Bio: Michael Schull, Dr.Med., a 2010-11 Canadian Harkness Associate, is director, division of emergency medicine, and associate professor in the departments of medicine and health policy, management, and evaluation, at the University of Toronto. He also serves as senior scientist at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) and at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre Research Institute. Since 2007, Schull also co-chairs the National Emergency Department Performance Stakeholder Group and chairs the Emergency Room Expert Panel, an advisory committee to the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. He has authored 81 peer-reviewed journal articles, including publications in the BMJ, Medical Care, and the Canadian Medical Association Journal. Schull is recipient of numerous awards as well as an honorary doctor of science from Queen's University. He received a master of sciences in epidemiology and biostatistics from McGill University and a doctor of medicine from Queen's University, where he received the University Medal in Medicine, the Bryan George Blair Memorial Prize in Internal Medicine, and the Victor Lyall Goodwill Memorial Prize in Internal Medicine.
Mentors: Elliott Fisher, M.D., M.P.H., Professor and Director, Center for Health Policy Research, Dartmouth Medical School
Project: Shared Care and Outcomes Following Emergency Department Visits for Exacerbations of Chronic Disease: Variation Across Ontario's Virtual Networks and Association with Integration
Description: Michael Schull analyzed transitioning health care systems that are moving towards more integrated delivery systems. In particular, he explored whether more integrated or "shared" care is associated with improved health outcomes. A quantitative study was undertaken, using Ontario's health administrative databases, to analyze outcomes associated with shared care for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, congestive heart failure, and diabetes patients following an ER visit relating to their chronic illness.