Bio: Robin Gauld, Ph.D., a 2008-09 Commonwealth Fund Harkness Fellow in Health Care Policy and Practice, is an associate professor of health policy at the University of Otago, where he had previously been lecturer and senior lecturer. Past positions also include several lecturer posts and research officer at the City University of Hong Kong. Gauld's current research interests include comparative health policy, primary care, and health information and technology. He has written and contributed to numerous books and over 40 peer-reviewed journal articles, which have been published in journals such as the Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, Medical Care, the British Medical Journal, Health Policy, and the New Zealand Medical Journal. In addition, Gauld's research on the impact of New Zealand's health restructurings has been cited by the Australian Health Minister, and he gave the keynote address on "The New Zealand e-government experience: political promise, practical perceptions and future prospects" at the CIO Conference in Auckland in 2007. Gauld holds a Ph.D. in public administration from the University of Hong Kong, and a master's degree with distinction from Victoria University, Wellington.
Placement: Boston University
Mentors: David Blumenthal, M.D., M.P.P.; Alan Cohen, Sc.D.
Project: Strategies to Reduce Unwarranted Clinical Practice Variations in U.S. Hospitals
Description: Gauld's project aimed to examine strategies employed by health care providers to reduce performance variations. The project had two components. First, Gauld conducted five in-depth case studies of high-performing Massachusetts hospitals, including interviews with management and clinical staff. Second, he undertook a survey of chief quality officers in all acute care hospitals in four states.