Abt's Dr. Sarah Shoemaker-Hunt Joins National Quality Forum's Opioids and Behavioral Health Committee
Rockville, Md. – Abt Associates Principal Associate Dr. Sarah Shoemaker-Hunt has joined the National Quality Forum’s (NQF) Opioids and Behavioral Health (BH) Committee. NQF will conduct an environmental scan to identify measures and gaps and develop an evidence-based priority list of recommendations as a guide to address the overdose and mortality resulting from polysubstance use. NQF is a not-for-profit, nonpartisan, membership-based organization that works to improve healthcare.
The Committee will:
- Provide guidance on the environmental scan of current measures and measure concepts related to polysubstance use involving synthetic or semi-synthetic opioids (SSSOs) among individuals with co-occurring BH conditions;
- Identify and prioritize gaps in quality measurement to inform future measure development efforts
- Develop a measure framework addressing the use of polysubstance involving SSSO among individuals with co-occurring behavioral health conditions in federal programs.
Dr. Shoemaker-Hunt is a registered pharmacist and health services and implementation researcher who conducts research and provides technical assistance on opioid prescribing and management, opioid misuse, medication management and safety, primary care transformation, and quality improvement. She has led dozens of studies for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and other agencies. She currently serves as co-principal investigator on several CDC-funded projects to implement the CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain via quality improvement (QI), care coordination, and clinical decision support.
Dr. Shoemaker-Hunt led development of 16 QI measures aligned to the CDC guideline. The CDC recently released these tools for clinicians and health care systems as the Quality Improvement and Care Coordination: Implementing the CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain. She also is leading a CDC Opioid QI Collaborative of large healthcare systems implementing the guideline and measuring their progress using the QI measures.
Dr. Shoemaker-Hunt’s work has included many peer-reviewed publications and dozens of paper and poster presentations at national conferences, including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Quality Conference; AcademyHealth 2018, 2019, and 2020; National Rx Drug Abuse and Heroin Summit; American Public Health Association Annual Meeting; and the Dissemination and Implementation Science Conference and has forthcoming publications on this specific work. She served as a peer reviewer for numerous journals and as a guest editor for journal supplements on implementation science and primary care practice improvement.
About Abt Associates
Abt Associates is a global consulting and research firm that uses data and bold thinking to improve the quality of people's lives. From combatting infectious disease and conducting rigorous program evaluations, to ensuring safe drinking water and promoting access to affordable housing - and more - we partner with clients and communities to tackle their most complex challenges. http://www.abtassociates.com
Contact: Stan Crock
stan_crock@abtassoc.com
(301) 347-5402
