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David A. Ganz

Affiliated Adjunct Physician Policy Researcher

Off Site Office

Education

M.D., Harvard Medical School; Ph.D. in health services, UCLA School of Public Health

Overview

David A. Ganz is an affiliated adjunct physician policy researcher at the RAND Corporation. He is also a staff physician at the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, a professor of medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and a practicing internist and geriatrician. His research focuses on measuring and improving the quality, safety, and cost-effectiveness of care for frail, older adults. Ganz earned his Ph.D. in health services from the UCLA School of Public Health and his M.D. from Harvard Medical School.

Research Focus

Publications

Journal Article
Veteran Knowledge, Perceptions, and Receipt of Care Following Visits to VA Emergency Departments for Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions
Using explanatory sequential mixed methods, we interviewed Veterans with follow-up care needs after ACSC-related ED visits, and manually reviewed ED notes, abstracting interviewees' documented follow-up needs and care received.
Apr 27, 2023
Journal Article
Effect of Age on Opioid Prescribing, Overdose, and Mortality in Massachusetts, 2011 to 2015
Older age was the strongest predictor of undergoing potentially inappropriate prescribing (PIP) among individuals who were prescribed opioids. PIP was also associated with risk of adverse outcomes in both older and younger adults.
2018
Journal Article
Randomized Controlled Trial of a Coordinated Care Intervention to Improve Risk Factor Control After Stroke or Transient Ischemic Attack in the Safety Net: Secondary Stroke Prevention by Uniting Community and Chronic Care Model Teams Early to End Disparities (SUCCEED)
A multi-disciplinary intervention using a Chronic Care Model framework to prevent a secondary stroke among underserved populations will be tested in a randomized controlled trial.
Dec 12, 2017
Journal Article
Partnering to Improve Care: The Case of the Veterans' Health Administration's Quality Enhancement Research Initiative
Understanding the respective experiences and perspectives of researchers and operations partners (i.e., policymakers, managers, clinical leaders) can help improve research partnership success.
May 30, 2017
Journal Article
Does Medicare Advantage Enrollment Affect Home Healthcare Use?
Medicare Advantage beneficiaries use less home health than do their Fee-for-Service counterparts, but there is marked regional variation in use by both groups.
Jan 25, 2017
Journal Article
Cost-effectiveness of Combined Oral Bisphosphonate Therapy and Falls Prevention Exercise for Fracture Prevention in the USA
For white women aged 75-80, 1 year of exercise and 5 years of bisphosphonate therapy are effective at preventing osteoporitic fractures.
Oct 27, 2016
Report
Evaluation of an Intervention to Prevent Falls
Researchers linked data from a randomized controlled trial to Medicare claims to determine whether a fall-prevention intervention reduced health care costs or the frequency of emergency department visits for fall-related injuries.
Oct 26, 2016
Journal Article
Differences in Nursing Home Quality Between Medicare Advantage and Traditional Medicare Patients
Researchers found little difference in the quality of nursing home care provided to Medicare enrollees in managed care and those enrolled in traditional fee-for-service nursing homes.
Oct 18, 2016
Journal Article
Implementing Exercise Programs to Prevent Falls: Systematic Descriptive Review
Identifying key characteristics of successful fall prevention exercise programs can help clinicians and health system leaders link patients to appropriate community-based programs.
Aug 29, 2016
Journal Article
Development of an Algorithm to Identify Fall-Related Injuries and Costs in Medicare Data
We developed a comprehensive four-step algorithm for identifying episodes of care for fall-related injuries and associated costs, using fee-for-service Medicare and Medicare Advantage health plan claims data for 2,011 patients from 5 medical groups between 2005 and 2009.
Feb 3, 2016
Journal Article
Possible Legal Barriers for PCP Access to Mental Health Treatment Records
Over one-third of states appear to have more stringent medical privacy laws than HIPAA (federal), which could hinder primary care and mental health providers' efforts to share information and integrate care.
2016
Journal Article
Dementia Care Management in an Underserved Community: The Comparative Effectiveness of Two Different Approaches
Compares the effectiveness and costs of telephone-only approach to in-person plus telephone for delivering an evidence-based, coordinated care management program for dementia.
Feb 19, 2015
Journal Article
Challenges in Assessing the Process-Outcome Link in Practice
Expanded use of clinical process-of-care measures to assess the quality of health care in the context of public reporting and pay-for-performance applications led to a desire to demonstrate its value in terms of improved patient outcomes.
Jan 19, 2015
Journal Article
Guidance for Research-Practice Partnerships (R-PPs) and Collaborative Research
The purpose of this paper is to provide evidence based guidance to researchers and practice personnel about forming and carrying out effective research partnerships.
