Keith Mueller, Ph.D., associate dean, academic affairs, UNMC College of Public Health, has been appointed by Gov. Dave Heineman to Nebraska’s newly formed eHealth Council and will serve as one of three co-chairs of the 25-member council. The appointment was effective in May, and Dr. Mueller will serve on the council until December 2010.
The council appointees include representatives from state and federal government, health care providers, eHealth initiatives, payers and employers, consumers, resource providers, experts and others. Dr. Mueller is one of four members appointed from the public health sector.
Dr. Mueller, who also serves as professor and section chief, health services research and rural health policy, joined UNMC in 1990. In addition, Dr. Mueller serves as director of the Nebraska Center for Rural Health Research as well as the Rural Policy Research Institute (RUPRI) Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis. He also serves as an adviser on UNMC’s teams dealing with state and federal legislation.
A key national figure in developing rural health policy, Dr. Mueller served as president of the National Rural Health Association in 1996-97 and currently serves on the NRHA’s Quality Steering Committee. For the past four years, he has been a member of the Research Council for RUPRI. From 2000-04, he was a member of the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services, to the Secretary of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Since 2004, he has been a member of the Advisory Panel on Medicare Education for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Last year, Dr. Mueller was among 25 investigators named UNMC Distinguished Scientists for 2006. His research focuses on the development of public policies that improve health care delivery to vulnerable populations, with special attention to rural areas. He examines the impact of policies on local health care providers, such as how changes in Medicare payment policy influence the mix of services offered in rural communities. His research led to a change in the regulation implementing access standards in the Medicare Part D drug benefit.
The Nebraska Information Technology Commission created the eHealth Council to provide guidance and recommendations regarding the adoption of eHealth technologies in Nebraska.
eHealth technologies include electronic health records, telehealth, e-prescribing, electronic delivery of lab results, computerized-physician order-entry, and health information exchange which allows the sharing of clinical and administrative data across the boundaries of health care institutions. eHealth technologies could significantly reduce medical costs, reduce medical errors, and improve patient care.
UNMC is the only public health science center in the state. Its educational programs are responsible for training more health professionals practicing in Nebraska than any other institution. Through their commitment to education, research, patient care and outreach, UNMC and its hospital partner, The Nebraska Medical Center, have established themselves as one of the country’s leading centers in cancer, transplantation biology, bioterrorism preparedness, neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases, genetics, biomedical technology and ophthalmology. UNMC’s research funding from external sources is now nearly $80 million annually and has resulted in the creation of more than 2,400 highly skilled jobs in the state. UNMC’s physician practice group, UNMC Physicians, includes more than 460 physicians in 50 specialties and subspecialties who practice primarily in The Nebraska Medical Center. For more information, go to UNMC’s Web site at www.unmc.edu.