Bio: Mary Seddon, a 1998-99 Commonwealth Fund Harkness Fellow in Health Care Policy, is a physician and fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. Prior to accepting her Harkness Fellowship, Dr. Seddon was a research fellow at New Zealand's National Heart Foundation (NHF). Her work for the NHF involved a critical appraisal of the evidence for the NHF national nutritional guidelines, as well as assisting in the development and dissemination of guidelines for the management of heart failure. She recently completed her master's of public health degree. The thesis for this degree, included an overview of the rationing of health care, the various approaches to rationing, and the ethical implications of these. The focus was on the recently introduced priority scoring system for Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) surgery that is used in New Zealand to ration access. Her current research interest focuses on methods of measuring quality of care, and ensuring quality in the face of funding constraints. She received a medical degree from Otago Medical School, Otago University.
Placement: Harvard University
Mentors: John Ayanian, M.D., M.P.P.; Judith Feder, Ph.D.
Project: Use of Effective Cardiac Medications After Myocardial Infarction: A Comparison of Ambulatory Care for Medicare Beneficiaries in Fee-for-Service and Managed Care
Description: Seddon aimed to examine the quality of ambulatory care provided to patients after myocardial infarction, with reference to the use of effective cardiac therapies and the avoidance of ineffective medications, by type of insurance (traditional fee-for-service versus HMO) and by region. She drew data from the Cooperative Cardiovascular Project and a General Accounting Office survey on a sample of fee-for-service and HMO patients who had been recently hospitalized for myocardial infarction.