Dan France, PhD, MPH

Research Professor
Anesthesiology, Medicine, Biomedical Engineering
Phone
(615) 322-1407
Fax
(615) 936-7373

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FOCUS: Healthcare system modeling

Dr. France is a Research Professor of Anesthesiology, Medicine and Biomedical Engineering at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. He is the Assistant Director of Vanderbilt’s Center for Improving Patient Safety, and a past member of the Executive Safety Council and Risk Management and Patient Safety Committee. Dr. France earned a doctorate in Biomedical Engineering from Vanderbilt University and a Master of Public Health from the University of Utah. He has also received advanced training in Healthcare Delivery Improvement from Intermountain Health Care in Salt Lake City, Utah. Prior to joining Vanderbilt, Dr. France worked as a systems engineer for the Department of Defense and private defense contractors. His professional focus is in health systems engineering and his primary research aims are to model and explain the relationships between hospital efficiency, provider performance, and patient safety. Dr. France is particularly interested in applying knowledge from other high-risk industries and methods from human factors and systems engineering to study and improve operational efficiency and individual and team performance in complex, high-risk clinical environments. He has active grant support from the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundations, Department of Homeland Security, and Veteran’s Health Administration

Education & Training

BS – University of Louisville
MS – University of Louisville
PhD – Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University
MPH – University of Utah

