News
On CBS News: Schaffner discusses necrotizing fasciitis
Jul. 2, 2019—The family of a Florida woman who say she died after being infected by flesh-eating bacteria at a beach is sounding the alarm. Lynn Fleming, 77, died late last week after walking along a popular Gulf of Mexico beach near her home. It is a rare occurrence, but now some communities in Florida are especially...
MPH’s Schaffner’s Advice to Providers: Communicate, Educate, Vaccinate
Jun. 27, 2019—Measles certainly is a matter of great interest in the United States. In recent weeks, we have seen the true effects of the measles outbreak, which has sparked awareness of the need for the vaccine among the general public. We as health care professionals need to vaccinate as many persons who are susceptible and unvaccinated as...
VUMC forms new Center for Improving the Public’s Health Using Informatics
Jun. 20, 2019—Vanderbilt University Medical Center is forming a new Center for Improving the Public’s Health Using Informatics (CIPHI, pronounced “Sci Fi”) to be co-directed by Michael Matheny, MD, MS, MPH, and Melissa McPheeters, PhD, MPH. CIPHI will coordinate with state and national public health agencies to offer services and expertise in developing key informatics and analytics...
Vanderbilt: When Surgeons Are Abrasive To Co-Workers, Patients’ Health May Suffer
Jun. 19, 2019—A recent study published in JAMA Surgery , which looked at interactions between surgeons and their teams, found that patients of surgeons who behaved unprofessionally around their colleagues tended to have more complications after surgery. Surgeons who model unprofessional behavior can undermine the performance of their teams, the authors write, potentially threatening patients’ safety. Dr. William...
MPH’s Grijalva receives 2019 VUSM Excellence in Teaching award
Jun. 6, 2019—Jeff Balser, MD, PhD, President and CEO of Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Dean of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, kicked off the Spring Faculty Meeting by providing a short update of VUSM’s academic endeavors. Every year since 2000, the School of Medicine has honored faculty members for Excellence in Teaching and Outstanding Contributions to...
Kainer receives CSTE’s 2019 Pumphandle Award
Jun. 5, 2019—Marion Kainer, M.D., received the 2019 Pumphandle Award from the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) at the CSTE Annual Conference in Raleigh, NC on June 5, 2019. The CSTE Pumphandle Award is awarded annually for outstanding achievement in the field of applied epidemiology. This award honors a state, local, territorial, or federal epidemiologist who...
In the Washington Post, Schaffner comments on historic number of U.S. measles cases
May. 31, 2019—In a recent Washington Post article, William Schaffner, M.D., commented on the record number of U.S. measles cases in the first five months of 2019. Dr. Schaffner is Professor of Preventive Medicine in the Department of Health Policy as well as Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.
In NYT, Stevenson comments on quality of care in nursing homes with financial difficulties
May. 31, 2019—In a recent New York Times article, David Stevenson, Ph.D., comments on the quality of care in nursing homes facing financial difficulties. Stevenson serves as director of MPH program’s Health Policy track. He is Professor, Vice Chair for Education, and Director of Health Policy Education in the Department of Health Policy.
MPH graduate calls for expanded safety measures for scooters
May. 31, 2019—In a recent opinion piece in the Tennessean, Oscan Guillamondegui, M.D., M.P.H., calls for improved safety measures for scooter use in Nashville. Guillamondequi is Professor of Surgery, Medical Director of the Trauma ICU, Director of the Vanderbilt Multidisciplinary Traumatic Brain Injury Clinic, and Vice Chairman for Surgical Quality, Safety, and Professionalism at Vanderbilt.
Raffanti appointed to Advisory Council To Eliminate HIV/AIDS In Nashville
May. 31, 2019—Mayor David Briley signed an executive order creating the Ending the HIV Epidemic Advisory Council comprised of health care experts and community leaders to oversee the execution of that plan. Vanderbilt MPH graduate Stephen Raffanti, M.D., M.P.H., is among the 14 health care experts and community leaders appointed to the council tasked with overseeing a strategic plan...
Dusetzina research published in JAMA finds Medicare drug costs are rising
May. 30, 2019—Seniors’ out-of-pocket costs for cancer drugs continue to rise steadily, with patients paying thousands of dollars each year despite efforts to close the Medicare Part D “donut hole,” researchers said. Prices for 13 anticancer drugs available through Medicare Part D in 2010 rose an average 8% over inflation every year over the past decade, said...
MPH’s Schaffner: Measles cases continue to rise
May. 24, 2019—In a report on Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that it has confirmed an additional 41 measles cases in the U.S. The new total brings the number of cases up to 880 in 24 states, the largest number of measles cases in this country since 1994. “We’d previously eliminated this disease not...
MPH’s Guillamondegui comments on scooter injuries
May. 24, 2019—In April, the Nashville Fire Department responded to 43 emergency calls related to scooter injuries. Dr. Oscar Guillamondegui estimates Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s trauma center and emergency department see about one major traumatic brain injury a month related to scooters and one-to-two injuries to faces, arms and legs per day. “If you think about the actual number of scooters on the road, it...
McPheeters to rejoin faculty of the Department of Health Policy
May. 20, 2019—NASHVILLE, Tennessee — Melissa McPheeters, PhD, MPH, will return to the permanent faculty of Vanderbilt University’s School of Medicine, beginning July 1, 2019. For the last three years, McPheeters has served the State of Tennessee as Director of Informatics & Analytics in the Tennessee Department of Health, where she built a program in informatics and analytics that...
Dusetzina comments on generic entry drug prices
May. 13, 2019—Congress is mainly squabbling over proposals to reduce prices by boosting competition. And with the exception of some very preliminary talk about the length of patent exclusivity period for biologics, they’re mostly focused on traditional small-molecule generics. But those regulatory tools were designed for a world in which pharmaceutical companies develop relatively simple drugs and...