Articles by Dennis P. Scanlon, PhD

The authors examined experiences with Pennsylvania’s implementation of opioid settlement funds, identifying 7 themes and highlighting opportunities to improve administration and ensure effective fund distribution.

The editor in chief introduces and summarizes commentaries from our editorial board containing practical solutions that could be feasibly implemented to improve American health care.

The policy community should consider these concrete suggestions to address the challenges presented by social determinants of health.

A letter from the editor-in-chief of The American Journal of Accountable Care®.

Unmet Needs and the Future of Treatment in SMA
ByDennis P. Scanlon, PhD,Emma Ciafaloni, MD,Maria Lopes, MD, MS,Kevin U. Stephens, Sr, JD, MD ,Mary Schroth, MD, FAAP, FCCP Experts in SMA provide closing thoughts on unmet needs in SMA including the importance of research into treatment combinations and sequencing as well as multidisciplinary care and healthcare equity.

Shared Decision Making When Selecting a DMT in SMA
ByDennis P. Scanlon, PhD,Emma Ciafaloni, MD,Maria Lopes, MD, MS,Kevin U. Stephens, Sr, JD, MD ,Mary Schroth, MD, FAAP, FCCP Emma Ciafaloni, MD and Mary Schroth, MD, FAAP, FCCP consider the importance of shared decision making for patients and families when selecting an available DMT in SMA.

Payor Perspective on Coverage Decisions for DMTs in SMA
ByDennis P. Scanlon, PhD,Emma Ciafaloni, MD,Maria Lopes, MD, MS,Kevin U. Stephens, Sr, JD, MD ,Mary Schroth, MD, FAAP, FCCP Kevin U. Stephens, Sr., MD, JD and Maria Lopes, MD, MS provide insight into the factors that payors must consider when creating and implementing policies on treatment coverage in SMA.

New DMTs in SMA: Onasemnogene and Risdiplam
ByDennis P. Scanlon, PhD,Emma Ciafaloni, MD,Maria Lopes, MD, MS,Kevin U. Stephens, Sr, JD, MD ,Mary Schroth, MD, FAAP, FCCP Emma Ciafaloni, MD and Mary Schroth, MD, FAAP, FCCP discuss recent clinical trial designs and results for new disease-modifying treatments in SMA: onasemnogene and risdiplam.

New DMTs in SMA: Nusinersen
ByDennis P. Scanlon, PhD,Emma Ciafaloni, MD,Maria Lopes, MD, MS,Kevin U. Stephens, Sr, JD, MD ,Mary Schroth, MD, FAAP, FCCP Emma Ciafaloni, MD and a panel of experts in SMA review the efficacy of nusinersen by discussing difference between clinical trial results and real-world clinical application.

Adapting to Rapid Advancement in Treatments in SMA
ByDennis P. Scanlon, PhD,Emma Ciafaloni, MD,Maria Lopes, MD, MS,Kevin U. Stephens, Sr, JD, MD ,Mary Schroth, MD, FAAP, FCCP A multidisciplinary panel of experts discusses the rapid pace of advancements in disease-modifying treatments and shares insights into how to work with payors to adapt and improve policies.

Challenges with Payor Systems for the Diagnosis of SMA
ByDennis P. Scanlon, PhD,Emma Ciafaloni, MD,Maria Lopes, MD, MS,Kevin U. Stephens, Sr, JD, MD ,Mary Schroth, MD, FAAP, FCCP Panelists provide insight into current challenges with payor models and early screening for SMA and discuss the importance of partnering with payors when rapid diagnosis and treatment are required.

Screening and Diagnosis of SMA in Children and Adults
ByDennis P. Scanlon, PhD,Emma Ciafaloni, MD,Maria Lopes, MD, MS,Kevin U. Stephens, Sr, JD, MD ,Mary Schroth, MD, FAAP, FCCP Experts in the management of SMA discuss the screening and diagnosis of infants, children, and adult patients and emphasize the importance of health care equity to avoid treatment delay.

