Story written by Bob Shepard, UAB News

Fee-for-value — a physician reimbursement model that maintains the traditional fee-for-service arrangement but includes quality and spending incentives — can reduce spending and improve quality in primary care, according to findings reported in the April issue of Health Affairs.

A new study, led by Christy Harris Lemak, Ph.D., the chair of the University of Alabama at BirminghamDepartment of Health Services Administration, suggests that it is possible to transform reimbursement within a fee-for-service framework to encourage and incentivize physicians to provide high-quality care, while also reducing costs.

Robert Weech-Maldonado, Ph.D.Researchers from the University of Alabama at BirminghamSchool of Health Professions have been awarded $1.25 million by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to better understand the management and market factors associated with high performance among nursing homes that have a high proportion, 85 percent or greater, of Medicaid residents.

Michael E. Stephens with HofF plaqueTwo healthcare legends with strong ties to the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Health Professions were inducted to the Alabama Healthcare Hall of Fame at a ceremony on Saturday, August 25, 2014.

Harriett Holt Cloud, RD, LD, FADA, who has taught in the UAB School of Health Professions since 1976, and Michael E. Stephens, alumnus of the Master of Science in Healthcare Administration Program (Class 9), were joined by 11 others as members of the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2014.

Jennifer Dingle, SHP flag-bearer at 2014 UAB graduationJennifer Dingle, a 2014 graduate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham Health Care Management Program, wins a $40,000 scholarship from the Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA). She is one of only two students in the U.S. to earn the HCA Corris Boyd Scholarship for 2014.

The “UAB Excellence in Business Top 25” award winners have been announced and four of them graduated from the School of Health Professions. The UAB National Alumni Society partnered with the Birmingham Business Journal to present the awards.

John McWhorter is graduating from the first Executive Doctoral class on Dec. 15. John McWhorter has a lot on his plate. He’s the president of Baylor University Medical Center and Senior Vice President Hospital Division at Baylor Health Care System in Dallas, Texas. He’s responsible for $2.7 billion in revenues for 18 hospitals and more than 12,000 employees. He’s a family man whose mission works have led him to Africa, Belize, Honduras and Mexico.

It would seem that McWhorter has little time for anything else. In just over three years, he has managed to squeeze in a doctoral degree. On December 15, 2012, McWhorter will be one of eight people graduating from the first class of the Executive Doctor of Science Degree in Administration-Health Services from the School of Health Professions at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Robert Weech-Maldonado, Ph.D., received the Academy of Management Health Care Management Division’s“Excellence in Teaching Award.” The award recognizes innovative and outstanding teaching in the classroom and provides an opportunity to encourage, recognize and reward the work of dedicated and inspiring teachers.

Robert Chapman, center, is congratulated for being inducted into Alabama Healthcare Hall of Fame by SHP Dean Harold Jones, left, and MSHA alumni Gary Glasscock.Robert C. Chapman, LFACHE, a 1972 graduate of the Master of Science in Health Administration, was one of 12 people inducted to the Alabama Healthcare Hall of Fame on Saturday, July 28. The 2012 class was honored not only for their work in medicine and health, but also as players in some of the most vital issues of their time.