Center for Health Policy & Health Services Research

The Center for Health Policy & Health Services Research (CHSR) is a research unit within the Henry Ford Health.

Overview

In 1999, two successful operations - the Center for Clinical Effectiveness, founded by Dr. Wilmer Rutt (1987) and the Center for Health System Studies, founded by Dr. David Nerenz (1988, based on the earlier Center for Applied Research) - merged to form the Center for Health Services Research (CHSR). Its mission of achieving excellence in health services research and improving human life by applying and disseminating research knowledge continues today. In March of 2010, CHSR was asked to take on the role of leading and coordinating health policy analysis and policy research for Henry Ford Health System. This decision was driven in part by the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and by the increasing number of opportunities for Medicare demonstration projects that might include HFHS as a participant. At that time, the Center’s name changed to the Center for Health Policy & Health Services Research (CHPHSR).

The specific tasks taken on by CHPHSR under the "Health Policy" heading include: monitoring of regulatory developments following PPACA; monitoring announcements of CMS and other federal demonstration projects; coordinating HFHS applications to CMS and other demonstration projects; analysis of HFHS and other relevant data sets to have background information for HFHS communications on health policy; preparation of white papers and other forms of communication about health policy issues; conduct of policy-relevant empirical research, and attendance at health policy meetings and conference calls as HFHS representatives.

Today, the CHPHSR continues its mission to conduct research relevant to health policy decisions at the state and national levels, and to be a focal point for the Henry Ford Health's participation in, and influence on, those decisions. The Center has grown since that time and currently includes six core divisions: Health Services Research, Health Policy, Education/Training (2021), Global Health (2022), Value-Based Care (2023), and Healthcare Improvement (2021). Please read our 2023 Annual Report. 

Highlights of 2023 include:

Health Services Research

The Center continued several important federal and foundation funded projects as part of our system’s partnerships through the Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences Center and the Health Care Systems Research Network (HCSRN). This includes receiving nearly $20 million in new awards and publishing nearly 100 manuscripts. Notably, the Center continues leadership of the Trans-America Consortium within the All of Us Research Program (the premier Precision Medicine research program in the nation) in partnership with Public Health Sciences. Also, Dr. Elizabeth Lockhart received her first National Institute of Health (NIH) R01 grant for a trial in primary care clinics to increase use of Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PReP) for HIV prevention. Dr. Amy Loree received her first NIH Grant as Co-PI for a pilot study of prenatal yoga to prevent postpartum depression. Dr. Lisa Matero partnered with several researchers to initiate new NIH and PCORI funded projects focused on psychologist distress among patients with lung disease and psychotherapy for patients with PTSD.

Health Policy

Our health policy team continued to serve an important role conducting analysis and research of key federal and state policies as well as supporting the system through comment letters, development of policy briefs and Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) demonstration models. In particular, the health policy team made important contributions to the system to support the development of the new Henry Ford Hospital campus, the 340B program, Medicaid reimbursement, and the provider workforce shortage.

Education & Training

We enrolled our third cohort within our NIH-funded T32 postdoctoral training program, including Drs. Erin Haley (Henry Ford Health) and Lauren Wilson (St. Louis University). In addition, Dr. Katie Vagnini joined as a clinical-research postdoctoral fellows in a joint venture with Health Psychology. Drs. Melissa Maye and Ashlee Vance received new multi-year mentored scientists grants from NIH and the Fund for Health Ford Hospital, respectively. We also continued to provide research training for all psychiatry residents and psychology interns/fellows, while supporting a number of medical, graduate, and undergraduate students in research, policy, and other internships. Dr. Alyssa Vanderziel participated in the first RYSE MED cohort of high school students from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented seeking careers in medicine and research. In total, our education and training program supported over 75 trainees in 2023.

Global Health

Our team partnered with Henry Ford’s Global Health Initiative and Behavioral Health Services to launch Zero Suicide International – a multi-faceted program designed to support research, implementation, and policy for suicide prevention. The program received two new grants, including a NIH R21 grant to develop implementation strategies for suicide prevention among youth in Nepal and a State-funded grant to support Zero Suicide pilot programs with community organizations serving refugees in Michigan.

Value-Based Care

In partnership with Dr. Charles Day (orthopedic surgeon and CMO for Value-Based Specialty Care), our team is embarking on a unique journey to improve healthcare at Henry Ford and around the country. The long-term goal of our unique venture is to develop innovative value-based care models to support the highest quality care at the lowest cost within all of our Henry Ford medical specialty departments serving as a model for other health systems across the nation.

Healthcare Improvement

Our Center continues to support two large Blue Cross Blue Shield-funded statewide Collaborative Quality Initiatives. The Michigan Spine Surgery Improvement Collaborative (MSSIC) celebrated the 10th anniversary in 2023. With surgeon leadership provided by the Department of Neurosurgery, this nationally recognized program has improved lumbar surgical site infections, ambulation, and surgical site infections while significantly reducing 90-day hospital readmissions by more than 20%. Learn more about working together for better spine surgery results.

The Michigan Mental Innovation Network and Clinical Design (MI-Mind) has established the first statewide program dedicated to suicide prevention and mental health. MI-Mind welcomed two new provider organizations in 2023, including the first participant in the upper peninsula. Learn more about MI Mind.

Center staff

The Center for Health Services Research includes staff with training and expertise in health services research, clinical epidemiology, economics, computer science, finance, health education, psychology, sociology and medicine. Center staff also maintains experience and expertise in the use of large administrative and claims databases as well as survey research methods. View CHSR Staff Members.

Mission

The Center for Health Policy and Health Services Research seeks to discover the underlying causal relationships that affect the effectiveness and efficiency of health care services. Through excellence in research, we strive to provide the knowledge needed to improve quality of care, maximize the health of populations, and minimize the burden of disease. The Center seeks to conduct research relevant to health policy decisions at the state and national levels, and to be a focal point for the Henry Ford Health's participation in, and influence on, those decisions.

We seek to produce high-quality science as evidenced through our publications. We strive to actively contribution to the direction of health policy by providing objective and incisive analyses that result in sound decisions regarding the provision and financing of care.

Vision

The Center for Health Policy and Health Services Research will be a nationally-recognized source of important, clinically-relevant health services research findings. Its staff will be active participants in the processes that establish health care policy, and it will be a catalyst for our health system's organizational participation in those processes.