Department of Health Policy

September 18, 2014

State public health award named for Schaffner

The Tennessee Public Health Association and the Tennessee Medical Association are collaborating to establish the “William Schaffner, M.D., Public Health Hero Award,” to be presented annually to an individual who has demonstrated extraordinary efforts in the advancement of public health in Tennessee.

By Craig Boerner
Tiny baby holding man's thumb
July 17, 2014

Care for newborns with drug withdrawal uneven: study

In the United States, one infant is born each hour with drug withdrawal, known as neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), after being exposed to opioid medications like oxycodone in utero.

By VUMC News and Communications
June 26, 2014

Aliyu receives alumnus award from UAB

Muktar Aliyu, M.D., MPH, Dr.P.H., associate director for Research at the Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health, is the recipient of the 2014 Alumnus Award for Scientific Excellence from the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health.

By Denise Anthony
May 1, 2014

Cutting-edge research to be showcased in May

By Bill Snyder
April 24, 2014

Schaffner honored by pharmacy association

William Schaffner, M.D., professor of Preventive Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, received the Immunization Champion Award — Friend of Pharmacy from the American Pharmacists Association (APA) at the group’s annual meeting recently in Orlando, Fla.

By Chanler Knowles
March 27, 2014

Flu boosts pneumococcal colonization

Influenza and parainfluenza infections – but not other respiratory viruses – increase the risk of acquiring pneumococcal bacteria, the most common cause of severe pneumonia.

By VUMC News and Communications
February 20, 2014

Aliyu to receive preventive medicine ‘Rising Star’ award

Muktar Aliyu, M.D., associate professor of Health Policy and Medicine, is receiving the William Kane Rising Star Award from the American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM) at its annual banquet on Saturday in New Orleans.
By Craig Boerner
December 9, 2013

Penicillin equally effective as ‘big gun’ antibiotics for treating less severe childhood pneumonia, Vanderbilt study shows

Children hospitalized for pneumonia have similar outcomes, including length of stay and costs, regardless of whether they are treated with “big gun” antibiotics such as ceftriaxone or cefotaxime or more narrowly focused antibiotics such as ampicillin or penicillin.
By Craig Boerner
October 17, 2013

Pharmacogenomic testing costs studied

A research team led by Josh Peterson, M.D., MPH, assistant professor of Biomedical Informatics and Medicine, and John Graves, Ph.D., assistant professor of Preventive Medicine, will study the cost-effectiveness of testing patients’ risk of adverse gene-drug interactions.
By Paul Govern
August 22, 2013

Antipsychotic drug use in children for mood/behavior disorders increases type 2 diabetes risk

Prescribing “atypical” antipsychotic medications to children and young adults with behavioral problems or mood disorders may put them at unnecessary risk for type 2 diabetes, a Vanderbilt University Medical Center study shows.
By VUMC News and Communications
July 11, 2013

Infant vaccine for pneumonia helps protect elderly

Children who receive a vaccine to prevent blood and ear infections may be reducing the spread of pneumonia to the rest of the population, especially their grandparents and other older adults.
By VUMC News and Communications
June 6, 2013

Buntin to chair new Department of Health Policy

Melinda Buntin, Ph.D., deputy assistant director for Health at the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), will become chair of the new Department of Health Policy at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in late August.
By Nancy Humphrey
June 3, 2013

Experts predict “unbanked” will face challenges getting health insurance

Vanderbilt health policy expert John Graves co-authored a report that shows as many as a quarter of people eligible for subsidized health insurance under the Affordable Care Act may be shut out because they don’t have a bank account.
By Craig Boerner