The following is a summary of this episode.
Researchers at University of Utah Health keep their eyes on the big picture by tackling population-sized problems and ensuring their efforts add up to substantial impacts on public health. They pore over surveys from thousands of patients to understand their experiences with health care or meticulously test how many seconds a new technology can shave off a clinician’s administrative burden. Backed by their expertise, careful testing, and extensive data, their discoveries are changing health care practice and helping large segments of the population—from thousands to millions—address pervasive health issues to live better, healthier lives.
In this episode, host Kyle Wheeler interviews Rachel Hess, MD and Adam Bress, PhD.
Dr. Hess is the director of the Health Systems Innovation & Research (HSIR) program at University of Utah Health and is also a professor of Internal Medicine and Population Health Sciences. She is board certified in Internal Medicine.
Dr. Bress is trained as a cardiovascular clinical pharmacist. He is an Associate Professor of Population Health Sciences with Tenure in the Division of Health System Innovation and Research. He’s also an Investigator at the VA Salt Lake City Health Care System.
Drs. Hess and Bress discuss general concepts of why population health science is a necessary area of research and illuminate how better health for everyone can be achieved only when we ask population level questions. They also discuss their work on blood pressure protocols that played a role in changing clinical guidelines for intervention in 2017.
For more on discoveries and innovations from University of Utah scientists that have had an impact on population health, visit Pioneering the Future: Better Health for Populations.
