Bio
Dr. Irena Pesis-Katz is the senior director for Population Health Management Informatics and Payment Innovation at the University of Rochester Medical Center. As part of her role, she provides oversight, leadership and support for all provider payment innovation contracting; Population Health Management reporting and analytics; value-based contracting strategy; and translate, integrate and implement payment innovation and informatics strategies in collaboration with cross-functional areas.
As the management and interpretation of vast amounts of rapidly-changing health care data becomes vital to lowering costs, improving access and quality, and building more effective health care delivery systems, Pesis-Katz' expertise in data integration and analysis has been vital to initiatives within the School of Nursing and across the University.
Among her many roles as a teacher and researcher, she has helped implement the University's employee wellness program, led by the School of Nursing. The program is not only able to provide population-based health outcome analyses, but gives individuals specific evidence-based recommendations to reduce their health risks, and improve their long-term wellness.
A native of Israel, Pesis-Katz earned her PhD in Health Services Research and Policy from the University of Rochester School of Medicine. Her research areas include outcomes-based quality improvement evaluations, the economic impact of clinical interventions, and the role of quality of care in consumers' choice of nursing homes. She received the Dean's Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2014.
Professional Experience
- Senior Director of Population Health Management Informatics and Payment Innovation,
- University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, US. 4/2015 - Current
- Associate Professor of Clinical Nursing,
- University of Rochester School of Nursing, Rochester, NY, US. 2014 - Current
- Associate Professor of Public Health Sciences (Secondary Appointment),
- Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Rochester School of Medicine, Rochester, NY, US. 2014 - Current
- Director,
- Center for Population Health Outcomes and Informatics, University of Rochester School of Nursing, Rochester, NY, US. 2014 - 4/2015
- Director of Outcomes and Evaluation Sciences, Corporate Wellness,
- University of Rochester School of Nursing, Rochester, NY, US. 1/2013 - 2014
- Assistant Professor (Secondary Appointment),
- Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Rochester School of Medicine, Rochester, NY, US. 2007 - 2014
- Assistant Professor,
- University of Rochester (School of Nursing), Rochester, NY, US. 2007 - 2014
- Distinguished Lecturer,
- College of Nursing, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, US. 2010 - 2010
- International Visiting Scholar,
- Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute, Jerusalem, IL. 2010 - 2010
- Director, Quality Improvement Research and Measurement,
- Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield of Greater Rochester Area, Rochester, NY, US. 2007 - 2009
- International Visiting Scholar,
- Department of Health Systems Management, Ben Gurion University, Beer-Sheva, IL. 2008 - 2008
- Medical Operations Research Project Manager,
- Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield of the Greater Rochester Area, Rochester, NY, US. 2004 - 2007
- Co-instructor,
- University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry (Mathematics for Economists), Rochester, NY, US. 2002 - 2005
- Visiting Instructor,
- Ben Gurion University of the Negev Medical School, Beer-Sheva, IL. 2004 - 2004
- Health Services Research Fellow,
- Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield of the Greater Rochester Area, Rocheste, NY, US. 2003 - 2004
- Research Internship,
- The agency for Healthcare Research and quality (AHRQ), Rockville, MD, US. 2002 - 2002
- Project Manager,
- Clalit Health Services, Israel, IL. 1998 - 2001
- Course commander and head instructor, Military School of Intelligence,
- Israel Defense Forces (IDF), IL. 1993 - 1995
Awards
- Dean's Award for Excellence in Teaching
- University of Rochester School of Nursing, 2014
- The Dr. Jeremy A. Klainer Entrepreneurship Fund Award
- University of Rochester School of Nursing, 2014
- Promising New Investigator Award
- University of Rochester, School of Nursing, 2013
- Supporting Providers in Comparative Effectiveness Fellowship (SPICE)
- University of Rochester Medical Center, 2012
- Student liaison for the American Public Health Association - GHS
- American Public Health Association, 2006
- Health Services Research Fellowship
- Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield of Greater Rochester Area, 2003
- Research Internship
- The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), 2002
- Excellence in Academic Studies
- Israeli Parliament, 1998
- Provost's scholarship
- Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, 1997
Presentations
- “The Importance of Population Health Analytics in Value-Based Care"
- 82nd Annual Conference, New York Health Information Management Association, 2017
- Rochester, New York
- “Apply Population Health to Advanced Payment Models”
- 2nd Annual Population Health Analytics Summit, World Health Congress, 2017
- Nashville, Tennessee
- “The Importance of Population Health Analytics in Value-Based Care"
- Public Health Grand Rounds, University of Rochester Medical Center, 2017
- Rochester, New York
- “Vendor-Neutral Population Health with Epic and External Data”
- EPIC UGM meeting, EPIC, 2016
- Verona, Wisconsin
- “Assuming Risk to Achieve ROI Amid Evolving Payment Models”
- American Hospital Association Leadership Summit, American Hospital Association, 2016
- San Diego, California
- “Achieving ROI When Transitioning to Value-Based Care”
- Further Meeting, Valence Health, 2015
- Chicago, Illinois
- Opioid Prescribing in Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain and Depression: Analysis of a Nationwide Sample from the United States
- World Congress on Pain, 2014
- Buenos Aires, Argentina
- What Can Predict Enrollment in Health Promoting Activities of Complex Condition Management?
