Faculty
William E. Lafferty
Affiliate Professor
I believe that there are enormous opportunities to improve health. Most are based on ameliorating social problems such as poverty, racism, and violence. The greatest value from medical practice will come when all people have equal access to high quality preventive care.
MD
University of Kansas, 1978
Medicine
Medicine
BA
University of Kansas, 1975
Microbiology
Microbiology
Hicklin Endowed Chair,
Office for Health Services and Public Health Outcomes Research
University of Missouri-Kansas City, School of Medicine,
Department of Informatics
Department of Health Services Program Affiliations:
- Health Care and Population Health Research Track, (MPH program)
William Lafferty is the former director of the Health Care and Population Health Research Track (2000-2008). Dr. Lafferty is a specialist in Internal Medicine and did his fellowship at the UW Division of Infectious Diseases. He works on projects that seek to balance cost, access, and quality of health care in new areas of public interest such as Complementary and Alternative Medicine. From 1985-1993, he was office director for the Washington State HIV/AIDS epidemiology office. From 1993-1996, he was Medical Director of the Broadway STD Clinic for the Seattle-King County Department of Public Health.
Contact Information
Department of Informatics, University of Missouri-Kansas City1000 E 24th ST (5E-101)
Kansas City, MO 64108-2776
(voice) 816-235-1074 (fax) 816-404-5014
billlaf@u.washington.edu
Research Interests
Factors that affect health expenditures and health care utilization; demographic disparities in medical care; and complementary and alternative medicine.
Projects
Insurance Financing of Integrative Medicine (2001 - 2008)
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine RO1 ATOD 891-01. To measure the extent to which 1995 legislation requiring coverage of every category of health care provider has increased the integration of CAM into conventional health care financing.
A Randomized Trial of CAM at the End of Life (2003 - 2007)
Principal Investigator for a randomized trial of Complementary and Alternative Medicine at the End-of-Life. The project was funded by NIH and NCI for $1,869,511.
Use of Complementary and Alternative Medical (CAM) Providers by Cancer Patients (2005 - 2008)
This study is a collaboration with the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
External Funding (sampling of current and past involvement)
Naturopathic Physician Research Education Project -subcontract
Bastyr UniversityPI: Schneeweiss Dates: 07/2006 - 06/2010
The main goal of this project is to enhance the knowledge of Naturopathic faculty and students about the medical scientific research methods in order to be better able to evaluate the medical literature using an evidence based medicine approach.
Use of Complementary and Alternative Medical (CAM) Providers by Cancer Patients
National Institutes of HealthPI: Lafferty Dates: 09/2005 - 09/2009
This project will define the relationship between cancer patients, complementary and alternative medical practitioners, and conventional providers in the care for patients with cancer.
Competitive Continuation of Insurance Financing of Integrated Medicine
National Center for Complementary and Alternative MedicinePI: Lafferty Dates: 09/2005 - 05/2009
This study will measure the extent to which the legislation requiring coverage of every category of healthcare provider has increased the integration of CAM use for specific conditions for which CAM use has proven efficacy.
A Randomized Trial of CAM Comfort at the End of Life
National Institutes of HealthPI: Lafferty Dates: 09/2003 - 08/2008
The long-term goal of this project is to improve the quality of patient dying and death by the appropriate use of complementary medicine (CAM).
Race and Herbal Medications among Medicare Recipients
National Institutes of HealthPI: Lafferty Dates: 09/2004 - 08/2005
The purpose of this study is to perform a secondary analysis of survey data from the Cardiovascular Health Study that have been collected from approximately 6,000 Medicare recipients.
Insurance Financing of Integrated Medicine
National Center for Complementary and Alternative MedicinePI: Lafferty Dates: 09/2001 - 05/2005
The proposed study will use claims data from the two largest insurance plans in WA to describe the economics of CAM integration under the state model, to identify predictors of CAM utilization and cost, to investigate whether CAM is used more frequently as a complement to or an alternative for traditional care, and to locate patient groups whose healthcare costs might decrease by substituting CAM for traditional services.
Medicaid Cost Data
WA StatePI: Lafferty Dates: 07/2000 - 06/2001
The goal of this study is to determine whether case management of certain Medicaid populations result in cost savings to the Medical Assistance Administration without unacceptable consequences to the patient or provider.
Evaluation of STD Clinics
Tacoma-Pierce County Health Dept.PI: Lafferty Dates: 07/1997 - 12/1997
Evaluating existing services of STD Clinics in Tacoma - Pierce Co. and services to former clients Supplement of $2000 awarded 12/97.
Selected Publications
Lafferty WE, Coombs RW, Beneditti J, Critchlow C, Corey L: Recurrences afer Oral and Genital Herpes Simplex Virus Infection: Influence of Anatomic Site and Viral Type, New England Journal of Medicine, 1987;316:1444-8.
Lafferty WE, Hopkins SG, Honey J, Harwell JD, Shoemaker PC, Kobayashi JM: Hospital Charges for People with AIDS in Washington State: Utilization of a Statewide Hospital Discharge Data Base, American Journal of Public Health, 1988;78:949-952.
Lafferty WE Downey L, Cleum C., and Wald A. Genital HSV-1 as a Cause of Genital Herpes: Impact on Surveillance and Prevention, Journal of Infectious Disease, 2000;181(4) 1454-7.
Lafferty WE, Tyree PT, Bellas AS, Watts CA, Lind BK, Sherman KJ, Cherkin DC, Grembowski DE. Insurance Coverage and Subsequent Utilization of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Providers. The American Journal of Managed Care. 2006;12(7):397-404
Selected Dissertation, Thesis and Capstone Committees (recent graduates)
2009
Chair, dissertation committee for Maile Taualii
Assessing the relationship between race, reported health, and access to health services
2008
Member, thesis committee for Karthik Balakrishnan
Measuring baseline disease burden and predicting treatment outcomes using composite indices of sleep apnea severity
2007
Chair, thesis committee for Irene Rosen
Young Military Women's Knowledge about Chlamydia a nd the Most Prevalent Sexual Risk-Taking Behaviors within This Population
2006
Chair, thesis committee for Victoria Hughes
Self identification of a mental health concern as a subsequent predictor of a mental health diagnosis
2006
Chair, thesis committee for Pamela Kohler
Inclusion of birth control teaching in formal sexual education: Implications for abstinence-only-policy
2006
Chair, thesis committee for Ian Maki
For better or for worse: Societal health and same-sex marriage bans
2006
Chair, thesis committee for Julie Richards
HSV-2 serologic testing in an HMO population: Acceptance and psychosocial sequelae
2005
Chair, dissertation committee for Bonnie Lind
The use of complementary and alternative medicine under insurance coverage in Washington State
2005
Member, thesis committee for Robert Oh
Fish oil for Secondary Prevention Of Cardiovascular disease: A Survey of Knowledge, Attitudes and Practice of Washington State Family Physicians
