Congratulations to Deirdre Quinn, PhD, MSc, MLitt, and James Pittman, PhD, LCSW, HSR&D investigators who are among the 10 winners of the 2022 VHA Shark Tank Competition! The Competition identifies innovative field-developed practices that promote positive outcomes and improve experiences for Veterans and VA employees, then facilitates the standardization of those practices across the VA healthcare system.
Deirdre Quinn, PhD, MSc, MLitt
Deirdre Quinn, PhD, MSc, MLitt, is a health services researcher and career development awardee with HSR&D’s Center for Health Equity Research & Promotion (CHERP) in Pittsburgh, PA. Her winning “Contraception on Demand” project, which has its roots in research across multiple sites, expands contraceptive access for women Veterans by enabling them to request contraception through clinical pharmacists, and by increasing the dispensing limit of contraception to cover up to 12 months. Ensuring that all Veterans have access to contraception is more important than ever now that safe and legal abortion to end unwanted pregnancy is restricted in many states.
James Pittman, PhD, LCSW
James Pittman, PhD, LCSW, is associate director of the Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health Clinical Research Unit at the VA San Diego Healthcare System. His winning project, “e-Screening—Making the Most of Appointments,” was selected as a “Diffusion of Excellence Director’s Pick.” E-screening allows Veterans to submit health data remotely and at their convenience, which enables clinicians to be prepared at the time of the appointment with critical documentation needs completed so that face-to-face time with patients can be maximized and 100% of the appointment time can be spent addressing Veterans’ clinical needs. Dr. Pittman’s work was also featured in a 2018 HSR&D podcast.
