Kelly J. Devers, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Health Administration

Department of Health Administration
School of Allied Health Professions
Medical College of Virginia Campus
Virginia Commonwealth University
PO BOX 980203
1008 East Clay Street
Richmond, VA 23298

804.828.5509 (V)
804.828.1894 (F)
Email Address: kjdevers@vcu.edu

Education

University of Pennsylvania

Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, 1987

Northwestern University

Master of Arts, Sociology, 1988
Doctor of Philosophy, Sociology, 1994

University of California—Berkeley and San Francisco

Post-doctoral, RWJF Scholars in Health Policy Research

Bio

Dr. Devers conducts research on a wide range of health care organization, delivery, and policy issues. Her recent research has focused on hospitals and medical groups response to changing market and policy forces and their impact on cost and quality and patient safety. She also is an expert in qualitative and mixed research methods. Currently, she is a co-investigator on an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) funded project examining physician office-based supports to improve smoking cessation counseling and a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RJWF) funded project to improve the delivery of preventive health care services in primary care practices. She also serves as task leader on an AHRQ funded H-CAHPS project on physician-patient communication about hospital quality data and its implications for hospital referral and choice and as a qualitative consultant on a National Cancer Institute (NCI) study of barriers to colon cancer screening. Dr. Devers also recently served is a co-investigator on a congressionally mandated study conducted through the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on physician-owned specialty hospitals. She has also served as a temporary member of the Health Services Organization and Delivery (HSOD) study section, National Institute of Health (NIH) and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), special emphasis panels. Dr. Devers has published widely in major health services research and policy journals and served as guest editor of Health Services Research, edited a book on managed care, and is currently co-authoring a textbook on mixed methods research. Dr. Devers teaches courses in health care organization theory, qualitative and mixed research methods, and quality and patient safety. She holds a joint appointment in the VCU School of Medicine, Department of Family Practice.

Selected Publications

Bradley, E., Curry, L., and Devers, K.J., "Qualitative Data Analysis for Health Services Research: Developing Taxonomy, Themes, and Theory," Health Services Research, forthcoming (this was published in advanced form as an e-publication on January 24, 2007).

North American Primary Care Research Group; Kuzel, AJ, Diaz, V., and Devers. "The UK National Health Service and pay-for-performance: lessons for the United States," Annals of Family Medicine. 2006 May-Jun;4(3):275-6.

Woolf, S.H., Krist, A.H., Johnson, R.E., Wilson, D.B., Rothemich, S.F., Norman, G.J., and K.J. Devers, “A Practice-Sponsored Website to Help Patient Pursue Healthy Behaviors: An ACORN Study,” Annals of Family Medicine, 2006

Greenwald, L., Cromwell, J., Adamache, W., Bernard, S., Drozd, E.M., Root, E., and K. Devers, “Specialty vs. Community Hospitals: Referrals, Quality, and Community Benefit,” Health Affairs, v. 25 (1), January/February, 2006

Pham, M., Devers, K.J., Kuo, S., and Berenson, R., “Health Care Market Trends and the Evolution of Hospitalist Use and Roles,” Journal of General Internal Medicine, v.20 (1), February 2005

Devers, K.J. Review of Qualitative Methods and Health Policy Research by Elizabeth Murphy and Robert Dingwall. New York: Aldine de Gruyter, 2003. Qualitative Health Research, v. 17, no. 7, September 2004, pp. 1020-1021

Devers, K.J., Pham, H.H., Liu, G., and Berenson, R., “What is Driving Hospitals’ Patient Safety Efforts?”, Health Affairs, March/April, 2004, v.23, no. 2, pp. 103-115
*One of Health Affairs 25 most frequently read articles for 2004.

Pham, M., Devers, K.J., May, J., and Berenson, B., “Financial Pressures Spur Physician Entrepreneurialism,” Health Affairs, March/April, 2004, v.23, no. 2, pp. 70-81
*One of Health Affairs 25 most frequently read articles for 2004.

