U-M IOE graduate student Cynthia Joy reflects on HSPI 2024

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My name is Cynthia Joy, and I am currently pursuing my master’s in Industrial and Operations Engineering at the University of Michigan. After finishing undergrad, I felt a pang of regret for not having written a paper or attended a conference. But thanks to the Center for Healthcare Engineering & Patient Safety (CHEPS), I finally got to tick those boxes off my student bucket list!

The Healthcare Systems Process Improvement (HSPI) conference in Atlanta, Georgia was an absolute blast. Arman Getzen, my teammate, and I presented our projects on PATH (Prenatal Plan for Appropriate Tailored Healthcare) and successfully addressed issues with CNT (Central Nurse Triage) FYI notifications. Continue Reading »

CHEPS student attends LGBTQ+ Health Research Network kickoff

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What better way to celebrate Valentine’s Day than by networking cross-functionally to support LGBTQ+ health research at the University of Michigan?

Wednesday morning, the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation (IHPI) gathered professionals from Nursing, Michigan Medicine, Public Health, OB/GYN, graduate students, and undergrads to form crucial connections to further the impact of LGBTQ+ health studies at the University.

It was such a privilege to be in the same room as all of these leaders in medicine research and health disparity studies. The passion for the right to health of gender-diverse and queer communities was so palpable that I couldn’t help but be inspired by the conversations going on around me. Continue Reading »

CHEPS Fall 2023 Seminar Series: Julie Simmons Ivy

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On November 27th, the Providing Better Healthcare Through Systems Engineering seminar series welcomed Julie Simmons Ivy, PhD, MS, the University of Michigan’s Industrial and Operations Engineering Department Chair. She arrived to speak about the significant disparities in health outcomes for birthing people. Students, faculty, staff, clinicians, and community members gathered to discuss the causes and potential solutions to this problem.

“I’m not going to give you a presentation…we are going to have a discussion,” Ivy opened.

Before diving into the topic of maternity disparities, Ivy highlighted her identity as an industrial engineer, sharing, “I think of the world through systems and connections,” and that she often asks herself, “We can do this better. Continue Reading »

CHEPS Fall 2023 Seminar Series: Andrew Fine

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This week’s Providing Better Healthcare Through Systems Engineering seminar series welcomed Andrew M. Fine, MD, MPH to share his insight into using artificial intelligence (AI) as a tool to mitigate physician burnout. Students, faculty, staff, clinicians, and community members gathered to discuss both the potential and the risks of AI-supplemented healthcare.

Fine specializes in pediatric emergency medicine, innovating both children’s healthcare and public health at large. As a Senior Associate Physician in Pediatrics at the Boston Children’s Hospital, Fine has experienced firsthand the effects of provider burnout. He also serves as an Associate Professor in Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Continue Reading »

Celebrating Another Year of Healthcare Innovation at 2023 CHEPS Symposium

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On Monday, November 6th, the ninth annual Center for Healthcare Engineering & Patient Safety (CHEPS) Symposium brought together students, alumni, faculty, clinicians, and community members to celebrate another year of multidisciplinary healthcare innovation.

Hosted in U-M’s Lurie Engineering Center, the event highlighted how the fusion of engineering with healthcare can provide robust solutions to difficult problems, addressing the complexities of patient safety, enhancing healthcare operations and delivery, and ultimately improving outcomes for all. Posters from sixteen diverse research projects tackled subjects from prenatal care access to competing scheduling requirements, from inbox-related provider burnout to allocating specialty care for patients with lung and liver cancer. Continue Reading »

CHEPS Fall 2023 Seminar Series: Alex Peahl and Molly Stout

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Stout (left) and Peahl.

On October 30th, the Providing Better Healthcare through Systems Engineering seminar series had the privilege of hosting two distinguished speakers, Molly Stout, MD, MS and Alex Peahl, MD, MSc, who shed light on a critical topic: “Improving Access and Overcoming Barriers to Maternal Care Services.”

As a physician-scientist, Division Director of Maternal Fetal Medicine, and Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at U-M, Stout shows great passion for optimizing prenatal care with an emphasis on those who need it most. Stout’s work is driven by a dedication to ensuring the well-being of birthing people and infants with the ultimate goal of making prenatal care accessible and effective for everyone. Continue Reading »

CHEPS Fall 2023 Seminar Series: Karthik Ramani

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On Monday, October 23rd, Karthik Ramani, MD joined CHEPS in discussion at the Providing Better Healthcare through Systems Engineering seminar series. Alongside his work as the Medical Director of Interventional Nephrology and Vascular Access Services at Michigan Medicine, Ramani is pursuing his MBA at U-M’s Stephen M. Ross School of Business and holds particular interest in pursuing greater equity and diversity in clinical trials.

He began with some facts:

  • While minority populations make up 39% of the U.S., they make up only 25% of clinical study participants.
  • While 40% of White clinical trial candidates ultimately enroll in studies, that number drops to 23% for Black clinical trial candidates.
Continue Reading »

CHEPS Fall 2023 Seminar Series: Andrew Rosenberg

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“We digitized U.S. healthcare . . . We are now trying to digitalize our workflow, and some is working well, and some is not.”

This is how Andrew Rosenberg, MD, Chief Information Officer of Michigan Medicine and Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and Internal Medicine, opened this week’s Providing Better Healthcare through Systems Engineering seminar session. His presentation, titled “Digitization-Digitalization-Digital Transformation: Changing Healthcare Paradigms” introduced students, faculty, staff, and community members from U-M and beyond to the complex reality that is adapting a centuries old profession—medicine—to the digital age.

Digitization, as Rosenberg described, refers to the creation of accessible digital infrastructure. One common example of digitization has been the move away from paper medical records to electronic health record systems. Continue Reading »

CHEPS Fall 2023 Seminar Series: Julia Kramer

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This week at the Providing Better Healthcare Through Systems Engineering seminar series, students, staff, faculty, clinicians, and community members gathered to discuss client-provider tension in contraceptive care for low-resource communities.

Julia Kramer, PhD, MPH is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan. In her research, she focuses on equity-oriented engineering solutions to modern healthcare issues. This Monday, Kramer presented an insightful seminar on human-centered design as it applies to her research promoting rights-based family planning for contraceptive care.

Contraceptive care and human-centered design

With a variety of contraceptive methods available, such as insertive IUDs, hormone injections, and oral contraceptives, it can be difficult for patients in low-resource communities to feel adequately informed and advised in their contraceptive healthcare journey. Continue Reading »