Notes from Neil

The purpose of this award, in collaboration with Georgetown University, George Washington University and Howard University, is to conduct research to further institutionalize screening and follow up for social determinants of health among cancer survivors in DC at three cancer institutes.  Additionally, the researchers will conduct anti-bias training at the three cancer institutes with all providers interacting with patients. The long-term goal of this study is to develop scalable interventions to identify and address social needs for cancer survivors. This project is intended to establish sustainable clinical-community linkages and improve survivor health and well-being. This research aims to advance our understanding of what works in different settings, for whom and why.

Understanding the burden of social needs in our population, the available community resources, and solidifying integrated, closed-loop referral systems to address those needs is critical to improving quality of life for cancer survivors and reducing disparities in outcomes. 

Read Full Press Release Here

I'm excited to announce a webinar that is coming up on Tuesday, October 26th at 12:00pm EDT with MedStar Health in partnership with Precision Medicine Group, discussing "MedStar, Precision and Biopharma: The Power of Partnering to Support Healthcare Innovation and Improve Human Health" featuring a panel of experts from MedStar Health, Biopharma and Precision Medicine Group.

In this webinar the panelists will discuss the potential of cross-industry collaborations to support evidence generation for life sciences companies that will, in turn, advance medical care and health outcomes. The panel will offer actionable, informed insights into best practices for partnering, as well as share case studies supporting the acceleration of healthcare innovation.

How is the application of real-world evidence and data generating high-impact, actionable research outcomes? What are some opportunities for novel, integrated data capabilities to support biopharma innovation? How is the "volume-to-value" transition putting pressure on healthcare innovation? How can value be demonstrated early for therapies that present a large burden on society?

We will answer these questions and more! I hope you can join us!

Register here

Title: MedStar Health, Precision and Biopharma: The Power of Partnering to Support Healthcare Innovation and Improve Human Health

Date: Tuesday, October 26, 2021

Time: 12:00 PM

Presenters:

MedStar Health is proud to be participating in The Introduction to the Principles and Practice of Clinical Research (IPPCR) course established by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The program provides training in designing a successful clinical trial by focusing on biostatistical and epidemiologic methods, study design, protocol preparation, patient monitoring, quality assurance, ethical and legal issues, and much more. Other areas covered include data management and ethical issues, including protection of human subjects. This course will be of interest to resident and fellow physicians, as well as junior level faculty, wishing to enhance their understanding and expertise in clinical research.

The course will be conducted entirely online in a self-paced format. However, it is recommended that participants view 1 to 2 lectures per week to give themselves ample time to understand the theoretical and practical aspects of the content and to prepare for the final examination. The course will be conducted entirely online in a self‐paced format. It is comprised of approximately 40 lectures, ranging from 15‐90 minutes each, and will run through August 1, 2022.

This course is being offered as a certificate program.    Registration is required in order for you to be eligible to take the examination and receive certification.  At the conclusion of the course, a certificate will be awarded to those receiving a 75% or higher on the final exam. The final examination, which consists of 50 to 80 multiple choice questions, will be available through July 28, 2022.

Course Objectives:

• Provide an overview of basic biostatistical and epidemiologic methods involved in conducting clinical research.
• Describe the principles involved in the ethical, legal, and regulatory issues in clinical human subjects research, including the role of Institutional Review Boards (IRBs).
• Describe principles and issues involved in monitoring patient‐oriented research.
• Describe the infrastructure required in performing clinical research and the steps involved in developing and funding research studies.

To register for this course, please click here.

Textbook:  The course textbook, Principles and Practice of Clinical Research, Fourth Edition, is available online through the Georgetown School of Medicine Dahlgren Library. You will need your GU Net ID to access this. The course textbook is available through the Dahlgren library as an e‐book.

• Connect to https://dml.georgetown.edu
• Click on eBooks A to Z (under Quick Links)
• Navigate to the "P"  tab  and find the book listed alphabetically by title
• Login with GU Net ID credentials

The Course Schedule, Syllabus and additional information is available online: https://ocr.od.nih.gov/courses/ippcr_info.html.