Casalino, L., Devers, K.J., and Brewster, L., “Focused Factories? Physician-Owned Specialty Hospitals and Ambulatory Surgery Centers,” Health Affairs, November/December, 2003, v. 22, no. 6, pp. 56-67

Devers, K.J., Brewster, L., and Ginsburg, P. "Specialty Hospitals: Focused Factories or Cream Skimmers?" Center for Studying Health System Change, Issue Brief No. 62, April 2003 http://www.hschange.com/CONTENT/552/
*Winner of the Health Services Research Impact Award, AcademyHealth

Casalino, L., Devers, K.J., Lake, T., Reed, M. and Stoddard, J., “Benefits of and Barriers to Large Medical Group Practice in the United States,” Archives of Internal Medicine, September 8, 2003, v. 163, no. 13, pp. 1958-1965

Lesser, C., P. Ginsburg, and K.J. Devers, “The End of an Era: What Became of the “Managed Care Revolution” in 2001?" Health Services Research, February, 2003, v. 38, no. 1, part II, pp. 337-356

Devers, K.J., Casalino, L., Rudell, L., Stoddard, J., Brewster, L. and Lake, T. “Hospitals’ Negotiating Leverage with Health Plans: How and Why has it Changed?" Health Services Research, February, 2003, v. 38, no. 1, part II, pp. 419-446

Devers, K.J., Brewster, L., Casalino, L., “Changes in Hospital Competitive Strategy: A New Medical Arms Race?” Health Services Research, February, 2003, v. 38, no. 1, part II, pp. 477-470

Lake, T., Devers, K.J., Brewster, L., and Casalino, L., “Something Old, Something New: Recent Developments in Hospital-Physician Relationships,” Health Services Research, February, 2003, v. 38, no. 1, part II, pp. 471-488

Reed, M., Devers, K.J. and Landon, B., “Physicians and Care Management:  More Acceptance Than You Think,” Center for Studying Health System Change, Issue Brief no. 60, January 22, 2003

Devers, K.J., “Quality Improvement by Providers: Market Developments Hinder Progress,” Health Affairs, September/October, 2002, v. 21, no. 5, pp. 201-209

Friedman, B.F., Devers, K.J., Steiner, C., and Fox, S., “The Use of Expensive Health Technologies in the Era of Managed Care: The Remarkable Case of Neonatal Intensive Care,” Journal of Health Policy, Politics, and Law, v. 27, no. 3, June 2002, pp. 441-464

Devers, K.J. and Frankel, R.M., “Practical Advice for Getting Qualitative Research Published,” Education for Health, v. 14, no. 1, 2001, 109-117

Devers, K.J. and Frankel, R.M., “Study Design in Qualitative Research-2: Sampling and Data Collection Strategies,” Education for Health, v. 13, no. 2, 2000, pp. 263-271

Frankel, R.M. and Devers, K.J., “Study Design in Qualitative Research-1: Developing Research Questions and Assessing Resource Needs,” Education for Health, v. 13, no. 2, 2000, pp. 251-261

Frankel, R.B. and Devers, K.J., “Qualitative Research: A Consumer’s Guide,” Education for Health, v. 13, no. 1, pp. 113-123

Devers, K.J., Sofaer, S., Rundall, T., (Special Issue Editors), Qualitative Methods in Health Services Research, Health Services Research, December 1999, v.34, no. 5, Part II

Devers, K.J. “How Will We Know “Good” Qualitative Research When We See It?, Health Services Research, December 1999, v.34, no. 5, Part II, S1153-1188

Wilkerson, J., Devers, K.J., Given, R. (eds.), Competitive Managed Care: The Emerging Health Care System, San Francisco, Jossey-Bass, 1997

Shortell, S.M., Gillies, R.R., and Devers, K.J., “Reinventing the American Hospital,” Milbank Quarterly, v. 73, no. 2, 1995, pp. 131-160

Zimmerman, J.E., Shortell, S.M., Rousseau, D.M., Duffy, J., Gillies, R.R., Knaus, W.A., Devers, K.J., Wagner, D.P., and Draper, E.A., “Improving Intensive Care: Observations Based on Organizational Case Studies in Nine Intensive Care Units: A Prospective, MultiCenter Study,” Critical Care Medicine, October 1993, v. 21, no. 10: 1433-1451

Shortell, S.M., Zimmerman, J.E., Gillies, R.R., Duffy, J., Devers, K.J., Rousseau, D.M., Knaus, W.A., “Continuously Improving Patient Care: Practical Lessons and an Assessment Tool from the National ICU Study,” Quality Review Bulletin, May, 1992, v. 10, no. 4: 150-155

Shortell, S.M., Rousseau, D.M., Gillies, R.R., Devers, K.J., Simon, T.L., “Organizational Assessment in ICU’s: Construct Development, Reliability, and Validity of the ICU Nurse-Physician Questionnaire,” Medical Care, v. 29, 1991: 709-727