Healthcare has changed rapidly in the last decade with the widespread use of electronic health records (EHRs) and the creation of national EHR-based data networks that aim to improve the quality of care. The American College of Rheumatology's RISE registry is a federally Qualified Clinical Data Registry that collects EHR data from the practices of almost 1000 rheumatologists nationally, analyzes these data centrally, and continuously feeds back performance on quality measures to practices via a web-based dashboard. In this K24 proposal, the applicant proposes to utilize novel methods in clinical informatics to increase the accuracy of quality measurement, while also developing and testing new EHR-based quality measures relevant to rheumatic diseases. The proposed research will leverage her strong research portfolio, including grants from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, her successful track record of achieving national endorsement for EHR-based quality measures, existing data from over 1.4 million patients in the RISE database, and the outstanding institutional environment at the University of California, San Francisco. It will also support her ongoing career development in clinical informatics methods relevant to EHR-based clinical research. For this five year K24 award proposal, she plans to increase the time spent mentoring junior investigators in the field or quality and outcomes measurement in rheumatology, with the goal of helping trainees successfully launch academic research careers in patient- oriented research. Aligned with a comprehensive mentoring plan, the proposal outlines two specific aims, including using natural language processing to increase the accuracy of EHR-based quality measurement in RISE, and developing and validating new, prototype electronic clinical quality measures to monitor and address high impact gaps in care for patients with rheumatic disease. The work will prioritize outcome measures and use eMeasurement standards, including the Quality Data Model and Health Quality Measures Format to develop, specify and test measures. Measures developed through this research and mentoring program will be candidates for nationwide dissemination across rheumatology practices to improve care for individuals with rheumatic disease.

Public Health Relevance

This mid-career investigator award will support a program in patient-oriented research in rheumatic diseases at the University of California, San Francisco. The award will allow the applicant to expand her research on the development and validation of health care quality measures and support her mentoring of early investigators. The proposed research aims to create quality measures that can be deployed across rheumatology practices to improve the quality of care, while training new researchers to perform innovative patient-oriented research in the area of electronic health record-based quality and outcomes measurement.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)
Type
Midcareer Investigator Award in Patient-Oriented Research (K24)
Project #
5K24AR074534-03
Application #
10070083
Study Section
Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Special Grants Review Committee (AMS)
Program Officer
Wang, Yan Z
Project Start
2019-02-15
Project End
2023-11-30
Budget Start
2020-12-01
Budget End
2021-11-30
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2021
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of California San Francisco
Department
Internal Medicine/Medicine
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
094878337
City
San Francisco
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
94143