Data Science to Patient Value (D2V)

Transformational Research Funding

The vision of D2V is to make the University of Colorado School of Medicine a national and global leader in the development, implementation and dissemination of person-centered, high-value health care by advancing innovations in data and health systems science to improve the lives of patients, families, and communities. 

To achieve this goal, D2V will:

Accelerate rigorous cutting-edge data science methods and applications to address pressing health problems

Advance the science of person-centered high value health care across the care continuum by integrating different stakeholder perspectives including the UCHealth System as a learning and innovations partner.

Train the next generation of scientists who can advance and integrate the methods of data science and health systems innovation. 

The opportunity 

Achieving high-value health care has become the principal focus of health reform in the United States. As Medicare and Medicaid transition to a value-based reimbursement system, fundamental challenges remain. A lack of rigorous care-delivery research and inattention to patient-centered preferences and outcomes are impeding substantial progress toward a value-based reimbursement system.  At the same time, new opportunities to generate knowledge from data collected as part of routine clinical care under “real world” conditions along with methods to link data from a variety of sources, such as patient-generated data, require novel methods for deriving valid and robust insights. 

D2V’s approach will be to conduct research from multiple stakeholder perspectives, including patients, providers, health systems, payers and policymakers and to promote collaboration between researchers and clinical operations in designing and conducting care delivery interventions. By working with the health system as a real-world innovations laboratory, stakeholders will contribute to the design, conduct and translation of research into practice and policy. 

D2V will also focus on transforming the wealth of available electronic biomedical and health data into useable information that has the potential to dramatically advance our understanding of human disease and to improve human health and well-being thru data-driven discovery, personalized care and prevention strategies. D2V investigators will develop and apply innovative data science methods to accelerate rigorous, cutting-edge research using “big data” and informatics to address pressing health problems important to patients, families, and health care stakeholders. 

Existing strengths 

Across the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, there is currently significant interest and expertise in the science of high value health care and data science.  D2V provides a venue for investigators to collaborate across the medical and data science domains on the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. 

D2V will leverage existing expertise and resources, such as the Colorado Clinical Translational Sciences Institute (CCTSI), the Colorado Center for Personalized Medicine (CCPM), Health Data Compass (HDC) and existing training programs to build a world-class research collaboratory. The activities and innovations of D2V are also key future requirements for the success of the CCTSI, CBIPM, and the value anticipated from HDC and the competitiveness of CU-Anschutz in the health Big Data era. 

Areas of discovery 

D2V will:

• Study the factors that influence patient decision-making by studying cognitive and affective processes which influence care preferences and perceptions of value, and develop strategies to empower patients to exert their preferences in health decisions.
• Research the application of patient-reported health information to improve care delivery, and innovative care delivery interventions that incorporate patient health information and care preferences in ways that foster real-world adoption, sustainability, and dissemination.
• Apply the tools of management science, organizational theory, and economics to research the impact of: a) management practices on health system performance, and b) how changes in reimbursement and policy alter health care delivery, patient behaviors, and outcomes.
• Improve data accessibility and curation; informatics, analytical and computational expertise.
• Develop innovative and transparent data governance and advance the dialogue regarding public and patient engagement in data sharing/donation.
• Develop novel data analytic and visualization methods that generate robust and credible new evidence from disparate and heterogeneous data sources.
• Develop, implement, and promote core principles of data sharing, reproducible research, and transparent reporting of data, methods, and findings.
• Train the next generation of scientists who can advance and integrate the methods of data science and health systems innovation.

Leadership 

Jean Kutner, MD, MSPH, Professor of Medicine and Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs, University of Colorado School of Medicine and Chief Medical Officer, University of Colorado Hospital

Michael Ho, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine and Co-Director of the Center for Innovation at Denver and Seattle VA Medical Centers

Lisa Schilling, MD, MSPH, Professor of Medicine, Medical Director of the Office of Value Based Performance

Michael G. Kahn, MD, PhD, Professor of Pediatrics; Translational Informatics Core Director, Colorado Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute; and Director Health Data Compass/Center for Personalized Medicine

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