A Multidisciplinary Approach to Diagnosis and Treatment
ByDennis P. Scanlon, PhD,Emma Ciafaloni, MD,Maria Lopes, MD, MS,Kevin U. Stephens, Sr, JD, MD ,Mary Schroth, MD, FAAP, FCCP Key opinion leaders in SMA emphasize the importance of a multidisciplinary approach and centers of excellence in the early diagnosis and treatment of spinal muscular atrophy.

Clinical Burden of Spinal Muscular Atrophy
ByDennis P. Scanlon, PhD,Emma Ciafaloni, MD,Maria Lopes, MD, MS,Kevin U. Stephens, Sr, JD, MD ,Mary Schroth, MD, FAAP, FCCP A multidisciplinary panel of experts discusses the clinical burden of spinal muscular atrophy on patients, families, and caregivers and considers the importance of patient education and advocacy.

An Overview of the Epidemiology of SMA
ByDennis P. Scanlon, PhD,Emma Ciafaloni, MD,Maria Lopes, MD, MS,Kevin U. Stephens, Sr, JD, MD ,Mary Schroth, MD, FAAP, FCCP An expert neurologist, Emma Ciafaloni, MD, provides an overview of the epidemiology of spinal muscular atrophy and discusses symptom burden, differential diagnosis, and prevalence.

A letter from the editor-in-chief of The American Journal of Accountable Care®.

Trends in the Use of Clinical Decision Support by Health System–Affiliated Ambulatory Clinics in the United States, 2014-2016
ByRobert S. Rudin, PhD,Shira H. Fischer, MD, PhD,Yunfeng Shi, PhD,Paul Shekelle, MD,Alejandro Amill-Rosario, MPH,M. Susan Ridgely, JD,Dennis P. Scanlon, PhD,Cheryl L. Damberg, PhD Use of clinical decision support (CDS) in ambulatory clinics is increasing but remains modest. The CDS function with the greatest use is basic medication screening, which increased from 52% of clinics nationally in 2014 to 61% in 2016.

Based on findings from a 2-state exploratory study, the authors articulate research-informed action steps for promoting state government roles in the pursuit of a culture of health.




The authors discuss health information technology in the context of health systems, the potential harm of electronic health record vendor consolidation, and overcoming barriers in providers’ experience.



The Longitudinal Impact of Aligning Forces for Quality on Measures of Population Health, Quality and Experience of Care, and Cost of Care
ByYunfeng Shi, PhD,Dennis P. Scanlon, PhD,Raymond Kang, MA,Megan McHugh, PhD,Jessica Greene, PhD,Jon B. Christianson, PhD,Muriel Jean-Jacques, MD, MAPP,Yasmin Mahmud, MPH,Jeffrey A. Alexande 
Evaluating a Complex, Multi-Site, Community-Based Program to Improve Healthcare Quality: The Summative Research Design for the Aligning Forces for Quality Initiative
ByDennis P. Scanlon, PhD,Laura J. Wolf, MSW,Jeffrey A. Alexander, PhD,Jon B. Christianson, PhD,Jessica Greene, PhD,Muriel Jean-Jacques, MD, MAPP,Megan McHugh, PhD,Yunfeng Shi, PhD,Brigitt Leitze 
The Aligning Forces for Quality Initiative: Background and Evolution From 2005 to 2015
ByDennis P. Scanlon, PhD,Jeff Beich, PhD,Brigitt Leitzell, MS,Bethany W. Shaw, MHA,Jeffrey A. Alexander, PhD,Jon B. Christianson, PhD,Diane C. Farley, BA,Jessica Greene, PhD,Muriel Jean-Jacques, 
Summative Evaluation Results and Lessons Learned From the Aligning Forces for Quality Program
ByDennis P. Scanlon, PhD,Jeffrey A. Alexander, PhD,Megan McHugh, PhD,Jeff Beich, PhD,Jon B. Christianson, PhD,Jessica Greene, PhD,Muriel Jean-Jacques, MD, MAPP,Brigitt Leitzell, MS,Yunfeng Shi, 

Using longitudinal data, this paper examines to what extent comparative quality information in the form of healthcare "report cards" is reaching chronically ill adults.