavioral healthcare focusing on a broad range of research examining

• issues of access to care and care coordination,
• the implementation of evidence-based practices,
• improvements in the measurement of quality outcomes, and,
• financing methods and systems change focused on improving care quality.

The conference will be held on Clearwater Beach (FL) on April 13-14, 2010, with preconference methods workshops taking place on the afternoon of April 12th. The Sandpearl Resort (www.sandpearl.com) will be the setting for this year's meeting. Individual paper, poster, think tank and symposia abstracts are being solicited. Please consider submitting an abstract to the conference through our website at http://bhsr.fmhi.usf.edu

 

All abstract submissions must be received by December 4, 2009 at 5pm EST.

 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  

Invited Plenary Speakers:

 Carolyn M. Clancy, MD, Director

 Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality (AHRQ)

 U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

 

 Richard Frank, PhD, Deputy Assistant Secretary, ASPE

 U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

 Quality: A Federal Perspective

  

 Confirmed Pre-Conference Workshops on April 12th:

 John Skvoretz, PhD, Department of Sociology, University of South Florida

 Nothing But Net(works): Basic Methods

 

Hendricks Brown, PhD, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine

Designing the Next Stage of Effectiveness and Implementation Research to Meet the Needs of Communities and Institutions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  

 

Sincerely,

  

Alex Harris, Ph.D.

Scientific Conference Co-Chair, Center for Health Care Evaluation, VA Palo Alto Health Care System

 

Enola Proctor, Ph.D.

Scientific Conference Co-Chair, School of Social Work, Washington University

Junius Gonzales, M.D., M.B.A.

University of South Florida, R13 Principal Investigator

 

Graduate Student Breakfast

Faculty (including Faculty Scholards) are invited, too.

UVM College of Medicine

Graduate Student Welcome Breakfast

Dean Frederick C. Morin III, M.D. invites College of Medicine Graduate Students, Faculty, and Staff to a Welcome Breakfast for Graduate Students

Friday, October 16th

8:30 am – 9:30 am

The Robert H. & Cynthia K. Hoehl Gallery, HSRF

Continental Breakfast Will Be Provided

Dana Medical Library faculty will host an information table during the reception to let you know about Library electronic resources and services.

Kindly RSVP by October 9th  802-656-4014 or email: medalumni.relations@uvm.edu

New in the CCTS Library

The CCTS Library has a a few new books available.

Kotter JP.Leading Change. Harvard Business School Press, Cambridge, MA, 1996.

Kelly DL. Applying Quality Management in Healthcare: A Systems Approach. 2nd edition. Health Administration press, Chicago, IL, 2007.

Bate P, Mendel P, Robert G. Organizing for Quality: The improvement journies of leading hospitals in Europe and the United States. Radcliffe, Oxford, 2008.  Foreward by Don Berwick.

The library is located next to FRED (The Facilty for Research and Education Discussion, aka Small Conference Room) in Courtyard S455. To borrow a book, please write your name and the date on the index card and leave the card on the shelf with the others.

Anybody have any comments about these books?

I'm reading....

Adverse drug event trigger tool: a practical methodology for measuring medication related harm

J Rozich, C Haraden, and R Resar

Qual Saf Health Care. 2003 June; 12(3): 194–200. doi: 10.1136/qhc.12.3.194.

The authors describe a checklist for finding adverse drug events by manual review of hospital charts. Triggers are things like use of an "antidote" (naloxone after narcotic overdose), laboratory effects of ADEs (high PTT), and orders to stop drugs abruptly.. Then a judgment is made if it was due to a medication. About 1/4 of triggers are classified as ADEs. In 2,837 discharges from 86 hospitals, they found 720 ADEs for 2.68/1000 doses. 25% of charts had an ADE.


I found the article interesting because it standardizes an area of Quality Improvement work that could otherwise be very prone to so much variation and noise as to make the results useless.

PA-09-265: Secondary Analyses of Existing Data Sets and Stored Biospecimens to Address Clinical Aging Research Questions (R01)

Here is a Program Announcement from the NIH that may be of interest.

 The National Institute on Aging (NIA) invites applications to support short term projects involving secondary analysis of existing data sets or stored biospecimens, to address clinically-related issues on aging changes influencing health across the life span, and/or on diseases and disabilities in older persons.  This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) will support activities addressing specific hypotheses in clinical aging research and/or to inform the design and implementation of future epidemiologic or human intervention studies, or current geriatric practice in maintenance of health, management of disease, and prevention of disability.  Existing data sets may also be used to develop and test new statistical analytical approaches.

There are lots of local and national data sets available: NHANES, Vermont Breast Cancer Surveillance System, Vermont Diabetes Information System, the Fletcher Allen Data Warehouse, and more.  Soon, we should have access to the CTS IRIS database and the VCHURES database of insurance claims for all payers in Vermont (we already have New hampshire). 

In the wet world, Russ Tracy maintains a huge number of biological specimens from several large epidemiological studies that may be of interest.  (Perhaps Russ or Mary Cushman would be willing to come to Research Workshop to talk about what is available and how to think about a secondary analysis.)