Pamela Mazzocato

PhD in Medical Management, I co-lead with Carl Savage the Clinical Management research group at the Medical Management Center. My background is in economics and management, specifically the field of Public Management.

In my research I focus on how to design clinical processes and organizational structures that meet the needs of patients and healthcare professionals. My expertise lies in the analysis of complex interventions rooted in operations management theory and the ability to isolate and display key components using a mixed methods approach and the use of statistical process control charts.

Research description

I am involved in several research projects with the overall aim to increase our understanding on how the design and management of clinical processes and organizations generate value for staff and patients. Currently I work on several research projects on innovative management practices such as lean and value-based healthcare.

The lean projects I am currently involve in are:

• Simulation and implementation of a lean-inspired hip-fracture care process”, together with Helena Hvitfeldt Forsberg at AIM/MMC, Maria Unbeck, André Stark and Olof Sköldenberg at the Orthopedic Department at the Danderyd Hospital, and Marie Persson at Blekinge Technical University.
• LeanHealth project, a project where we help Enköping hospital integrate health promotion and worker protection with their quality improvement system. Together with Terese Stenfors-Hayes at the Evaluation Unit, Henna Hasson and Ulrica von Thiele Schwarz in the PROCOME research group, Helena Hvitfeldt Forsberg at AIM/MMC, and Monica Nyström in the SOLIID research network.

The value-based healthcare projects are:

• Innovation-driven reimbursement models in primary care. This project is run in collaboration with the Stockholm County Council and IVBAR.
• Outcomes and costs of a person-centered integrated practice unit for patients with cardiovascular disease, renal dysfunction and diabetes, KID-funding from the Board of Doctoral Education at Karolinska Institutet. Together with Carl Savage and Jonas Spaak at the Danderyd Hospital.

I am also co-supervisor for five PhD projects:

• Jens Jacob Fredriksson: Disrupting Hospitals: Business Model Transformation within Academic Medicine
• Marie Höjriis Storkholm: Innovating inside the box: How contextual constraints can contribute to the innovation of health care processes
• Mairi Jüriska: From burnout to engagement: building young physicians’ leadership capacity
• George Keel: Outcomes and costs of a person-centered integrated practice unit for patients with cardiovascular disease, renal dysfunction and diabetes
• Muhammad Rafiq: Eliminating guesswork: An exploration of the role of predictive modelling in care management for patients with multimorbidities

Teaching portfolio

Since 2012, I am co-directing and running courses in Healthcare Management for master students in Health Economics, Policy and Management at KI.

Between 2013 and 2015 I was a visiting lecturer in the course Quality and Operations Management for the International Master of Healthcare Management, Economics and Policy (MIHMEP), and course director for the course Operations Management in Healthcare for the Master in Healthcare Management (MIMS), Bocconi University, Italy.

Between 2011-12, I was lecturer and course director for the course Organization, Learning and Leadership for nursing students, Karolinska Institutet.

Education

2012 Ph.D. in Medical science. Karolinska Institutet.

2007 Master of Science in Accounting, Administration, and Control, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice

2004 MBc, Economics and Management, University Ca’ Foscari of Venice, Italy

Academic honours, awards and prizes

• Winner of the 2013 KAROLINSKA MEDICAL MANAGEMENT CENTRE/EHMA AWARD, for the best contribution associated with a doctoral thesis related to health management with the paper “Complexity complicates lean: Lessons from seven parallel emergency care services in the same hospital-wide lean program” (Forthcoming in Journal of Health Organization and Management).
• Complexity complicates lean: Lessons from seven emergency services” published in Journal of Health Organization and Management was selected by the journal’s editorial team as a Highly Commended paper in the 2015 Emerald Literati Network Awards for Excellence.