Research Information

Select Journal Articles
  1. Levin S, Harley E, Fackler J, Lehmann CU, Custer J, France, DJ, Zeger S. Real-time forecasting of patient length-of-stay using computerized provider orders. Critical Care Medicine. 2012 Nov; 11(40):3058-3064. PMID: 22824935.
  2. Whitney GM, Woods MC, France DJ, Austin TM, Deegan RJ, Paroskie A, Baker C, Booth GS, Young PP, Dmochowski RR, Sandberg WV, Pilla MA. Reducing intraoperative red blood cell unit wastage in a large academic medical center. Transfusion. 2015 May; 2015 Nov; 11(55):2752-8. PMID: 26202213.
  3. France DJ, Levin S, Hemphill R, Han J, Russ S, Aronsky D, Weinger MB. Factors influencing time-dependent quality indicators for suspected acute coronary syndrome patients in the emergency department. Journal of Patient Safety. January 2016. [Epub ahead of print]
  4. Bucher BT, Duggan EM, Grubb PH, France DJ, Lally KP, Blakely ML. Does American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) Pediatric provide actionable quality improvement data for surgical neonates? Journal of Pediatric Surgery. 2016 Sep;51(9):1440-4. doi: 10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2016.02.084. Epub 2016 Mar 10.
  5. France DJ, Hashim NW, Salomon R, Meggs J, Wilkes DM. Acoustic measures of speech as predictors of depression severity. Journal of Voice. 2017 Mar;31(2):256.e1-256.e6. doi: 10.1016/j.jvoice.2016.06.006. Epub 2016 Jul 26.
  6. France DJ, Slayton J, Moore S, Domenico H, Matthews J, Steaban RL, Choma N. Implementation and evaluation of a multicomponent fall prevention strategy. Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety. 2017 Sep;43(9):460-470. doi: 10.1016/j.jcjq.2017.04.006. Epub 2017 Jul 13.
  7. Maitre NL, Stark AR, McCoy Menser CC, Chorna OD, France DJ, Key AF, Wilkens K, Moore-Clingenpeel M, Wilkes DM, Bruehl S. Cry presence and amplitude do not reflect cortical processing of painful stimuli in newborns with distinct responses to touch or cold. Archives of Disease in Childhood Fetal and Neonatal Ed. 2017, May 12. pii: fetalneonatal-2016-312279. doi: 10.1136/archdischild-2016-312279.
  8. Laker L, Barg-Walkow L, France DJ, Froehle C, Goldlust E, Hoot N, Kasaie P, Lyons M, Torabi E, Wears R, Ward M. Understanding Emergency Care Delivery through Computer Simulation Modeling. Acad Emerg 2018 Feb;25(2):116-127. doi: 10.1111/acem.13272. Epub 2017 Sep 21. PMID:28796433.
  9. Miller A, Aswani A, Zhou M, Weinger M, Slagle J, France DJ. Using telephone call rates and nurse to patient ratios as indicators of resilient performance under high patient flows. Cognition, Technology, & Work. Accepted May 14, 2018.
  10. Hatch LD, Rivard M, Bolton J, Sala C, Araya W, Markham MH, France DJ, Grubb PH. Employing Strategies to Detect Outbreaks in Patient Safety: A Case Study with Unplanned Extubations. The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety. Accepted August 2018.
  11. France DJ, Slagle J, Schremp E, Moroz S, Hatch LD , Grubb P , Lorinc A , Lehmann CU , Robinson J, Crankshaw M, Sullivan M, Newman T, Wallace T, Weinger MB, Blakely, M. Impact of patient handover structure on neonatal perioperative safety. J. of Perinatology. Vol. 39, ePub 17 January 2019.
Recent Presentations
  1. Weinger MB, Slagle J, Kuntz A, Banerjee A, Schildcrout J, Mercaldo N, France DJ, Speroff T., Bills J, Wallston K. Improving actual handover behavior with a simulation-based training intervention. Human Factors and Ergonomic Society 54th Annual Meeting, Sept-Oct, 2010.
  2. France DJ, Anders S. Using Asset Tracking to Study Operating Room Work-Arounds to Blood Delivery and Their Unintended Consequences ASA, Chicago, IL., October 2011.
  3. France DJ, Levin S, Hemphill R, Han J, Russ S, Aronsky D, Weinger MB. Factors Influencing Time-dependent Quality Indicators for Suspected Acute Coronary Syndrome Patients in the Emergency Department. AHA, Quality of care and Outcomes Research, Washington, DC, May 12-14, 2011.
  4. Poon SJ, Mainthia R, Lockney DT, Zotov A, France DJ. Implementation of an Electronic Checklist System in the Operating Room Increases Surgical Team Compliance with Pre-incision Safety Practices. IHI International Forum on Quality and Safety in Healthcare. Amsterdam. April 5-8, 2011.
  5. Burgess H, France DJ, Englebright J, Ely W, Greevy R, Weinger MB, Talbot TR, Wall R, Deshpande JK, Williams MV, Speroff, T. Testing Improvement Strategies in the Critical Care Microsystem for Healthcare Associated Infections (HAI) Prevention in a Large Health System. Microsystems in healthcare - a scientific perspective. March 2, 2011. Qutlturum, Sweden.
  6. Levin SR, Sauer L, Kelen G, Kirsch T, France DJ, Workload and Situational Awareness in the Emergency Department. IIE Society of Health Systems Annual Conference, Orlando, FL, February 2011.
  7. France DJ, Levin SR, Sanders N, Patel N, Michaels D, Higgins SM, Human Factors Analysis of a Wireless Clinical Information System for the Operating Room. IIE Society of Health Systems Annual Conference , Orlando, FL, February 2011.
  8. St Jacques P, France DJ. Integration of an Interactive Stepwise Presurgical Checklist into an Electronic Perioperative Documentation Suite. Society for Technology in Anesthesia (STA) Annual Meeting. Las Vegas, NV. January 2011.
  9. Anders S, France DJ, Zotov A, Weinger MB, Booker R, Miller A. Usability Testing of Blood Verification Products Using Simulated Hospital Environments. Society for Simulation in Healthcare, New Orleans, LA, January 2011.
  10. Ray Booker, France DJ. Society for Simulation in Healthcare. New Orleans, Louisiana. 2011 Jan. Usability testing of blood verification products using simulated hospital environments.
  11. Paul St. Jacques, France DJ. Society for Technology in Anesthesia (STA) Annual Meeting. Las Vegas, Nevada. 2011 Jan. Integration of an Interactive Stepwise Presurgical Checklist into an Electronic Perioperative Documentation Suite.
  12. Scott Levin, France DJ. IIE Society of Health Systems Annual Meeting. Orlando, Florida. 2011 Feb. Workload and Situational Awareness in the Emergency Department.
  13. Dan France. IIE Society of Health Systems Annual Meeting. Orlando, Florida. 2011 Feb. Human Factors Analysis of a Wireless Clinical Information System for the Operating Room.
  14. Hayley Burgess (HCA), France DJ. Microsystems in healthcare: A scientific perspective. Qutlturum, Sweden. 2011 Mar. Testing Improvement Strategies in the Critical Care Microsystem for Healthcare Associated Infections (HAI) Prevention in a Large Health System.
  15. France DJ. Quality of care and outcomes research. American Heart Association; Washington, Dist. Of Col. 2011 May. Factors Influencing Time-dependent Quality Indicators for Suspected Acute Coronary Syndrome Patients in the Emergency Department.
  16. Department of Anesthesiology Annual Research Symposium. 2011 May. Usability Analysis of Positive Patient Identification Systems for Blood Administration.
  17. Baker C, Jaji, B, Woods M, Anders S, France DJ. Using Hospital Clinical Information Systems to Calculate Turnaround Times for Blood Products: A Case Study. IIE Society of Health Systems Annual Conference, Las Vegas, NV, February 2012.
  18. Jaji B, Baker B, Anders S, Leming-Lee S, Wyatt D, France DJ. Evaluating the Timeliness of Tubed Blood and Cooler Blood Deliveries in Operating Rooms. IIE Society of Health Systems Annual Conference, Las Vegas, NV, February 2012.
  19. Lorinc A, Weinger M, Slagle J, France DJ. Handover Tool Participatory Design and Educational Training Intervention to Improve Perioperative Neonatal Safety. 2013 Anesthesiology Research Symposium, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.