2014
Journal Article
Inpatient Fall Prevention Programs as a Patient Safety Strategy: A Systematic Review
The purpose of this updated review is to reassess the benefits and harms of fall prevention programs in acute care settings and to identify factors associated with successful implementation of these programs.
Mar 1, 2013
Journal Article
Redesign of an Electronic Clinical Reminder to Prevent Falls in Older Adults
The authors redesigned an electronic clinical reminder to improve identification and management of Veterans at high risk for falls, and piloted the reminder in 3 Veterans Health Administration community-based outpatient clinics.
Mar 1, 2013
Journal Article
Hospital Fall Prevention: A Systematic Review of Implementation, Components, Adherence, and Effectiveness
Better reporting of outcomes, implementation, adherence, intervention components, and comparison group information is necessary to establish evidence on how hospitals can successfully prevent falls.
2013
Journal Article
Nurse Care Manager Contribution to Quality of Care in a Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plan
Care provided by physicians was substantially supplemented by nurse care managers, as measured by Assessing Care of Vulnerable Elders quality indicators.
Jul 1, 2012
Draft
Review of the Evidence on Falls Prevention in Hospitals: Task 4 Final Report
Reviews and documents the existing evidence base for interventions to prevent falls in hospitals, provides an overview of the performance of existing tools with known measurement properties, and compiles available online resources.
Mar 2, 2012
Journal Article
Quality of Care Provided in a Special Needs Plan Using a Nurse Care Manager Model
Vulnerable older adults enrolled in plans that use nurse care managers receive, on average, 69% of recommended care for geriatric conditions, compared with 53% for elders in plans without nurse care managers.
Oct 1, 2011
Journal Article
Does Better Quality of Care for Falls and Urinary Incontinence Result in Better Participant-Reported Outcomes?
Better quality of care for falls and urinary incontinence was associated with measurable improvement in participant-reported outcomes in less than 1 year.
Aug 1, 2011
Draft
Review of the Current Literature on Outcome Measures Applicable to the Medicare Population for Use in a Quality Improvement Program: Project Deliverable 2a, 2b
Reviews measures that have been used to assess quality improvement programs in Medicare or equivalent populations.
Feb 11, 2011
Journal Article
Caring for the Uninsured with Prostate Cancer: A Comparison of Four Policy Alternatives in California
The objective of the current study was to compare the cost-effectiveness of four policy alternatives in treating this population.
2010
Journal Article
Practice Redesign to Improve Care for Falls and Urinary Incontinence: Primary Care Intervention for Older Patients
Redesign of primary care practices, based on quality indicators from the Assessing Care of Vulnerable Elders project, improved care for older patients with falls and urinary incontinence.
2010
Research Brief
Improving the Quality of Health Care for Older Adults
This research brief summarizes the results of Assessing Care of Vulnerable Elderly (ACOVE)-2, which measured the quality of care delivered to a group of older adults, and describes a recent revision of the quality measures, known as ACOVE-3.
Feb 6, 2008
Journal Article
It Takes a Village to Prevent Falls: Reconceptualizing Fall Prevention and Management for Older Adults
Community settings in which fall prevention programs occur often differ from the research settings in which efficacy was first demonstrated. This paper rethinks routine fall prevention program implementation in both medical and community settings.
2008
Journal Article
Key Elements of High-Quality Primary Care for Vulnerable Elders
Identifies ways a primary care practice can reorganize to improve the complex care of vulnerable elders, including processes of care (communication, developing a personal care plan, and care coordination), delivery models, and workflow restructuring.
2008
Journal Article
The Effect of a Quality Improvement Initiative on the Quality of Other Aspects of Health Care: The Law of Unintended Consequences?
Policymakers and clinicians are concerned that initiatives to improve the quality of care for some conditions may have unintended negative consequences for quality in other conditions.
2007
Journal Article
Multimorbidity Is Associated with Better Quality of Care Among Vulnerable Elders
Among older persons at increased risk of death or functional decline, multimorbidity results in better, rather than worse, quality of care.
2007
Journal Article
Quality Indicators for Falls and Mobility Problems in Vulnerable Elders
Falls and mobility problems are common and serious problems facing older adults. Accidents are the fifth leading cause of death in older adults.
2007
Journal Article
Will My Patient Fall?
Patients who have fallen or who have a gait or balance problem are at higher risk of future falls.
2007
Journal Article
Quality of Osteoarthritis Care for Community-Dwelling Older Adults
Quality of osteoarthritis care provided to community-dwelling elderly patients and to characterize arthritis-related function in these patients.
2006