Data and Quality Initiatives: Addressing a Costly and Deadly Condition

Dr. Hallie Prescott is an Associate Professor in Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine at the University of Michigan and staff physician at the Ann Arbor Veterans Affairs Hospital. She is an expert in long-term outcomes and recovery after sepsis. Her research program has been funded by AHRQ, NIH, and Department of Veterans Affairs. She is a vice-chair of the Surviving Sepsis Campaign guidelines, council member of the International Sepsis Forum, and physician-lead for a BlueCross/Blue Shield of Michigan sepsis quality improvement consortium of 50 Michigan hospitals.

Scott A. Flanders, M.D. is currently Chief Clinical Strategy Officer for Michigan Medicine, where in partnership with the Chief Strategy Officer, he is responsible for developing and operationalizing Michigan Medicine’s growing statewide network. Dr. Flanders is a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hospital Medicine at the University of Michigan, where he serves as Vice Chair for the Department of Internal Medicine. He was the founding leader of Michigan’s Hospital Medicine Program, and from 2003-2017 grew the program from four faculty to over 100, while concurrently developing robust clinical, educational, quality and research programs within the section. Dr. Flanders was a founding member of the Board of Directors of the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM) and is a Past-President of SHM. In 2013, Dr. Flanders was awarded the designation of Master in Hospital Medicine by the Society of Hospital Medicine. Dr. Flanders’ research interests include hospitalists, hospital-acquired conditions and their prevention, dissemination of patient safety and quality improvement practices, and the diagnosis and treatment of lower respiratory infections. Dr. Flanders developed and leads the Michigan Hospital Medicine Safety (HMS) Consortium, focused on preventing adverse events in hospitalized patients. He has authored over 150 journal articles and book chapters, and has edited two textbooks and a book series in the field of Hospital Medicine. Dr. Flanders received his Medical Degree from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine and completed his residency and chief residency at the University of California, San Francisco.

Dr. McKenzie is a board-certified family medicine physician with 13 years of experience in private practice and over seven years of experience in healthcare administration and clinical leadership. She joined Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan in 2013 as a physician consultant supporting Quality Management and Accreditation and is now the Associate Chief Medical Officer leading Provider Engagement. Her team provides clinical leadership for provider value-based programs and risk contracting and helps to enable and support the network through education, communication, and partnering on practice transformation efforts. Dr. McKenzie also leads the Behavioral Health Strategy and Planning team responsible for development and implementation of the BH strategy. She serves on the State of Michigan Certificate of Need Commission and has served as a former board member and president of the Michigan Academy of Family Practice Foundation. She graduated from Northeast Ohio Medical University and completed her residency at St. John Providence Health System in Southfield, Michigan. In 2017, she completed her MBA with a focus in medical management at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.  

John Syrjamaki is the Manager of Data Analytics for the Michigan Value Collaborative (MVC) and a member of the Department of Surgery at the University of Michigan. After graduating from Michigan State University with a Bachelor of Science in Physiology, Mr. Syrjamaki earned a Master of Public Health in Environmental Health Sciences and Toxicology from the University of Michigan. He is responsible for leading all analytic and data-related efforts of the Collaborative, including the creation of custom performance reports and management of the online MVC data platform. He provides direct analytic consulting services to 87 member hospitals and 40 physician organizations, manages partnerships with other Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM) Collaborative Quality Initiatives (CQIs), and works closely with BCBSM and outside vendors concerning data needs and improvements.