Harkness Project Title: Initiatives to Reduce Hospital Readmissions for Heart Failure: Modeling Accuracy, Local Effects, and Their Policy Implication

Mentors: Harlan Krumholz, M.D., and Elizabeth Bradley Ph.D. (Yale School of Public Health)

Placement: Yale School of Medicine

Biography at time of Harkness Fellowship: Martin Gallagher, M.B.B.S., FRACP, a 2009–10 Commonwealth Fund Harkness Fellow in Health Care Policy and Practice, is a nephrologist at Concord Hospital in New South Wales and a senior research fellow at the George Institute for International Health. He is also currently enrolled in a Ph.D. program and chair of the Steering Committee of Caring for Australians with Renal Impairment, the national renal guidelines body for Australian and New Zealand. Previous positions include chair of the National Chronic Disease Strategy Reference Group for the Australian Department of Health and Ageing and chair of the NICS Venous Thromboembolism Prevention Program Advisory Committee, overseeing a national program involving 39 hospitals that saw significant increases in the use of proven preventive treatments. He also previously directed a hospital-wide quality improvement program at The Canberra Hospital. Gallagher's research centers on quality improvement, particularly on the uptake of evidence-based treatment guidelines.

Email: mgallahger@george.org.au

Harkness-Related Publications

M. Gallagher and H. Krumholz, "Public Reporting of Hospital Outcomes: A Challenging Road Ahead," Medical Journal of Australia, June 20, 2011 94(12):658–60.