It's time for your annual influenza vaccination. The 2021-2022 influenza season coincides with the COVID-19 pandemic—reinforcing the importance of vaccination against both the flu and COVID-19. Vaccination is critical to protecting the safety of our patients, associates and communities. The best way to keep yourself, your family, your MedStar colleagues and those we care for safe and healthy is to get the flu shot. As a reminder, all MedStar Health associates, physicians, residents/fellows, students, volunteers, contracted staff, and vendors are required to receive the influenza (flu) vaccination.

The flu vaccination period is now through Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2021.

Getting a flu vaccination is easy at MedStar Health locations. Associates, physicians, residents/fellows, and volunteers can receive flu vaccinations at MedStar Health entities for free. For a complete listing of locations, dates and times for entity clinics, click here.

NEW! This year, flu vaccination exemption request forms for associates may be accessed, completed and submitted here or myHR > Career > Occupational Health. The electronic forms, including documentation, must be submitted by Oct. 31, 2021.

Learn more information on StarPort at StarPort.MedStar.net/go/EveryoneCounts and myHR.

Below is my monthly message for the October 2021 edition of the MHRI newsletter, Focus. You can view Focus online at MedStarResearch.org/FOCUS.

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Welcome to October 2021 filled with a week of beautiful, crisp fall weather but also filled with ongoing pandemic concerns.  What seems to be compounding the situation is the lack of reliable information around so many aspects of this disease. It would be nice to have clear answers to some of our most critical questions such as:

1. Does mask wearing really make a difference if I am already vaccinated?
2. When do I develop antibodies from the vaccine and how long do they last?
3. If I get COVID, how do I know if I am going to get very sick or at high risk to die?
4. If I go to an emergency room with COVID, how do I know if it is safe to go home?
5. Once I recovered from COVID, how long do I have antibodies against further disease?
6. How long will COVID symptoms persist after the infection is over?
7. Why can’t someone come up with a simple pill to treat this disease?

I want you to know that these, and many other critically important COVID questions, are being worked on and answered by MedStar Health investigators right now!  For example, a late breaking clinical trial conducted in over 800 COVID-19 patients, from 13 medical centers across 9 countries (and led by Dr. Federico Asch at MedStar Washington Hospital Center) found that cardiovascular death from COVID-19 could be predicted from the cardiac ultrasound if (and only if) the interpretation was aided by artificial intelligence but could not be interpreted by the human eye only!  And this is just one of several remarkable studies we are conducing here at MedStar Health.  Just look at the studies in this issue of FOCUS:

Results from MedStar Health’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Community Research Partnership (CRP) Study of COVID-19 – This population health study, led by Drs Weintraub and Miller, enrolled over 10,000 MedStar Health patients and is answering many of the above questions about how our behaviors (mask wearing, social distancing, etc) and vaccination uptake are having dramatic effects in our community.  Be on the lookout for an upcoming New England Journal of Medicine publication (and over 20 other scientific publications) coming out from this study in the next few months!

MedStar Health Receives FDA Clearance to Trial an Oral Immunomodulatory Drug for COVID-19  -  Drs. Fishbein, Khan, Kroemer and others from MedStar Georgetown Transplant Institute last week received FDA clearance to conduct an investigator initiated clinical trial on a novel oral medication to treat COVID-19.

MedStar Health Investigators Evaluate Trends For Substance Use during the COVID-19 Pandemic -  This multi-disciplinary research team examined over 100,000 substance use screens from across 7 MedStar Health emergency departments and recently published their results  ‘Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on emergency department substance use screens and overdose presentations’ in The American Journal of Emergency Medicine.

A New AHRQ R21 Award will Study When is it Safe to Discharge a COVID-19 Patient from the Emergency Department -  In her first federally funded award, Dr. Galarraga (an emergency medicine physician and health care delivery researcher) will develop an electronic health record screening tool that uses artificial Intelligence/machine learning to predict the risk of Emergency Department return among COVID-19 patients.

The pandemic may be relentless but so are our MedStar Health investigators!  As of a recent review, we have over 250 COVID-related research projects at MedStar Health across a diverse set of clinical disciplines.  We are advancing health across our community at the time of greatest need.  Thank you to all the research teams working on COVID-19 (and the other very important areas of healthcare!) and thank you to all those who support the research teams to make this important work possible.

Enjoy this month’s issue of FOCUS and stay well.

Neil