Bio: Susan Wells, M.B.Ch.B., M.P.H., Ph.D., FRNZCGP, FNZCPHM, a 2012-13 New Zealand Harkness Fellow in Health Care Policy and Practice, has been a senior lecturer in clinical epidemiology and quality improvement at the School of Population Health at the University of Auckland since 2008. As a family medicine specialist and a public health physician, Wells has done considerable work on quality improvement innovation and implementation. Since 2002, she has been the clinical project leader of a web-based electronic decision support program of cardiovascular disease and diabetes risk assessment and management. Wells has published over 50 peer-reviewed publications in journals including British Medical Journal, New Zealand Medical Journal, and Journal of Primary Health Care, and in 2011 she won the European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation Highly Cited Paper Award. Wells received her M.B.Ch.B. from the University of Otago, and her Dip.Obs., Master's in Public Health and Ph.D. from the University of Auckland.
Placement: Harvard University
Mentors: David Bates, M.D., M.Sc., Professor, Harvard Medical School and Chief, Division of General Internal Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital
Project: The Use of Electronic Health Records to Improve Health Care Delivery System Integration for Chronically Ill
Description: Wells' Harkness project will use the example of cardiovascular disease to compare how health information technology is enabling accountable care organizations in the U.S. and primary health organizations in New Zealand to identify high-risk patients, track care processes, improve coordination across the continuum of care, and achieve better outcomes.