- Eastern Nursing Research Society, 2014
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- “The ACA and ACOs: Where are We in 2014?”
- Preceptor Workshop, University of Rochester School of Nursing, 2014
- Rochester, New York
- The Impact of Smoking on Probability and Amount of Opioids Prescribed for Low Back Pain
- Eastern Nursing Research Society, 2014
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- How Can We Stop Those Rising Health Care Costs? Examining the Potential Impact of Independent Billing by Nurse Practitioners
- Eastern Nursing Research Society, 2013
- Boston, Massachusetts
- Nurse practitioners' independent billing and economic implications for the healthcare system
- American Public Health Association, 2012
- San Francisco, California
- Potential Healthcare System Cost-savings Through Independent Billing by Nurse Practitioners
- Annual Research Meeting, AcademyHealth, 2012
- Orlando, Florida
- “Research Potential of FairHealth data”
- AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting, AcademyHealth, 2012
- Orlando, Florida
- Negotiated Reimbursement Rates for Cardiac Artery Bypass Surger - Does Quality Matter?
- Annual Research Meeting, American Public Health Association, 2011
- Washington, District Of Columbia
- Cost-Effectiveness of an Intensive Tobacco-Dependence Intervention Based on Self-Determination Theory: An Analysis from the Third-Party Payer's Perspective
- Annual Research Meeting, American Public Health Association, 2011
- Washington, District Of Columbia
- Premium Pay for Premium Quality? Examining the Association between Quality of Care information in the NYS Cardiac Surgery Reports and Negotiated Prices with Insurance Plans
- iHEA 8th World Congress in Health Economics, 2011
- Toronto, Canada
- Peer-Led Team Learning in Nursing Graduate-Level Health Economics Course
- International Conference on Teaching and Learning, 2011
- Niagara Falls, New York
- Heart Failure Management in Nursing Homes: Results from a Pilot Study
- Annual Research Meeting, American Public Health Association, 2010
- Denver, Colorado
- Care Patterns for Nursing Home Residents with Heart Failure
- State of the Science Congress on Nursing Research, 2010
- Washington, District Of Columbia
- What Can Be Improved at the End of Life? Economic Evaluation of Palliative Care Services
- Distinguished Lectures Series, College of Nursing, USF Health, 2010
- Tampa, Florida
- Healthcare Reform New York Style: Changing Reimbursement Rates for Out-of-Network Services
- International Visiting Scholar, Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute, 2010
- Jerusalem, Israel
- Resident-Care Activities for Heart Failure Management in Nursing Homes as Reported by Directors of Nursing: Results from a Pilot Study
- AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting, 2010
- Boston, Massachusetts
- What Can be Saved at the End of Life? A Cost Analysis of Palliative Care
- Gerontological Society of America Annual Scientific Meeting, 2008
- Washington, District Of Columbia
- Economic Evaluation of Palliative Care at the End of Life
- American Public Health Association Annual Meeting, 2008
- San Diego, California
- Is Palliative Care at the End of Life Cost Saving?
- AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting, 2008
- Washington, District Of Columbia
- Consumers' Choice of Nursing Home In The U.S. - Does Quality Matter?
