HENRY FORD HEALTH SYSTEM
CENTER FOR HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH

Jennifer Elston Lafata, Ph.D.
Investigator

Contact Information:
Email: jlafata1@hfhs.org
Phone: (313) 874-5454
Fax: (313) 874-7137

Interests:
Colorectal cancer screening and management

Diabetes management

Use of claims data to study medical care quality and costs

Shared decision-making

Recent Publications:
Cooper GS, Schultz L, Simpkins J, Lafata JE. The Utility of Administrative Data for Measuring Adherence to Cancer Surveillance Care Guidelines.  Medical Care 2007 Jan;45(1):66-45.

Elston Lafata J, Kolk D, Peterson EL, McCarthy BD, Weiss TW, Chen Y, Muma BK.  Improving Osteoporosis Screening: Results from a Randomized Cluster Trial.  Journal of General Internal Medicine 2007 March

Elston Lafata J, Simpkins J, Kaatz S, Horn JR, Raebel MA, Schultz L, Smith DH, Ulcickas Yood M.  What Do Medical Records Tell Us About Potentially Harmful Co-Prescribing?  The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Safety 2007;July;33(7):395-400.

Elston Lafata J, Gunter MJ, Hsu J, Kaatz S, Krajenta R, Platt R, Schultz L, Selby JV, Simon SR, Simpkins J, Soumerai SB, Uratsu C.  Academic Detailing to Improve Laboratory Testing among Outpatient Medication Users.  Medical Care October, 2007;45(10)

Joseph CLM, Peterson E, Havstad S, Johnson CC, Hoerauf S, Stringer S, Gibson-Scipio W, Ownby DR, Elston Lafata J, Pallonen U,  Strecher V.   A web-based, tailored asthma management program for urban, African-American high school students. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine 2007 May;175(9):888-95.

Herrinton LJ, Liu L, Elston Lafata J, Allison JE, Andrade SE, Korner EJ, Chan KA, Platt R, Hiatt D, O'Connor S.  Estimation of the Period Prevalence of Inflammatory Bowel Disease among Nine Health Plans using Computerized Diagnoses and Outpatient Pharmacy Dispensings. Inflammatory Bowel Disease 2007 April;13(4):451-61.

Nau D, Steinke D, Williams LK, Austin R, Elston Lafata J, Divine G, Pladevall M. Adherence Analysis Using Visual Analog Scale Versus Claims-Based Estimation. Annals of Pharmacotherapy Epub 2007 October 9.

Raebel MA, McClure DL, Simon SR, Chan KA, Feldstein A, Andrade SE, Lafata JE, Roblin D, Davis RL. Gunter MJ, Platt R.  Laboratory monitoring of potassium and creatinine in ambulatory patients receiving angiotension converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers. Pharmacoepidemiology Drug Safety 2007 Jan;16(1):55-64.

Schmittdiel J, Vijan S, Fireman, B, Elston Lafata J, Oestreicher N, Selby J. Predicted Quality-Adjusted Life Years as a Composite Measure of the Clinical Value of Diabetes Risk Factor Control. Medical Care 2007 April;45(4):315-21.

Tunceli K, Bradley CJ, Elston Lafata J, Pladevall M, Goodman AC, Divine G, Vijan S.  Glycemic Control and Absenteeism among Individuals with Diabetes.  Diabetes Care 2007 May;30(5):1283-5.

Biography:

Jennifer Elston Lafata, Ph.D. is a Research Scientist with the Center for Health Services Research at the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, Michigan.  Dr. Lafata is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.  She received her doctorate in Health Services Management and Policy with a concentration in economics from the School of Public Health at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.   She joined the Henry Ford Health System in 1993 where she served as acting director of the Center for Clinical Effectiveness (1997-1999) and Director of the Center for Health Services Research (1999-2005).  Her primary research interests include cancer and diabetes management, and the use of claims data to evaluate medical care quality and costs.  Recently, Dr. Lafata has been using survey research methods to study colorectal cancer screening decision making in primary care.  She has participated in NIH sponsored studies evaluating the appropriateness of using claims data to study the care delivered to cancer survivors; an AHRQ funded study to evaluate the use of claims data to detect medication errors in the outpatient setting; and a CDC funded initiative to improve colorectal cancer screening rates in primary care.  The latter two included cluster randomized trials to improve adherence to evidence-based clinical practice guidelines.  Through these and other efforts, she has experience working with delivery and financing organizations to develop, implement and evaluate interventions designed to improve routine chronic care management, and has published on the medical care costs associated with migraine headaches, false positive cancer screening test results, and surveillance care among cancer survivors as well as the effectiveness of mailed patient reminders and web-based care management support tools for improving routine diabetes management.