Health Services Research
Sharon Giordano, M.D., M.P.H., FASCO
Department Chair
- Departments, Labs and Institutes
- Departments and Divisions
- Health Services Research
The Department of Health Services Research conducts the highest quality health services research with the ultimate aims of optimizing health care delivery and improving outcomes for the prevention and treatment of cancer.
Departmental Goal
We shall be a nationally and internationally recognized program in cancer-related health services research by conducting innovative and high quality research in comparative effectiveness, health economics, quality of care, patient-centered outcomes, and decision analysis and by educating and mentoring future health services researchers.
Departmental Objectives
- To build a multidisciplinary team of investigators with expertise across the spectrum of health services research
- To foster collaboration among health services researchers within and outside of MD Anderson
- To maintain population-based research databases for health services research
- To support and expand educational programs that focus on cancer-related health services research
For general inquiries, please call 713-563-0020.
What does HSR entail?
Our studies aim to understand ways by which patients can obtain the best possible, most cost-effective treatments for cancer. As patients are the center of our focus, we also study how critical health care decisions are understood and made by patients in collaboration with health professionals.
DID YOU KNOW?
Comparative Effectiveness
Questions pertaining to this research category include:
- Are the clinical outcomes of a particular cancer treatment better than other treatment options?
- Do new cancer drugs, which often come with a considerable price burden compared to older drugs, offer a significant clinical advantage to patients?
- What are the costs associated with specific chemotherapy regimens that have nearly equivalent clinical outcomes?
Decision Science
The decision science field performs research to better understand:
- The ability of patients to make informed decisions about cancer prevention and treatment strategies.
- Ways in which barriers to understanding health care information can be ameliorated or even abolished to aid in decision making.
- The development and effectiveness of new evidence-based decision aids to guide patients as they make important health care decisions based on their preferences, beliefs, and values.
Economics
Economics in health care research:
- Determines costs associated with cancer screening and treatment, often focusing on patient out-of-pocket costs and how they could be lowered.
- Deduces how the acquisition of new technology (e.g., robotic surgical systems) by a particular hospital influences procedure costs and profit margins at that institution; models of technology transfer can also be generated.
- Studies insurance coverage of cancer drugs and treatments and whether aspects of patient care, including drug initiation and adherence, are affected by cost burdens on patients and their families.