Harkness Project: Health Services Utilization and Needs of Dementia Patients
Placement: Dartmouth University
Mentors: Elliott S. Fisher, M.D., director, Population Health and Policy, Dartmouth Institute for Health Care Policy and Clinical Practice; and Julie Bynum, M.D., associate professor, Dartmouth Medical School
Biography at time of Harkness Fellowship: Daniela Koller, Ph.D., a 2012-13 German Harkness Fellow in Health Care Policy and Practice, is a researcher at the centre for social policy research in the department for health economics, health policy, and outcomes research at the University of Bremen. Her research has looked at the utilization patterns of elderly with dementia and comorbidities using large data sets from health insurance claims. Koller’s research interests include geriatric care, dementia, and regional variances in health care. Koller has published 13 peer-reviewed articles in journals such as BMC Geriatrics and the International Journal of Health Geographics. Koller has a diploma in geography from the University of Munich and holds a Ph.D. in public health from the University of Bremen, with her thesis focusing on the geographic aspects in health and health services.
Current Project Abstract: Koller's Harkness project will use Medicare data to analyze variations in health care utilization for patients with dementia by region, age, sex, socioeconomic status, and ethnicity. In collaboration with the Alzheimer’s Association, she will supplement the quantitative analyses with expert interviews to better understand the needs of patients and caregivers, the delivery system issues for this vulnerable population, and the implications for addressing these issues under health reform.
Career Activity Since Fellowship:
- Research Associate, Fachbereich Health Services Management, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 2013
Current Position: (updated 4/2017)
- Research Associate, Institute for Medical Informatics, Biometry, and Epidemiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 2017
Email: [email protected]
Selected Publications:
Koller D, Bynum J. "Dementia in the USA: state variation in prevalence," Journal of Public Health, 2014
