The following investigators and staff are part of the Health Decision Sciences Center (HDSC):
Karen Sepucha
Dr. Sepucha is the director of the Health Decision Sciences Center in the General Medicine Division at Massachusetts General Hospital and an assistant professor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Her research and clinical interests involve developing and implementing tools and methods to improve the quality of significant medical decisions made by patients and clinicians. Dr. Sepucha was the medical editor for a series of five breast cancer patient decision aids (PtDAs) developed by the not-for-profit Foundation for Informed Medical Decision Making. The PtDAs have won seven media awards and Dr. Sepucha has led the dissemination of these programs to dozens of academic and community cancer centers across the country. She is also responsible for efforts to implement shared decision making tools into primary and specialty care at Mass General. Her recent research has focused on the development of instruments to measure the quality of decisions. The decision quality instruments have been used in a national survey of medical decisions, and a subset of the items is being evaluated for use in CAHPS as part of the primary care medical home certification. Dr. Sepucha has been active in local, national and international efforts to improve decision quality, including the International Patient Decision Aids Standards collaboration. She has her Ph.D. in Engineering-Economic Systems and Operations Research at Stanford University with a focus in decision sciences.
Sandra Feibelmann
Ms. Feibelmann is the program manager with the HDSC. She helps manage the decision quality instrument (DQI) development and coordinates the various DQI field tests. She also helps implement and manage the Breast Cancer Initiative. She has a Masters in Public Health from Boston University.
Sarah Hewitt
Ms. Hewitt is a research coordinator with the HDSC. She manages the Breast Cancer Initiative, contributes to implementation of decision aids across primary and speciality care, and assists with other decision quality projects. Sarah has a Bachelor of Science in Public Health from Simmons College and is currently working on completing her Masters in Public Policy.
Lauren Leavitt
Ms. Leavitt is a senior research coordinator with the HDSC. She is involved in the implementation of shared decision making in primary and specialty care at Mass General. Lauren holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from UMass Amherst and a Masters of Arts degree in Health Communication from Emerson College in Boston.
Sharon Floramo
Following 15 years of service as an administrative assistant at MGH, Ms. Floramo is delighted to have joined the Health Decision Sciences Center as part of a dual role in the General Medicine Division. She plays an integral role in the distribution of decision aids.