- International Visiting Scholar presentation, Department of Health Systems Management, Faculty of Sciences, Ben Gurion University, 2008
- Beer-Sheva, Israel
- The Impact of Quality of Care on Nursing Home Choice---Comprehensive Assessment of California, New-York, Ohio, and Texas
- Annual Scientific Meeting, Gerontological Society of America, 2007
- San-Francisco, California
- Does Quality of Care Matter in Choosing a Nursing Home? Evidence from California
- Annual meeting, American Public Health Association, 2007
- Washington, District Of Columbia
- Role of Educational Materials in Increasing Cervical Cancer Screening Adherence Rates---Evidence from Randomized Controlled Trial in NYS Insured Women
- Annual meeting, American Public Health Association, 2007
- Washington, District Of Columbia
- Cervical Cancer Screening Test: Can Educational Materials Increase Adherence Rates?
- Annual Research Meeting, Academy Health, 2007
- Orlando, Florida
- Why Are Nursing Homes' Quality Report Cards Important? Evidence from CA, OH, NY and TX
- Annual Research Meeting, Academy Health, 2007
- Orlando, Florida
- "Improving the Quality of Diabetes Management with Pay for Performance Incentive Program"
- Annual Meeting, American Public Health Association, 2006
- Boston, Massachusetts
- "Does Competition Matter? The Role of competition in Promoting Community Wide Interventions to Reduce Obesity"
- Annual Meeting, American Public Health Association, 2006
- Boston, Massachusetts
- "Pay for Performance-The Impact on Patient Quality of Care in a Community Setting"
- Annual Research Meeting, Academy Health, 2006
- Seattle, Washington
- "Nursing Home Choice-Does Quality Matter? - Research Proposal"
- Trainees Research Conference, NRSA, 2003
- Nashville, Tennessee
Publications
- Smith, J.A., Fuino, R.L., Pesis-Katz, I., Cai, X., Powers, B., Frazer, M., Markman, J.D. (2017). Differences in opiod prescribing in low back pain patients with and without depression: A cross-sectional study of national sample from the United States. PAIN Reports, Latest Articles. DOI: 10.1097/pr9.0000000000000606
- Pesis-Katz I, Smith JA, Cai X, and Tuttle J (2013). How Can We Stop Those Rising Health Care Costs? Examining the Potential Impact of Independent Billing by Nurse Practitioners. Nursing Research, 62 (2), e27.
- Quinn, J.R., Pesis-Katz, I. & Mukamel, D.B. (2013). Variations in patterns of care activities for nursing home residents with heart failure.. Research in Gerontological Nursing, 6, 29-35.. DOI: 10.3928/19404921-20121204-02
- Pesis-Katz I, Phelps CE, Temkin-Greener H, Spector WD, Veazie P, and Mukamel DB (2013). Making Difficult Decisions: The Role of Quality of Care in Choosing a Nursing Home. American Journal of Public Health, 103 (5), e31-37. DOI: 10.2105
- Pesis-Katz I, Rains A, Smith JA, as part of the Upstate Health Research Network (2012). Final Recommendations for Anesthesia Benchmark Rates for Out-of-Network Services. FAIR Health, NY.
- Rhee, H., Pesis-Katz, I., Xing, J. (2012). Cost benefits of a peer-led asthma self-management program for adolescents. Journal of Asthma, 49 (6), 606-613. PMID: 2275899
- White P, Rowland A, and Pesis-Katz I (2012). Introduction of the Peer-Led Team Learning Model in a Graduate-Level Nursing Course. Journal of Nursing Education, 51 (8), 417-475.
- Pesis-Katz, I., Williams, G.C., Niemiec, C.P., & Fiscella, K. (2011). Cost-Effectiveness of Intensive Tobacco Dependence Intervention Based on Self-Determination Theory.. The American Journal of Managed Care, 17 (10), e383-388.
- Kunitz SJ and Pesis-Katz I. (2005). "Mortality of White Americans, African Americans, and Canadians: The Causes and Consequences for Health of Welfare State Institutions and Policies". The Milbank Quarterly, 83 (1), 5-39.
- Horev T, Pesis-Katz I, Mukamel DB (2004). "Trends in Geographic Disparities in Allocation of Health Care Resource in the US". Health Policy, 68 (2), 223-232.
- Spector WD, Cohen JW, Pesis-Katz I (2004). "Home Care Before and After the Balanced Budget Act of 1997: Shifts in Financing and Services". The Gerontologist, 44 (1), 39-47.
