Harkness Project Title: Barriers to High-Quality, Patient-Centered Maternity Care for Vulnerable Populations
Mentor: Scott Young, M.D. (Kaiser Permanente)
Placement: Kaiser Permanente
Biography at time of Harkness Fellowship: Ted Adams, M.B.Ch.B., M.Sc., M.R.C.O.G., a 2014–15 U.K. Harkness Fellow in Health Care Policy and Practice, is a senior registrar in Merseyside and the past chair of the Trainees’ Committee at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, a national position developing policy and educational strategies for all of the U.K.’s registrars in obstetrics and gynecology. Among his other previous positions, Adams worked as medical advisor at Cheshire and Merseyside Strategic Health Authority and as a leadership fellow with NHS Northwest, where he identified clinical metrics which commissioners of care could use to see whether providers were delivering high-quality health care to women and their babies. Among many other prizes and fellowships, Adams received the NHS Northwest Emerging Leaders Bursary, awarded to emerging leaders from 2010–11. Adams’s policy interests are focused on bringing value-based, high-quality maternity care to all vulnerable populations through patient-centered delivery systems. Adams received his M.B.Ch.B. and M.Sc. in health care ethics from the University of Liverpool.
Project: The concept of family and patient centered care (PFCC) has gained traction in organizations over the past few years with evidence being produced that it can reduce readmissions, reduce error, reduce waste, improve patient and family satisfaction with their care, improve compliance with medication, and reduce patient stress. Dr. Adams’ research will examine barriers that prevent frontline clinicians from delivering patient-centered maternity care despite the existing clinical guidelines and financial incentives in place. Ted will analyze national surveys of women to assess how they perceive the quality of their maternity care, and also whether care providers meet their needs and values. He will also conduct in-depth interviews with providers and site visits to explore shared themes. The findings of this analysis will be discussed with experts in the field of patient-centered care and will help develop and inform maternity care policies to target incentives in these areas.
Career Activity since Fellowship: Senior Registrar, Liverpool Womens NHS Foundation Trust, 2015 – 2016
Current Position: Consultant in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Southport & Ormksirk NHS Trust, 2016 (updated 04/2017)
Email: [email protected]