TMC PULSE

t m c » p u l s e | d e c e m b e r 2 0 1 4 28 "We'll be looking for some awareness on the part of the grantee about who the potential beneficiaries of this information are, whether or not they've made contact and what are the plans for dissemination," he added. "Having some sense of follow through is critical. Just producing research isn't enough—they'll also need to have plans to ensure that this research is utilized and that there's uptake on the other side by decision makers. With a first call for proposals going out next spring and the review of those proposals coin- ciding with the end of the legislative session, I expect we'll be very busy." With an emphasis on fostering a climate of collegiality that also allows submission to be prioritized, applicants will receive a science-based score in addition to a collaboration score—the greater the number of collaborating institutions, the higher the score. Educating the next generation of leaders in health policy has always been a priority for Garson, who developed the STAR course at the University of Virginia (U.Va.). Continuing as a joint program between U.Va. and the Texas Medical Center, the STAR course is a semester long course beginning in January, currently taken for credit at Cornell University, U.Va., Vanderbilt University and the UTHealth School of Public Health. A lineup of 16 renowned national health policy experts, each of the "stars" (such as Mark McClellan, the former administrator of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services and administrator of the FDA, as well as Uwe Reinhardt, the noted health economist from Princeton) is given a designated week to address health policy issues in an interactive format. "Every Sunday, the star sends us articles for the students to read, and the students generate questions with their local professors before sending them back to me," explained Garson. "I'll select a group of questions, and on Thursday night, the star goes live on television using a webinar that's open to not only the students from the universities, but to the public, as well." This past year, over 200 people from all over the country dialed into the webinar as listeners. Garson aims to modify the national STAR program to fit into the framework of the medical center, allowing viewers to interact with the webinar in a live format—poten- tially at the Texas Medical Center's newly launched Innovation Institute. "These are the top experts, either in the United States or in Houston, who will bring their perspective in a way that, hopefully, is accessible," said Garson. "This is not somebody writing some big, highfalutin paper, this is at a very personal level where students and those tuning in get to not only listen, but also get an idea of the people behind the words. It's about the hope that these people will allow students and audiences to understand that these concepts are not as complex as one would think—it makes them bite sized. These people are amazingly great teachers, and it gives students access to people and ideas in ways that are more lasting and less formal." In addition, the Texas Medical Center Health Policy Institute is host- ing a separate, local course within the next year based on a similar format, involving policy experts from our own community. For Garson, leading by example is the best instruc- tional model available. In a similar vein, the Texas Medical Center Health Policy Institute's final project (at least for now), "Population Health," aims to incu- bate novel approaches to addressing population-wide issues, using the outcomes as the foundation for evidence-based policy. "We have 55 institutions here, each of whom are employers, and many of who take care of patients," said Garson. "The idea here is to create one or more programs that address a population issue, such as obesity, and will hopefully allow each institution to approach that problem in a way that we learn from, as employers. We're trying to find approaches that work, using the medical center as a test bed for both employ- ers and patients. "The amazingly unique thing about the Texas Medical Center, in the realm of health policy, is that if you have 55 institutions, you have 55 approaches to health policy," he added. "Rather than emphasizing our differences, it's about embracing the different approaches that we can utilize—that's an opportunity that nobody else in the world has." "The Texas Medical Center Health Policy Institute is really about focusing on the balance between pre- ventative care and health care delivery," noted Carolyn Belk, vice president of government affairs for Houston Methodist Hospital. "There's a lot of proactive work involving education, best practices and population management. In some respects, I think it's tackling some of the more challenging aspects of health care and research—it's aspirational, but we have a lot of tal- ent involved with the institute. All of us think that it's better to be far reaching and accomplish as much as we can, rather than to limit our goals and objectives." Given the deep well of potential that exists within the Texas Medical Center, it's hard to disagree. The Texas Medical center health Policy Institute is really about focusing on the balance between preventative care and health care delivery. In some respects, I think it's tackled some of the more challenging aspects of health care and research. It's aspirational, but we have a lot of talent involved with the institution. all of us think that it's better to be far reaching and accomplish as much as we can, rather than to limit our goals and objectives. — caROlyn bElk vice president of government affairs for houston methodist hospital

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