Active Projects

Collaborative Research Projects

Chemotherapy, Medication Errors, and Direct Order Entry
Anna Schorer, Jeremy Holtzman
Guidelines for use of chemotherapeutic agents including improve safety through ordering process

Developing a Reimbursement & Quality Profile System for LTC
Robert Kane, John Nyman, Christine Mueller, Boris Bershadsky
1) Recommend and develop a new reimbursement system for long-term care nursing facility services; 2) determine, through time study, the amount of time various nursing facility staff spend on each case mix category to establish new case mix indices and to provide data for staffing requirements; 3) make recommendations regarding minimum staffing requirements; 4) develop and implement a quality profile system for nursing facilities and other long-term care services

The Effectiveness of Revision Knee Arthroplasty
Boris Bershadsky and Khaled Saleh
Pilot test—test of the sites and their ability to cooperate and a test of the forms to verify that they are clear, concise, and provide the data that will be needed. Full study—assess patients functional outcome at two years and four years after revision knee arthroplasty.

Evaluation of Program to Increase Organ Donation in African Americans in Upper Midwest
David Radosevich
Three components—community-based, faith-based, and high school based. Evaluate the effectiveness of intervention media in attitudes and actions toward organ donation

Geriatric Injury Program of Proactive Empirical Research (GIPPER)
Robert Kane, Theresa Kalugdan (AHC) Marc Swiontkowski, Janet McNelly (Fairview)
To study the relationship between prognoses and outcomes for patients with hip fracture; gather clinical staffs' prognoses at the time of hospital discharge; gather patient outcomes at 6-month followup. 1) When interviewed separately, do all parties agree on prognoses and discharge plan? 2) How are clinical prognoses related to patient outcomes? (Clinical staff: orthopedists, nurses, social workers, physical therapists, occupational therapists, discharge planners.) 

Hot Flash Management
David Radosevich
Double blinded study testing Chinese tea

Improving Diabetes by Primary Care Translation (IMPACT) Study
Kevin Peterson and David Radosevich
Program in promoting better comprehensive diabetes management. Evaluates the effectiveness of a multifaceted diabetes intervention

Rate of Functional Recovery after Ankle Fracture
Marc Swiontkowski
Use IVR system to do SMFA on weekly basis for twelve weeks – plot recovery over time (spreads out over time – end point 1 year)

Sedation of Patients in Intensive Care Units
Craig Weinert
Five-year research and career development award—primary aim to develop new observer-rated sedation scale for use with critically ill patients (measuring separately level of arousal and spontaneous motor activity) 1st phase—qualitative approach; 2nd phase—comprehensive applied RCT focusing on reliability and validity of the instrument.

Transplant Information Cooperative
Marshall Hertz, David Radosevich
Develop on outcomes database for transplant services at University of Minnesota.

National Externally Funded Research Projects

Chronic Wound Healing
Jeremy Holtzman and A. Marshall McBean
Use CMS administrative data to study chronic wound healing

Smith & Nephew Oxinium Head Study (SNOH)
Boris Bershadsky, Marc Swiontkowski, and Khaled Saleh
Randomized clinical trial in THA using x-linked polyethylene and oxinium method (2 different femoral heads) wear rates and functional outcomes.

Study to Prospectively Evaluate Reamed Intramedullary Nails in Tibial Fractures (SPRINT)
Marc Swiontkowski
Compare rate of re-operation of reamed vs. reamed tibia fractures.

Use of Spirometry for Case Finding, Diagnosis and Management of COPD
Tim Wilt and Robert Kane
An Evidence-based Practice Center project. Systematic review of the evidence on specific ability of spirometry to improve processes and outcomes of care in management of COPD.  A review and analysis of the evidence that treatment effectiveness is dependent on disease stage, and accuracy of spirometry vs. clinical assessment in assessing disease stage, will help clarify whether spirometry should be emphasized or how it should be used.