Diabetes Control with AI
Through funding from the National Institutes of Health, Lizheng Shi, PhD, Neal A. and Mary Vanselow Chair in Health Management and Policy in the Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, developed an AI-based risk model to help clinicians personalize treatment goals for patients with type 2 diabetes. Dr. Vivian Fonseca, section chief of endocrinology at the School of Medicine, is co-principal investigator for the grant. Learn more: https://sph.tulane.edu/tulane-administer-nih-funded-diabetes-control-application
PrEP Uptake in New Orleans
Gilead Sciences has awarded $500,000 to a partnership between Tulane University and Ochsner Health Systems to study pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) uptake in New Orleans. Principal Investigators Dr. Charles Stoecker, PhD, Associate Professor at the Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine and Narquis Barak, Systemwide Director of ED Comprehensive Prevention, Infectious Disease Clinical Research Supervisor at Ochsner, observed PrEP enrollment rates below 2% in New Orleans area emergency departments among people presenting with their second sexually transmitted infection within 12 months. This population is at elevated risk for HIV transmission, so enrolling them in PrEP to reduce this risk may give significant returns. The project will examine the effectiveness of a low-barrier enrollment pathway with mailed medication and enrollment blood tests at conveniently located clinics on PrEP uptake and adherence as well as the financial sustainability of the model from the hospital’s perspective.
Medicaid Waiver Evaluation on Substance Use Disorder Renewed for five more years.
The department continues to serve as evaluator for Louisiana Medicaid’s Section 1115 Demonstration waiver focused on improving outcomes for people living with substance use disorder. The initial five-year demonstration period ended in 2023 and the waiver was renewed for another five years beginning in 2024. The Tulane evaluation team will continue to monitor changes in outcomes for Louisiana Medicaid beneficiaries with a substance use disorder and provide annual reports to the Louisiana Department of Health and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
