Health Economic and Aging Research (H.E.A.R) Institute | MedStar Health

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Advancing the standard of care for aging adults and their family caregivers

The Health Economics Aging Research (H.E.A.R.) Institute at MedStar Health's mission is to develop best practices for geriatric care by pioneering innovations in health economics and aging research. The HEAR Institute focuses on cognitive health, chronic illness, home-based care, and the caregiving workforce as high-priority research areas.

Health disparities, economics, and translating evidence into practice are at the center of all HEAR Institute research activities, and we strive to make forward-looking contributions to science, practice, and policy while keeping patients’ goals at the forefront of all activity. 

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Current research topics

  • Cognitive Health: With increasing longevity, cognitive impairment is projected to increase significantly over the next few decades, affecting individuals, families, and programs that provide care and services for people living with dementia. We examine efforts to optimize healthcare delivery and improve safety, medication management and education for people living with dementia, as well as study the impact of regulatory and economic incentives for this patient population and their caregivers.
  • Aging and Chronic Illness: Older adults are disproportionately impacted by chronic conditions. Nearly 95% have at least one chronic condition and 80% have two or more, which increases risk of hospitalization, polypharmacy, and death. Our work examines ways to improve health-related quality of life for older adults experiencing one, or multiple chronic conditions within the context of aging and the cumulative advantages and disadvantages that create inequities in care, treatment, and survivorship.
  • Home-preferred Care: Market projections predict that all forms of health care at home are going to increase, from early detection and prevention to end-of-life care. Amidst this shift, there is an enhanced responsibility and opportunity to optimize care transitions from hospital to home and to ensure that the proper infrastructure (e.g., built environment, caregiver support, technology) is in place to support patients who prefer to ‘age in place’ in their home and community environment.
  • The Caregiving Workforce: The nation’s aging population has fueled a continuing growth in demand for formal caregivers (physicians, nurses, social workers) and has also place significant burden on informal caregivers (family members, friends) who care for older adults in the context of physical and cognitive decline. Our research in this space includes the study of strategies and tools to formally integrate caregivers into healthcare delivery and care decisions.

We examine these topics with a special interest in the following areas:

  • Translation: To maximize the impact of research, it is critical to prioritize the translation of knowledge into clinical and community settings. The need for translational research will continue to grow as the healthcare ecosystem evolves to meet the needs of an increasingly older patient population.
  • Disparities: Health disparities are driven by social, cultural, behavioral, biological, and economic factors. It is critical for the HEAR Institute to engage in actively understanding the broad and complex factors that influence health disparities related to aging. We do this through partnership with the MHRI Center for Health Equity Research.
  • Health Economics: The economic implications of caring for a growing population of older adults are complex and multifaceted. While both health economics and outcomes research can be performed in isolation, the synergy of combining the right data (outcomes research) with thoughtful (health) economic analyses based on multiple stakeholder perspectives ensures that complex healthcare questions can be evaluated.

Infographic showing MedStar Health's Health Economics and Aging Research Institute's research cores.

Our Clinical Partners

Using an interdisciplinary approach, our team works alongside clinical departments across MedStar Health including:

  • The Center for Successful Aging
    The Center for Successful Aging addresses the unique needs of people ages 65 and older who experience multiple medical conditions, geriatric syndromes, and the social needs related to aging. It offers seniors the convenience of a single location for comprehensive, coordinated care of chronic and complex conditions.
  • Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center
    Georgetown University Medical Center's Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center combines cutting-edge research, expert patient care, quality education, and community partnerships to prevent, treat, and cure cancer. It is Washington's only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, serving as the research engine for MedStar Health, Georgetown University's clinical partner.
  • Palliative Care
    Palliative care is specialized team care for people living with a serious illness. This type of care focuses on providing relief from the symptoms and stress of a serious illness. The goal is to improve the patient’s and family’s quality of life.
  • Collaborative Care Program
    Collaborative Care at MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital combines personalized primary and specialty care, all managed by a core medical team of specialists. The care is coordinated in partnership with a patient’s primary care provider.
  • Care Transformation Organization
    Our organization is proud to participate as a Care Transformation Organization (CTO) in the Maryland Primary Care Program (MDPCP). In partnership with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI), the Maryland Primary Care Program strives to improve primary care services for Medicare beneficiaries.

Research and scientific leadership