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About
Delfini Group, LLC
Delfini
Group specializes in applied, practical evidence- and value-based
approaches to clinical improvement and medical decision-making.
Delfini comprises Michael Stuart MD and Sheri Ann Strite
who combine academic experience with decades of practical
experience in health care, clinical quality health systems
improvements, research, training and leadership. They are
internationally respected designers of evidence-based health
care improvement methods and products, consultants, authors,
scientific reviewers of medical technologies, clinical improvement
project facilitators, clinical guideline facilitators, medical
content developers and trainers with special expertise in
critical appraisal of the medical literature.
Delfini
is dedicated to helping individuals and organizations learn
and apply the concepts, methods and skills of evidence-based
clinical improvement to achieve improved outcomes and value
in clinical care. Hallmarks of the Delfini approach are
simplified methods, confidence-building simulations and
practical tools. Those who utilize Delfini methods report
achieving success.
In
addition to training, Delfini conducts scientific reviews
of therapies, creates clinical guidelines, facilitates clinical
improvement activities, evaluates the quality systems of
health care organizations and consults on clinical improvement
initiatives, including performance measurement.
They
have received accolades for their work. They have received
numerous testimonials from professors, health care leaders,
physicians, pharmacists, nurses, residents, students, employers
and many others on the effectiveness of their approach.
Their training evaluation scores average 4.8 out of 5.0.
Their website has been praised as a useful source for clinical
improvement information. They are praised for their work
in clinical content development including monograph preparation
and scientific reviews of medical technologies.
Notable
-
Chosen by the State of Washington Department of Health
and Human Services (DSHS) to train their staff and clinicians
who conduct medical necessity and other reviews. Other
state employees involved with improving Washington State’s
plan for improving health care, such as from the Health
Care Authority, were also included.
- Chosen
by McKesson for evidence-based training, launching their
Evidence-based Medicine Initiative.
- Chosen
by the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) to
conduct their first ever national performance measures
training which achieved a 5.0 out of 5.0 score.
- Chosen
by the American Academy of Neurology to provide tools
and a basis for web-based self-learning modules.
- Chosen
by MD Anderson Cancer Center as internal faculty for their
Clinical Effectiveness & Safety Program
- Their
three-part series on "The Evidence-based Organization"
began the January 2005 edition of the American College
of Physician Executive's "The Physician Executive,
Journal of Medical Management.”
- They
have extensive experience with medical technology assessment
and pharmacy and therapeutics (P&T) committees and
staff, and they have authored a chapter on formulary management
for the textbook, Evidence-based Pharmacotherapy.
- Stuart
is a contributing author to the textbook, Evidence-Based
Clinical Practice: Concepts and Approaches.
-
Stuart and Strite have served on pharmacy and therapeutics
committees and have published guidance on formulary management.
- Stuart
and Strite are associate editors for DynaMed, EBSCO Publishing
and peer reviewers/guest editors for the California Pharmacist
Journal.
- Delfini
has also taught evidence-based medicine to consumers,
employers, administrative law judges and architects with
an interest in evidence-based design (EvBD).
- Recognized
in the highly praised, Overtreated: Why Too Much Medicine
Is Making Us Sicker and Poorer, Bloomsbury USA; 1 edition
(September 18, 2007), by Shannon Brownlee.
Topics
Topics upon which Delfini has written and taught include
evidence-based medicine, inappropriate variation, searching
techniques, critical appraisal of medical literature, evidence-based
committee processes, evidence-based content development,
technology assessment, population-based care, projecting
economic and health outcomes, performance measurement, patient
decision-making, facilitating provider behavior change,
physician and patient communications, developing and implementing
clinical practice guidelines, and creating information,
decision and action aids for clinical care.
Audiences
Audiences include policy makers, medical leaders & administrators,
health plan administrators, physicians, clinical pharmacists,
nurses, medical and pharmacy residents and students, professors,
evidence-based medicine consultants, clinical content developers,
consumers, businesses, legal professionals, researchers,
medical manufacturers, architects and others.
Dr.
Mike Stuart is a family physician and has been
on the clinical faculty of the University of Washington’s
School of Medicine since 1975. He provides evidence-based
training and tools through Delfini Group. Mike is a contributing
author to the textbooks Evidence-Based Clinical Practice:
Concepts and Approaches and Evidence-based Pharmacotherapy.
He has authored or co-authored articles and book chapters
dealing with clinical guidelines, the clinical improvement
process, using balance sheets (projecting economic and health
outcomes) in planning evidence-based clinical improvements
and performance measurement. His work and comments have
been published in the New England Journal of Medicine;
British Medical Journal, The Physician Executive Journal
of Medical Management, Journal of the American Board of
Family Practice, HMO Practice, Formulary and others.
His work has received praise from prominent health care
leaders such as David Eddy MD and Don Berwick MD and clients
such as the Health Ministry of New Zealand and the US Navy’s
Bureau of Medicine.
Prior
to founding Delfini, he was the director of the Department
of Clinical Improvement and Education at Group Health Cooperative
in Seattle, Washington (1984-2002) where he led development
of more than 35 evidence-based clinical guidelines and other
clinical improvements. He also chaired both the Pharmacy
& Therapeutics and Medical Technology Assessment Committees.
Full Bio »
Sheri
Strite is principal and managing partner for Delfini
for which she designs health care improvement strategies,
tools and training programs and provides training. She
has initiated many Delfini innovations including the Study
Validity and Usability Checklist, Evidence- and Value-based
Clinical Quality Improvement Model, Evidence Grading System,
Rx Messaging Scripts ™, validity criteria for performance
measurement, simplified cost assessment tools for projecting
impacts of clinical change and various calculators. Sheri
is a contributing author to the textbook Evidence-based
Pharmacotherapy and co-authored publications and comments
which have been published in the New England Journal of
Medicine, British Medical Journal, The Physician Executive
Journal of Medical Management, Journal of the American Board
of Family Practice, Formulary and others. She is also faculty
and a curriculum developer for disciplinary programs for
referral by the California State Medical Board. She has
been a member of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine.
Prior
to her work with Delfini, Ms. Strite held a position at
the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine,
where she taught faculty, community physicians, residents,
and medical and pharmacy students, served as a member of
the UCSD Family Medicine Research Leaders and was an advisor
and faculty member for the Family Medicine Research Fellowship
program in her capacity as Associate Director for Program
Development, Division of Family Medicine, Department of
Family & Preventive Medicine (2002–2005). Prior
to UCSD, Ms. Strite worked in clinical improvement, education
and research at Group Health Cooperative in Seattle, Washington
(1977-2002) where she held various positions including leadership
roles. Full Bio »
- Delfini
Short Bios [PDF]
- Delfini
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- Delfini
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