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Timothy J. Hoff, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Positions:
2003 – Present: Associate Professor of Health Policy and Management, Department of Health Policy, Management and Behavior, University at Albany, SUNY, Albany, NY.
2005 – Present: Associate Professor of Public Affairs and Policy, Department of Public Administration and Policy, University at Albany, SUNY, Albany, NY.
Address:
1 University Place.
Rensselaer, NY 12144-3456
Phone: (518) 402-6512 Fax: (518) 402-0414
E-mail: thoff@albany.edu
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HOW DID YOU BEGIN YOUR CAREER IN PUBLIC HEALTH?
“I have worked as both a health care consultant and hospital administrator before becoming an academic. One of my goals in moving into academia was to study some of the many health care system problems I personally experienced throughout my career, to learn how to better diagnose their causes and ultimately solve them.”
WHY ARE YOU PASSIONATE ABOUT PUBLIC HEALTH?
“Health care and public health are like no other industry in key ways. Health care delivery provides a highly personal, subjective and meaningful set of products. I wanted to try and make a difference being a practically-oriented, applied researcher.”
WHAT MOTIVATES YOU TO DO OUTSTANDING RESEARCH IN YOUR FIELD?
“What motivates me to study and teach health management and policy is the feeling that the system has a lot of unresolved issues related to quality, access, and management. There can be no shortage of people willing to peer inside the ‘black box’ of health care delivery and understand what is not working right. As new topics of importance emerge, such as patient safety, genetics, pay for performance, and consumer-oriented health care delivery, I take my skills and apply them to understanding how these topics play out for everyday patients and providers.”
Education:
- B.S, University at Albany, SUNY, Business Administration, 1987
- Ph.D., University at Albany, SUNY, Public Administration, 1997
Areas of Expertise:
Health organization management and leadership; qualitative methods, medical and occupational sociology; organization theory and behavior; medical culture; primary care delivery; patient safety; organizational change and innovation; strategic planning and restructuring in health care, health care quality, physician attitudes and behavior, and public health genomics.
Current Research Focus:
My research philosophy involves the use of multiple methodologies to examine research questions (e.g., quantitative and qualitative), the pursuit of collaborative research with health care institutions on issues of both theoretical and practical significance, and the application of theories from sociology, management, and organization theory and behavior to dynamics in the health care setting. For several years, I was actively engaged in patient safety research examining the role of organizational culture in creating safer clinical environments. I have also explored medical training reform to create more learning-oriented residency programs around safety. I recently completed the first national study of long-term follow up in state newborn screening programs that identify infants with genetic and metabolic disorders. This research is the first of its kind nationally and is adding to our understanding of quality and access policy issues in the area of newborn screening.
Currently, I am completing a book on the U.S. primary care system that enhances our understanding of the current shortage of primary care physicians and the future prospects for primary care medicine in the U.S. health care system. This book will inform policy around primary care transformation in the U.S. I have interviewed almost 100 clinicians and primary care leaders for the book. I have also been engaged in a large management consulting project with the Northeastern Division of the American Cancer Society. This project involves restructuring cancer control and prevention work within that organization, implementing stronger quality improvement structures, and introducing Lean Techniques of Production to the organization’s work and quality activities. I am also interested in the concept of the patient-centered medical home and how that concept is being implemented in primary care at present. I have planned a practice-based study to examine the role of organizational culture and team performance in effective medical home implementation. I am also planning to collaborate on a study with researchers from Harvard and Boston’s Children’s Hospital to examine how hospital and clinician behavior adapts to recent CMS non-payment of hospital-acquired infections.
Teaching Focus:
I teach the core management courses for the MPH and MS degree programs in Health Policy and Management. These courses included an introductory health management course, which surveys most of the major management topics that apply to health care settings, and a strategy and leadership course, which prepares students to integrate material from a variety of courses into the development of strategic approaches to business planning and decision making in health care organizations. Both these courses employ active learning approaches designed to get students critically thinking, communicating, and solving problems.
I spent a decade working in the health care industry, both private and public sector, before coming to academia. Thus, my emphasis in courses is on learning "real world" concepts and getting students to grapple with "real world" problems. I am a true believer that in order to understand something as complex as public health or health care, one must be willing to view issues through as many different lenses as possible. One must also be a skilled thinker and communicator. Thus, my courses heavily emphasize case-based learning, in-class group exercises and presentations, written management position papers, development of competencies such as Lean Techniques, and the development of sharp analytic minds among students. Theory and evidence are only as good as their application, thus it is the application component that gets primary attention in my classes. I am primarily interested in getting students ready for their careers and upcoming work experiences as administrators, policy makers, and leaders.
