Natalie M. Jayaram, MD
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine; Education Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Kansas School of Medicine
Full BiographyNatalie Jayaram, MD, Heart Center, recently received a $673,598 K23 award from the National Institutes of Health.
Dr. Jayaram’s project, “The Impact of Public Reporting on Procedural Outcomes Following Congenital Heart Surgery,” focuses on public reporting for congenital heart surgery and the impact of the initiative on outcomes and assessment of caregiver preferences. The funding period goes until Dec. 31, 2025.
This project has three aims. The first being to compare the characteristics and the case-mix complexity for congenital heart surgery (CHS) between centers that do and do not publicly report their outcomes. Secondly it will determine the effects of public reporting over time on outcomes among those centers that voluntarily report outcomes for CHS versus those that do not. Finally, it will conduct focus groups to define how best to report outcomes data that is understood by and meaningful to patients.
As a pediatric cardiologist and health services researcher, Dr. Jayaram says her long-term career goals are to improve the care of pediatric patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) by contributing to the science of quality assessment, by examining the effectiveness of policy-based initiatives on care, and by partnering directly with patients to facilitate changes in care.
“Given the importance of this data for parents, policy makers, and healthcare providers, an improved understanding of the impact of public reporting on outcomes of patients with congenital heart disease in need of cardiac surgery is needed,” she wrote.