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James H Ford II, PhD, FACHE, LFHIMSS

Associate Professor

Dr. Ford’s research focuses on organizational dissemination, implementation, and sustainability research via mixed methods to expand the use and adoption of evidence-based practices and to improve patient outcomes and quality of care. The goals of his research program are to:

  • Advance the use of dissemination, implementation, and sustainability research in behavioral health, long-term care, and community pharmacies
  • Develop interventions and implementation strategies that promote the sustained use of evidence-based practice and
  • Understand organizational attributes associated with the implementation and sustainability of organizational change.

Dr. Ford was also part of a team of UW researchers who established the Network for the Improvement of Addiction Treatment (www.niatx.net) which taught substance abuse providers to apply quality improvement to improve access to and retention in treatment.  

Dr. Ford received his BS (1983) in Health Systems Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, GA; his MS (1989) in Industrial Engineering from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, TN, and his PhD in Industrial Engineering (2004) from the University of Wisconsin, Madison WI. His dissertation examined how employee participation in and information about organizational change and their perceptions about change self-efficacy and coping skills influenced commitment to and behavior towards change.

Prior to receiving his PhD, he worked for 17 years for the Baptist Healthcare System in Memphis, Tennessee. During that time, Jay led quality improvement projects and participated in strategic planning activities. Dr. Ford has served as a process improvement coach to over 150 substance abuse and mental health providers nationally. In that role, he taught staff how to apply quality improvement tools and techniques to improve access and retention, implement evidence based practices such as medication-assisted treatment and reduce hospital readmissions for individuals with mental health disorders.

Professional Interest: Dissemination, implementation and sustainability of organizational change in behavioral health organizations, assisted living and nursing homes. 

Education:

BS 1983 Health Systems Engineering – Georgia Institute of Technology

MS 1989 – Industrial Engineering with an Engineering Management Focus – University of Tennessee-Knoxville

PhD 2004 – Industrial Engineering – University of Wisconsin

Managing Pharmacy Systems for Patient Care (S&A PHM 514): The goal of this course is to prepare students to successfully develop, evaluate, improve, and sustain pharmacy services in order to advance the profession and improve patient outcomes. Although not all pharmacists will be owners or managers during their careers, every pharmacist will manage people and processes and be responsible for supporting the sustainability of their practice site. The course utilizes an integrated case-based approach to help students apply the operational and financial aspects of pharmacy practice in a retail, community and hospital pharmacy settings. Dr. Ford coordinates the operational course content. This aspect of the course covers such topics as retail and hospital pharmacy operations, service evaluation and planning, quality improvement, the role of systems and technology, patient satisfaction and advertising.

Dissemination, Implementation and Sustainment of Change in Health Services Research (S&A PHM 704): The goal of this graduate level course is to prepare our MS/PhD students in the area of Dissemination and Implementation (D I) and Sustainability health services research. Using his experience as a D I researcher, Dr. Ford structured the course to provide graduate-level students with a base understanding of D I as well as sustainability concepts and principals. Course topics include but are not limited to (a) learning about different D I frameworks, implementation strategies and study designs associated with D I research; (b) understanding of sustainability frameworks and attributes supporting sustainability of organizational change; (c) identifying D I frameworks and implementation strategies for use when conducting D I research; (d) selecting appropriate study designs and outcomes to address a specific implementation or organizational change effort and (e) applying the concepts to the development of D I grant proposals. In summary, this new course is designed to increase awareness, understanding, and knowledge about the importance of how to conduct dissemination, implementation and sustainability health services research.

Highlighted Publications:

Selected Books and Refereed Book Chapters

  • Ford II JH, Gilson A, Mott D. Systematic Analysis of the Service Process and the Legislative and Regulatory Environment for a Pharmacist-Provided Naltrexone Injection Service in Wisconsin. In: Schommer JC, Olson, A.W., ed. Pharmacist Services. Basel, Switzerland: MDPI; 2019:243-261
  • Ford II JH, Hoffman K, Johnson K Ponce-Terashima J. Quality Improvement for Addiction Treatment; Herron A., Eds Principles of Addiction Medicine: The Essentials; Wolters Kluwer; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, (2019)
  • Ford II JH, Hoffman K, Johnson K Ponce-Terashima J. Quality Improvement for Addiction Treatment; Ries R., Fiellin D., Miller S., and Saitz R., Eds Principles of Addiction Medicine, 6th Editio Wolters Kluwer; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Chapter 31 (March 2019)
  • Gustafson, D.H., Johnson, K.A., Capoccia, V., Cotter, F., Ford, J.H., Holloway, D., Lea, D., McCarty, D., Molfenter, T. Owens, B. (2011). The NIATx Model: Process Improvement in Behavioral Health. Madison, WI: Center for Health Enhancement Systems Studies, University of Wisconsin.

Selected Peer Reviewed Publications (For a complete list, please visit my NCBI page)