Courses Frequently Taught:
Selected Publications (Past 5 years):
Full-length Books
Hoff, T. (Under review). Practice Under Pressure: Primary Care Physicians and Their Work in the 21st Century. Rutgers University Press.
Refereed Articles
Nembhard, I., Alexander J., Hoff, T., and R. Ramanujaum. (Forthcoming). Understanding implementation failure in health care delivery: A role for organizational research and theory. Academy of Management Perspective.
Hoff, T. (2008). Long-term follow-up culture in state newborn screening programs. Genetics in Medicine, 10(6): 396-403.
Hoff, T. (2008). How work context shapes physician approach to safety and error. Quality Management in Health Care, 17(2): 140-153.
Hoff, T., Ayoob, M., Therrell, B. (2007). Long-term follow-up data collection and use in state newborn screening programs. Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, 161(10):994-1000.
Hoff, T., Banaszak-Holl, J., Jackson, S., and Wholey, D. (2007). An organizational research and theory-based review of the Institute of Medicine Report: Rewarding Provider Performance: Aligning Incentives in Medicare. Special report commissioned by the Institute of Medicine and Academy of Management.
Hoff, T., Hoyt, A., Therrell, B., Ayoob, M. (2006). Exploring barriers to long-term follow-up in state newborn screening programs. Genetics in Medicine, 8(9), 563-570.
Alexander, J., Rundall, T., and Hoff, T. (2006). Power and politics in health care organizations. In (Kaluzny, A. and Shortell, S., Eds.) Health care management: A text in organization theory and behavior. Fifth Edition. New York: Wiley.
Hoff, T. (2006). Teaching but not learning: How medical residency programs handle errors. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 27(Supplement), 869-896.
Hoff, T., Hoyt, A. (2006). Practices and perceptions of long-term follow-up across state newborn screening programs. Pediatrics, 117(6), 1922-29.
Hoff, T., Hoyt, A. (2006). Practices and perceptions of long-term follow-up across state newborn screening programs. Pediatrics, 117(6), 1922-29.
Hoff, T., Sutcliffe, K. (2006). Studying patient safety in health care organizations: Valuing a range of approaches. Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Safety, 32(1), 5-15.
Hoff, T. (2005). Creating learning cultures in medicine around mistakes for residents: Considering both type of error and error context. In Henriksen, K. et al. (Eds.), Advances in Patient Safety: From Research to Implementation: Volume 3, Implementation Issues.
Hoff, T. (2005). Perceived image and utility of collective action organizations among U.S. physicians. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 23, 277-305.
Hoff, T. (2004). Comparing the experiences of male and female physicians in a new medical career: The case of hospital medicine. Inquiry, 41(3), 301-315.
Hoff, T., Pohl, H., Bartfield, J. (2004). Creating a learning environment to produce competent residents: the roles of culture and context. Academic Medicine, 79(6), 532-39.
Hoff, T. (2004). Characteristics of early stage success in service line implementation. Health Care Management Review, 29(1), 17-30.
Hoff, T., Jameson, L., Hannan, E., Flink, E., Osten, W. (2004). A Review of the literature rxamining linkages netween organizational gactors, medical Errors, and patient safety. Medical Care Research and Review, 61(1), 3-37.
Hoff, T. (2003). How physician-employees experience their work lives in a changing HMO. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 44(1), 75-96.
Reports (Past 5 years):
Hoff, T. (2007). Consultant Report: American Cancer Society Eastern Division Organizational Review Process. Prepared for the American Cancer Society, Eastern Division under funding from the Eastern Division.
Hoff, T. (2006). Long-Term Follow-Up in State Newborn Screening Programs. Prepared for the Health Resources and Services Administration and National Newborn Screening and Genetics Resource Center under funding from HRSA.
Selected Presentations (Past 5 years):
Hoff, T. (2008). The Pride and Prejudice of Being a Female Primary Care Physician. Paper presented at the 2008 Academy of Management Meetings in Anaheim, CA.
Hoff, T. (2007). The Epistemological Issues in Studying Genetics Innovations in Health Care Practice. Paper presented at the 2007 Academy of Management Meetings in Philadelphia, PA.
Hoff, T. (2006). Physician Heal Thyself: How Being a Doctor Shapes the Patient-Doctor Relationship. Paper presented at the 2006 Academy of Management Meetings in Atlanta, Georgia.
