Director

CMCD is directed by Dr. John Piette. Dr. Piette is a Professor of Public Health and Internal Medicine, and a Senior Research Scientist in the VA Ann Arbor Center for Clinical Management Research. In addition to his broader role in fostering CMCD’s mission, his research focuses on developing and evaluating novel strategies for using mobile health technology to improve the accessibility and quality of care for patients with chronic illnesses. Much of this work focuses on the use of mHealth monitoring systems in socioeconomically vulnerable populations in the US and low-income countries of Latin America. Dr. Piette has been the principal investigator on multiple studies funded by NIH, VA, and AHRQ designed to evaluate disease management services supported by patient-facing health information technologies, such as automated telephone assessment and behavior change calls. He is a frequent speaker throughout the US and internationally on topics including multimorbidity, brief behavioral interventions, telemedicine and mobile health, and chronic illness care for socioeconomically-vulnerable communities.

U-M SPH Faculty Profile: John D. Piette, PhD

Founder

CMCD was established by Dr. Noreen Clark, former Dean of the University of Michigan School of Public Health. Dr. Clark directed the Center until her passing in 2013. The following words represent Dr. Clark’s vision for CMCD and her passion for helping the most vulnerable members of our world live successfully with chronic illnesses:

Over one half of the population worldwide lives with chronic conditions, and the burden and cost of chronic illness are staggering. The Center’s work aims at broadening our understanding and widening the societal lens regarding the problem of chronic disease. Our premise is that disease prevention and control must be centered on the person living with chronic illness, but this has too often been ignored.  

CMCD’s task is to support these true care managers – individuals diagnosed with chronic diseases and their families – so that they can be more effective in their efforts. We also seek to foster the essential support from others—clinicians, health systems, and community organizations—that are crucial to chronic illness prevention and care. Health professionals need to be effective partners guiding, coaching, and promoting independence. Communities need to surround those managing chronic disease with understanding and informed assistance. To be successful, we need to build solutions that are both “high tech” as well as “high touch” with compassion and understanding of the preferences, goals, and constraints of people who will use them. 

Important problems inspire action, and many people have been inspired to act in support of CMCD’s work. An impressive array of faculty and staff from across the University of Michigan and the world collaborate on our projects. 

Unfortunately, the numbers indicate that some time, somewhere you or someone you care about will face the challenge of managing a chronic illness. If that happens, we hope the work of CMCD will be of help to you and the people you love.

Noreen M. Clark, Ph.D, Founding Director and former Dean, U-M School of Public Health