News
Discern Health Welcomes New Project Analyst
November 2017
Courtney Barbera is a new Project Analyst at Discern Health and will be supporting clients on a variety of projects. Prior to joining the Discern team, Courtney contributed to business development and communications efforts for an international development firm in Washington, D.C. She gained experience designing impact evaluations in both local and global health settings and,…
Discern Vice President Donna Dugan Presents At NHPCO’s 2017 Interdisciplinary Conference
October 2017
Donna Dugan, PhD, MS, a vice president at Discern Health, recently presented on a panel at the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization’s (NHPCO) Interdisciplinary Conference in San Diego, California. Donna was joined on the panel by Katy Barnett and Lee Goldberg of The Pew Charitable Trusts and Deborah Waldrop of the University of Buffalo….
Discern Health Welcomes New Project Manager
October 2017
Kaitlyn Whiton is a public health professional who is interested in transforming healthcare through data analysis and data based decision-making tools. Most recently, she was a policy analyst at The Hilltop Institute where she worked on research and policy analysis related to vulnerable populations, especially in the areas of development disabilities and chronic conditions. Previously,…
Tom Valuck Participates In National Coalition For Hospice and Palliative Care Stakeholder Strategic Directions Summit
October 2017
Partner Tom Valuck was invited to participate in the recent National Coalition for Hospice and Palliative Care Stakeholder Strategic Directions Summit in Chicago. The Summit brought together over 60 representatives from 43 national organizations that covered a broad range of care settings, provider/professional associations, accrediting bodies, payers, and community services organizations. The purpose of the…
Quality and Performance Measurement Initiatives For Multiple Sclerosis
September 2017
Discern has served as an advisor and subject matter expert for two large pharmaceutical clients’ separate multiple sclerosis (MS) quality and performance measurement initiatives. For one client, using a multi-pronged approach to measure development, implementation, and quality improvement, Discern has supported coordination of activities among stakeholders through national health care organizations including the Pharmacy Quality Alliance (PQA), the National Quality…
Discern Health Adds New Vice President
September 2017
September 2017 Erik Muther joins Discern Health from the Pennsylvania Health Care Quality Alliance (PHCQA), where he served as the managing director. Erik was the founding executive director of PHCQA before it merged with Health Care Improvement Foundation (HCIF). He has over 22 years of health care experience leading a wide range of quality measurement,…
Maryland Illustrates Opportunities And Challenges Of Value-Based System Transformation
September 2017
Maryland has long been at the forefront of health care reform. The state’s unique hospital payment system, which includes Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial insurers, sets global hospital budgets that include both inpatient and outpatient hospital services. The state facilitated a multi-year patient-centered medical home program, and CareFirst, the largest commercial insurer, has also implemented its…
Partner Tom Valuck Presents On Patient-Centered Care
July 2017
Tom Valuck, MD, JD presented at two recent Astellas-sponsored events on the importance of capturing the patient perspective to help shape the future of health care. The presentations were given in conjunction with the annual meetings of the American Urological Association (AUA) and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). Both presentations focused on bringing…
NCQA And Discern Announce Collaboration
July 2017
Discern is pleased to announce a collaboration with NCQA to work together on projects that will advance the health care quality agenda through improvement activities, research, and measurement. Through this collaboration, Discern and NCQA will identify areas of mutual interest and build upon each organization’s strengths to implement a range of projects, including research and…
Discern Participates In PhRMA Lunch And Learn
July 2017
Partner Tom Valuck, MD, JD participated in a panel discussion at a recent Lunch and Learn sponsored by PhRMA. The subject of Tom’s presentation was “Quality Measurement in the Value-Based Health Care Environment.” The Lunch and Learn discussion provided perspective on the importance and use of measurement within the changing health care delivery and payment…