Hoff, T. (2006). Oxford University, Said Business School and James Martin Institute for Science and Civilization. The Promises and Pitfalls of Paying Health Professionals for Their Performance. Oxford, England.
Hoff, T. (2006). Oxford University, Said Business School and James Martin Institute for Science and Civilization. Failing to Keep Patients Safe: The Case of U.S. Medical Training. Oxford, England.
Hoff, T. (2006). Oxford University, Said Business School and James Martin Institute for Science and Civilization. How to Study and Manage Hard to See Things in Organizations. Oxford, England.
Hoff, T. (2005). Practices and Perceptions of Long-Term Follow-Up Across State Newborn Screening Programs. Paper presented at the 2005 National Newborn Testing Symposium in Portland, Oregon.
Hoff, T. (2005). Studying Patient Safety in Health Care Organizations: Valuing a Range of Approaches. Paper presented at the 2005 Academy of Management Meetings in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Hoff, T. (2004). Learning to Avoid Learning: The Paradoxes of Residency Training Around Medical Errors. Paper presented at the 2004 Academy of Management Meetings in New Orleans, LA.
Hoff, T. (2003). Creating Learning Cultures Around Mistakes for Residents. Paper presented at the Academy of Management Meetings in Seattle, WA.
Hoff, T. (2003). Learning to Avoid Learning: The Paradoxes of Residency Training Around Medical Errors. Paper presented at the 5 th annual Health Care Organizations Conference in Ann Arbor, MI.
Hoff, T. (Chair), Shortell, S., Sutcliffe, K., Tamuz, M. (2003). Studying “hard-to-see” things: Using organization theory to examine medical errors. Symposium presented at the 2003 Academy of Management Meeting in Seattle, WA (sponsored by the Health Care Management Division).
Funded Projects (Past 5 years):
Role: Management Consultant
Project: Organizational Review, Northeast Division of the American Cancer Society
Source: American Cancer Society
Time Period: June 1, 2007 – September 30, 2008
Role: Principal Investigator
Project: AHEC Academy: A Health Training Resource for Upstate NY and Beyond
Source: Hudson-Mohawk Area Health Education Center
Time Period: September 1, 2006 – June 30, 2007
Role: Principal Investigator
Project: Understanding and Improving Newborn Screening Long-Term Follow-Up from the Perspective of State Programs
Source: University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
Time Period: June 1, 2005 – May 31, 2006
Role: Principal Investigator
Project: Identifying Drivers for Enhancing Primary Care Physician Involvement in the Delivery of Genetic Services
Source: University at Albany, SUNY Faculty Research Awards Program
Time Period: April 1, 2004 – March 31, 2005
Role: Principal Investigator
Project: Creating a Learning Culture Around Mistakes for Residents
Source: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Time Period: July 1, 2002 – June 30, 2004
Role: Co-investigator/Director of Qualitative Analysis
Project: New York State Patient Safety Improvement Demonstration Project
Source: Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research
Time Period: October 1, 2001 - September 30, 2004
Project: Using Individual Entrepreneurship to Navigate Change in Government Organizations: Lessons from the Veteran’s Health Administration
Source: IBM Endowment for the Business of Government
Time Period: July 1, 2002 – December 31, 2003
Honors and Awards (Past 5 years):
2008
Member, Institute of Medicine Committee on Review of Priorities in the National Vaccine Plan, National Academy of Sciences
2007
Division Chair, Health Care Management Division, Academy of Management
2006
Team Leader, Academy of Management Special Committee Examining the
Institute of Medicine (IOM) 2006 Report on Rewarding Provider Performance for the IOM.
2005
School of Public Health Golden Apple Award – for Excellence in Teaching, 2004-2005, awarded annually to one faculty member in the school as selected by students at the School of Public Health, University at Albany.
2005-09
Appointed Member, Health Services Research Study Section, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
2005-06
Visiting Fellow, Oxford University, Said School of Business and Templeton College of Management
Program Chair, Health Care Management Division, Academy of Management
2005 – Present
Editorial Board Member, Medical Care Research and Review
2003-08
Editorial Board Member, Health Care Management Review
2006
Outstanding Achievement Award, Office of Disability Services, University at Albany – for recognition of work done with children with special needs in the Capital Region.
2005
Delta Omega Society – Elected to membership in the national public health honor society.
2005
Graduate Student Service Recognition Award, Graduate Student Organization at UAlbany – for excellence in service (teaching) to the graduate students at the University at Albany. |
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