With the fifth anniversary of the presidential signing of the U.S. Affordable Care Act March 23, faculty experts from DePaul University are available to discuss a range of health care topics including the analysis of health care data, community health, patient experience, communication among health care professionals, interprofessional health care education and the role of nurses and physician assistants.
Scholarly health care experts include:
Andrew Gallan, assistant professor of marketing, Kellstadt Graduate School of Business. Gallan is available to discuss the use of data analytics and how data is used to uncover insights into innovative health care business strategies.
"The Affordable Care Act has accelerated approaches to delivering better patient experiences through the use of data analytics. The key is to pull insights out of data in order to understand what patients are trying to tell you. For instance, using data to find the relationship between how patients perceive their own care and hospital readmission rates. This information is critical to health care organizations because understanding the reasons for readmission allows care providers to better understand health issues impacting the community and how care can be better delivered beyond hospital walls," Gallan said.
Wendy Netter Epstein, assistant professor, College of Law. Epstein, the Jaharis Faculty Fellow in Health Law, is available to discuss health care law.
"After the passage of the Affordable Care Act, we had to significantly alter the health law curriculum that we teach our law students, not only to teach them about the higher profile aspects of the act like the health insurance exchanges and Medicaid expansion, but to prompt future health lawyers and policymakers to think about issues such as patient engagement and health consumerism. It used to be that doctor knows best. Then there was a big move to respect patient autonomy through doctrines like informed consent. Now, in the ACA, the focus has moved to shared decision-making between doctor and patient," Epstein said.
Mona Shattell, associate dean, College of Science and Health. Shattell, who also is an associate professor in nursing and community psychology, is available to discuss how health-related professions and systems must adapt in order to facilitate patient and family empowerment.
"If health care providers knew each other's strengths across disciplines, we'd be able to work together better and would have better patient outcomes. We could have a more satisfied health care workforce, and it would empower both patients and health care providers. In short, implementing interprofesssional education is a dramatic shift in the way we approach health care education," Shattell said.
Elissa Foster, associate professor, College of Communication. Foster, who also is the health communication program director, is available to discuss relational communication in health care, as well as building relationships between the academy and health care professionals.
"Having difficult conversations is critical, not just with patients in the clinical environment, but between team members like doctors and nurses. Speaking with team members in a way that preserves positive relationships, particularly when there is a difference of opinion, is the most efficient way to come up with the best solution, and not just the solution of the person who has the most power in the team. In the worst case scenario, not having these collaborative relationships is dangerous for patients," Foster said.
Craig Klugman, professor, College of Science and Health. Klugman, a bioethicist and medical anthropologist, also chairs the department of health sciences. He is available to discuss ethics in public health and medical research.
"We've traditionally taught health education as a one-on-one experience: you and the future patient. Now we teach from a population perspective where individuals are members of communities and we're all in health care together. As an individual, I don't have total control over my health: Sure I can change my eating and exercise habits, but my DNA and environment in which I live impact my health to a large extent. As a result, these larger issues compel us to think more globally about these issues and concentrate on health disparities. One of the most shocking aspects of health disparities is that your longevity is based on your ZIP code in the U.S. An individual who resides on the north side of Chicago has decades more life as compared to an individual who resides on the south side of Chicago," said Klugman.
"In order for affordable care to work and for health disparities to decrease, we need less expensive, but more primary care practitioners, like advanced practices nurses, nurse practitioners and physician assistants" said Klugman.
Bill Cody, professor of nursing, College of Science and Health. Cody, who also is the director of the School of Nursing, is available to discuss the philosophical basis of nursing science, community health, health disparities, innovation in nursing education and nurse-managed care centers.
"Interprofessional education is an improved way of communicating and collaborating especially in regards to quality and safety of care. Not long ago, nursing was taken for granted even though nurses spent the most face time with patients, constantly observing and interacting with them. We believe interprofessional education will increase the appreciation for nurses; it will help nurses learn more effective collaboration skills with increased quality and safety of care as outcomes. Our charge as educators is to try to bring change swiftly and efficiently because it is no longer possible or effective for health care professionals to attempt to retain an encyclopedic knowledge of medicine, instead they will need to work across disciplines to get all the necessary information for truly high quality patient care," Cody said.
Leonard Jason, professor of psychology, College of Science and Health. Jason, who also is the director of Center for Community Research at DePaul, is available to discuss public policy, community-based interventions, chronic illness and chronic fatigue syndrome.
"As a clinical community physiologist, I'm concerned with the revolving door within the substance abuse treatment fields. A post treatment environment that includes support for housing and jobs is essential to helping patients survive. We need to think in community terms by bringing the voice of patients into the treatment sphere to create participatory methods for solving chronic illnesses. As a part of serving the community better, we need to prepare undergraduates and graduates to understand the extension of support services in a different way," Jason said.
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