White House Fellow Joins Cincinnati Children's with Emphasis on Improving, Measuring Quality of Health Care

Patrick Conway, MD, is also lead author on new study in JAMA about UTI prophylaxis

Monday, January 01, 0001

Patrick Conway, MD, MSc, recently appointed to the 2007-2008 class of White House Fellows, has joined Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center as assistant professor in the Center for Heath Care Quality and the Division of General Pediatrics. Dr. Conway is also lead author of a breakthrough study published in today's edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) on prophylactic antibiotic treatment for children with initial urinary tract infection (UTI).

As a pediatrician and health services researcher focused on in-patient care, Dr. Conway said his work as a White House fellow and faculty member at Cincinnati Children's will emphasize measuring and improving the quality of health care for children.

"One reason I joined Cincinnati Children's is that it is an international leader in measuring and improving the quality of health care for children," Dr. Conway said. "I see the White House fellowship as a direct extension of the work I want to do at Cincinnati Children's, which is broader-based research into measuring quality of care outcomes, such as safety events, and then designing research protocols and programs to improve these outcomes," he said.

Dr. Conway begins his White House tenure in September along with 14 other fellows appointed from a broad cross section of professions. Established in 1964 by President Lyndon Johnson, the White House Fellowship Program offers exceptional young men and women first-hand experience working at the highest levels of federal government. Selection is highly competitive and requires a record of remarkable professional achievement, evidence of leadership skills, a strong commitment to public service and the ability to contribute successfully at the highest levels of federal government.

Dr. Conway said he would like to be assigned a project during his fellowship with the potential to influence the direction of health care policy for children. This includes the ability to build quality measurement systems into the care children receive through Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). "The fellowship will give me first-hand experience in the planning and implementation of health care policy on children and its impact," he said.

Dr. Conway, 33, comes to Cincinnati Children's from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, where he was attending physician in General Pediatrics and a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania. The study he led in Philadelphia on treatment of UTI -- and published in today's edition of JAMA -- concludes that the use of prophylactic antibiotics is not associated with reduced risk of recurrent urinary tract infections in children under the age of 6. Instead, the study indicates that daily administration of antibiotics in children is associated with an increased risk of resistant infections. The study further concludes that: "…it is prudent for clinicians to discuss the risks and unclear benefits of prophylaxis with families as they make family-centered decisions about whether to start prophylactic (antibiotics) or to closely monitor a child without prescribing (antibiotic) prophylaxis after a first UTI."

"The addition of Dr. Conway to our faculty builds on the team of exceptionally talented professionals we have able to attract to Cincinnati Children's over the years,'' said Tom DeWitt, MD, director of the Division of General and Community Pediatrics. "This appointment as a White House fellow is a great honor for Patrick and Cincinnati Children's. His work will help advance Cincinnati Children's status as a leader in pediatric care, research and as an advocate for child health."

Cincinnati Children's, one of the top five children's hospitals in the nation according to Child magazine, is a 475-bed institution devoted to bringing the world the joy of healthier kids. Cincinnati Children's is dedicated to providing care that is timely, efficient, effective, family-centered, equitable and safe. For its efforts to transform the way health care is provided, Cincinnati Children's received the 2006 American Hospital Association-McKesson Quest for Quality Prize". Cincinnati Children's ranks second nationally among all pediatric centers in research grants from the National Institutes of Health and is a teaching affiliate of the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. The Cincinnati Children's vision is to be the leader in improving child health.