.jpg "Jennifer Waljee, MD, MPH, MS photo")
OPEN Co-Executive Director
Michigan Medicine
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan
I am a surgeon and health services researcher with a deep interest in identifying patient-centered strategies to enhance recovery following surgery. I am the Director of the Center for Healthcare Outcomes and Policy at the University of Michigan, a health services research group focused on surgical care and policy evaluation. Additionally, I currently serve as a co-Founder and co-Director of the Michigan Opioid Prescribing Engagement Network (Michigan OPEN), a statewide program focused on developing and implementing best practices for acute perioperative pain management. Along with my collaborators at Michigan OPEN, including Dr. Brummett (Co-I), Dr. Bohnert (Co-I), and Dr. Chua (MPI), I have conducted over 120 studies on perioperative opioid prescribing. These studies have assessed the rate and predictors of opioid prescribing after surgery, the risks of this prescribing to patients and their family members, the degree to which this prescribing matches the amount patients need, and the effects of opioid policies on surgical care. I have studied the implementation of provider-facing feedback tools to optimize postoperative opioid prescribing across multiple hospitals in Michigan in an ongoing NIDA-funded R01 along with Dr. Brummett. I also have expertise in the measurement of patient-reported outcomes after surgery through my work on a career development award from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. On the basis of my expertise in opioid prescribing, I was asked to serve as a member of the Opioid Workgroup of the Board of Scientific Counselors of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control in 2021, a member of a National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine committee tasked with creating a framework for opioid prescribing guidelines for acute pain in 2019, and a member of the Opioid Prescribing Estimates Workgroup for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2018.
I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.
Thursday, April 21, 2022
9:45 AM – 11:00 AM ET