Hillary J. Mull, PhD, MPP
Associate Professor, Surgery
Biography
Hillary J. Mull, PhD, MPP, is a Research Investigator with the Center for Healthcare Organization and Implementation Research (CHOIR) at the VA Boston Healthcare System and an Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery at Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine. She works primarily on health care quality measurement and patient safety and is certified in health informatics by the American Medical Informatics Association.
Dr. Mull’s research interests include: adverse event detection, quality and outcomes in surgery, and antimicrobial prophylaxis for surgical site infections. She uses data mining techniques to detect adverse events in understudied areas, including outpatient surgery and invasive non-surgical procedures. Her publications reflect her expertise in adverse event surveillance, statistical modeling, provider interviews and qualitative research methods, and the use of consensus tools to synthesize provider opinion.
She is the lead investigator on a VA HSR&D IIR (equivalent of an NIH R01) project that is developing adverse event surveillance tools for invasive non-surgical procedures. She also collaborates on multiple projects ranging from implementation of a surveillance system for cardiac device complications to developing natural language processing tools to identify PTSD treatment pathways in the VA.
Dr. Mull was awarded a VA VISN 1 Career Development Award (CDA) to examine outpatient surgery followed by a VA Health Services Research and Development (HSRD) CDA in 2014 to develop and validate an adverse event surveillance model for outpatient surgery. As of 2020, this tool has been adapted and implemented for adverse event surveillance in one VA ambulatory surgical center, with plans to deploy nationally.
She earned her PhD in health services research from Boston University School of Public Health, and her Masters in Public Policy from the Gerald Ford School at the University of Michigan.
Other Positions
- VA Boston Healthcare System
Education
- Boston University School of Public Health, PhD
- University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, MPP
- University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, BA
Publications
- Published on 5/1/2023
Reyes Dassum S, Mull HJ, Golenbock S, Lamkin RP, Epshtein I, Shin MH, Strymish JM, Blumenthal KG, Colborn K, Branch-Elliman W. A Novel Informatics Tool to Detect Periprocedural Antibiotic Allergy Adverse Events for Near Real-time Surveillance to Support Audit and Feedback. JAMA Netw Open. 2023 May 01; 6(5):e2313964. PMID: 37195660.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 3/1/2023
Shanahan J, Vimalananda VG, Graham L, Schumann R, Mull HJ. Association Between Preoperative Diabetes Control and Postoperative Adverse Events Among Veterans Health Administration Patients With Diabetes Who Underwent Elective Ambulatory Hernia Surgery. JAMA Netw Open. 2023 Mar 01; 6(3):e236318. PMID: 37000453.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 2/25/2023
Bart N, Mull HJ, Higgins M, Sturgeon D, Hederstedt K, Lamkin R, Sullivan B, Branch-Elliman W, Foster M. Development of a Periprocedure Trigger for Outpatient Interventional Radiology Procedures in the Veterans Health Administration. J Patient Saf. 2023 Apr 01; 19(3):185-192. PMID: 36849447.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 2/21/2023
Higgins MCSS, Seren A, Foster MV, Sturgeon DJ, Bart N, Hederstedt K, Friefeld A, Lamkin RP, Sullivan BA, Branch-Elliman W, Mull HJ. Arteriovenous Graft Failure in the Veterans Health Administration: Outcome Disparities Associated with Race. Radiology. 2023 May; 307(3):e220619. PMID: 36809217.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 12/25/2022
Mull HJ, Kabdiyeva A, Ndugga N, Gordon SH, Garrido MM, Pizer SD. What is the role of selection bias in quality comparisons between the Veterans Health Administration and community care? Example of elective hernia surgery. Health Serv Res. 2023 Jun; 58(3):654-662. PMID: 36477645.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 9/2/2022
Kalver E, Branch-Elliman W, Stolzmann K, Wachterman M, Shin MH, Schweizer ML, Mull HJ. Prevalence of One-Year Mortality after Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator Placement: An Opportunity for Palliative Care? J Palliat Med. 2023 Feb; 26(2):175-181. PMID: 36067080.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 4/25/2022
Branch-Elliman W, Elwy AR, Lamkin RL, Shin M, Engle RL, Colborn K, Rove J, Pendergast J, Hederstedt K, Hawn M, Mull HJ. Assessing the sustainability of compliance with surgical site infection prophylaxis after discontinuation of mandatory active reporting: study protocol. Implement Sci Commun. 2022 Apr 25; 3(1):47. PMID: 35468871.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 4/21/2022
Bovin MJ, Resnik J, Linsky AM, Stolzmann K, Mull HJ, Schnurr PP, Post EP, Pleasants EA, Miller CJ. Does screening for PTSD lead to VA mental health care? Identifying the spectrum of initial VA screening actions. Psychol Serv. 2023 Aug; 20(3):525-532. PMID: 35446094.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 1/29/2022
Branch-Elliman W, Lamkin R, Shin M, Mull HJ, Epshtein I, Golenbock S, Schweizer ML, Colborn K, Rove J, Strymish JM, Drekonja D, Rodriguez-Barradas MC, Xu TH, Elwy AR. Promoting de-implementation of inappropriate antimicrobial use in cardiac device procedures by expanding audit and feedback: protocol for hybrid III type effectiveness/implementation quasi-experimental study. Implement Sci. 2022 01 29; 17(1):12. PMID: 35093104.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 8/1/2021
Wong ES, Done N, Zhao M, Woolley AB, Prentice JC, Mull HJ. Comparing total medical expenditure between patients receiving direct oral anticoagulants vs warfarin for the treatment of atrial fibrillation: evidence from VA-Medicare dual enrollees. J Manag Care Spec Pharm. 2021 Aug; 27(8):1056-1066. PMID: 34337995.
Read at: PubMed
View 54 more publications: View full profile at BUMC