About Karen Donelan

Bio
Dr. Donelan is a prominent survey and team scientist who has conducted numerous national and international surveys of the experiences of patients and health professionals in health care systems, nationally and locally.  At Mass General, she is the convener of MGH Health Policy Rounds, she leads the Survey Research and Implementation Unit for the Division of Clinical Research and is a member of the MGH/MGPO Diversity Committee.

Recognized for her skill in designing surveys to measure the experiences of diverse professional and patient/consumer populations, Dr. Donelan’s current and recent national projects include the health workforce changes needed to improve care for frail older adults, assessments of care management programs, evaluation of innovations in payment for dually eligible Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, understanding insurance coverage for cancer survivors, and a test of  a virtual clinic to improve evidence-based care for people with Down Syndrome.  She is interested in evaluating new forms of  human and technology support for diverse populations trying to access and navigate health systems.

Other Current Projects
Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI)
Virtual Evidence-Based Health Care for Underserved Patients with Down Syndrome
Goal: To test the effectiveness of a virtual clinic in improving adherence to primary care standards of practice for patients with Down Syndrome to improve quality of care from the perspective of patients, caregivers and primary care professionals
Role: Co-Investigator

Recent Publications

Donelan, K, Chang, Y, Berrett-Abebe, J, Spetz, J, Auerbach, DI., Norman, L., Buerhaus, P. (2019) Care management for older adults: the roles of nurses, social workers and physicians. Health Affairs (Millwood). 38(6). 941-949.

Donelan, K. (2018) How to heal after defeat of nurse staffing ballot question: focus on teams. CommonHealth. 
Donelan, K. (2018). 9 saavy points about the nurses ballot measure from an expert dismayed by both sides. CommonHealth.

Donelan, K., Barreto, EA., Michael, CU., Smith, M., & Metlay, JP. (2018). Variability in care management programs in Medicare ACOs- a survey of medical directors. Journal of General Internal Medicine. 33(12). 2043-2045.