The mission of the Center for the Advancement of Health Care Value at Rush is to be recognized globally as an innovator in research that prepares leaders for the future of health care. Our research focuses on improving quality, safety, efficiency and the patient experience — ultimately moving the needle on the value of health care.
Research in the department is divided into the following sections.
Organizational excellence and leadership
The OEL program focuses on improving health care value by understanding the critical roles of leadership, governance, leadership development, and other high-performance work practices to organizational outcomes such as patient experience and financial performance.
The patient experience
Rush University Medical Center has a long history of providing and researching best practices in patient care. The Patient Experience Research Initiative, within the Health Systems Management program, works to further develop the understanding of the patient experience and promote scholarship to provide empirically-based knowledge on the experience of patients.
Health care value, quality and safety
The health care value, quality and safety program focuses on the following topics:
- Lean operations
- Throughput improvements
- Education in variation and standardization
- Just culture
- Informed decision-making and problem-solving
- Change management
- Sustainability strategies in health care organizations
Population health
Population health research focuses on identifying the patterns of health determinants and their relationships with health outcomes among populations. The design is to implement evidence-based practice or interventions at an individual or societal level to reduce health disparities among vulnerable populations (e.g., racial and ethnic minorities, the uninsured, low-income children and women, the elderly, etc.).
International health
The department’s international health care research program focuses on improving value by strengthening the evidence base for improving the value of health care through global exchange. Our research includes macro- and micro-level drivers of health care exports and international medical travel.
Workforce of the future
Our research on the workforce of the future focuses on improving health care value by strengthening the pipeline of talented professionals into critical health care positions, with a special emphasis on understanding and addressing the challenges faced by early careerists from disadvantaged and underrepresented groups.
Interprofessionalism
Interprofessionalism in health care delivery and health care education is becoming increasingly recognized as a cornerstone of improved service delivery. Research in this area focuses on the differential outcomes associated with a coordinated, team-based approach to service delivery.