LSU HCSD Associate Chief Medical Officer Wins Prestigous Russell E. Brady Award

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Awards Committee has selected Michael Kaiser, M.D. to receive the Russell E. Brady award for Innovative Service Delivery. The award is sponsored by the Division of Science and Policy of the HIV/AIDS Bureau.

Dr. Kaiser, alongside of a team of experts began working on evaluations of Lab Tracker, an HIV electronic patient database for the HIV clinics located at each of the eight public hospitals administered by LSU HCSD in 2002. His team consists of Lab Tracker Project Coordinators, Nathan Daigrepont and Jane Herwehe, Laura Gibson, SPNS Project Support Tech, and Manya Magnus, an evaluator at George Washington University.

After the devastation of Hurricane Katrina caused Charity and University Hospitals to close their doors, Lab Tracker databases were used to help provide urgent and basic HIV primary care to patients who evacuated to other areas of the State.

Marie Sylvester, RN in the HIV primary care unit at Earl K. Long Hospital, said patients were showing up without knowledge of their medications or lab results.

"Once our computer support was reestablished, our providers were able to go into either Lab Tracker or CLIQ and access clinical patient information," Sylvester said. "This greatly facilitated out ability to effi ciently and appropriately address their medical needs."

Lab Tracker was initially installed because it was diffi cult to follow HIV/AIDS patients' paper records, and LSUHSCD wanted to improve disease management and quality assurance by providing hospitals appropriate reports.

Dr. Newt Hyslop, HCSD HIV Disease Management Lead, was the initial champion for improving our HIV information systems.

"Most of the evaluation work has been done by a team who have been both professional and committed to assuring this project succeeds," said Dr. Kaiser.

Dr. Kaiser has served as Medical Consultant for the HIV/ AIDS Program at the Louisiana Offi ce of Public Health, Deputy Director for the HIV/AIDS Bureau of Health Resource Services Administration's Division of Community Based Programs, and consultant for Ryan White CARE Act Programs.

He worked as a Senior Executive Physician in the implementation of statewide disease management before becoming Associate Chief Medical Officer.

Dr. Kaiser said that since very little medical funding is used for evaluations done on HIV/AIDS databases and he wanted to assure that the funds are spent wisely. The Lab Tracker program was fi rst introduced during a pilot program at Charity Hospital, and was installed at every Hospital by 2004.

"This award is a wonderful recognition for our team that shows how serious we took the evaluation of the Lab Track system and whether or not it was really a good investment for our Hospitals. As dollars are increasingly targeted to information technology in our system and in health care settings across the Country, it is essential that we carefully evaluate their impact on the quality of care we provide to our patients," nationwide," said Dr. Kaiser.

The HIV/AIDS Bureau (HAB) of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) was formed in August 1997 to consolidate all programs funded under the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act. The CARE Act was signed into law on August 15, 1990 to improve the quality and availability of care for people with HIV/AIDS and their families. Amended and reauthorized in May 1996, and November 2000 the Act is named after the Indiana teenager, Ryan White, who became an active public educator on HIV/AIDS after he contracted the syndrome. He died the same year the legislation was passed.

The SPNS Program is the research and development arm of the Ryan White CARE Act and advances knowledge and skills in the delivery of health and support services to underserved populations diagnosed with HIV infection.