Developing a Spinal Cord Injury Hospitalization Risk Index
Project Director: Mark Peterson, PhD
The MI-SCIMS is working to analyze data from electronic health records (EHR) to develop a Spinal Cord Injury Hospitalization Risk Index, which could serve as a tool to help clinicians make care decisions for people with SCI and organize appropriate referrals.
This index will be developed and tested over multiple stages, including:
- Developing and refining algorithms to help predict the likelihood of hospitalization for adults with chronic SCI using machine learning and analyses of Medicare / Medicaid insurance claims.
- The researchers will include individual characteristics (e.g., level of injury, race, social determinants of health) and risk factors (e.g., chronic and secondary conditions) when developing and refining the index.
- Evaluating the reliability and predictive validity of the index using data extracted from EHR
- Implementing a survey to determine the index’s utility, convenience, and effectiveness in a real-world clinical setting
- The ultimate goal of this research study is to help patients with SCI receive efficient and targeted care. This will help reduce rates of readmission to the hospital, preventable conditions, and early mortality for patients with SCI. It could also potentially decrease health care costs.
If you are interested in participated in any of the Michigan SCIMS collaborative projects or studies, please reach out to the Michigan SCIMS team at Michigan_SCIMS@med.umich.edu.