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Daniel E. Hall, MD, MDiv, MHSc
Daniel E. Hall, MD, MDiv, MHSc, a surgeon with the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System (VAPHS) and an investigator with HSR’s Center for Health Equity Research & Promotion (CHERP), has received the prestigious 2023 Under Secretary’s Award for Outstanding Achievement in Health Services Research — the highest honor for a VA health services researcher. The award recognizes exceptional investigators who:
Dr. Hall is a former HSR Career Development Awardee whose accomplishments include the development, with colleagues, of the Surgical Pause initiative, which received the 2023 John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Award in the National Innovation in Patient Safety and Quality category. This honor is jointly awarded by The Joint Commission and the National Quality Forum, and constitutes their highest award for patient safety and quality. The Surgical Pause, which received Gold Status from VA’s Diffusion of Excellence in 2019, facilitates assessment of surgical frailty by screening Veterans before surgery using a 14-item Risk Analysis Index (RAI) and national computerized patient record system (CPRS) template developed by Dr. Hall and colleagues. The Surgical Pause screens for frailty in approximately 30 seconds, reliably identifying Veterans who are at high risk of post-operative complications, loss of independence, and mortality. The “pause” enables further evaluation and optimization of treatment plans.
Initial experience with the Surgical Pause at the Omaha VA Medical Center reduced six-month mortality of Veterans determined to be surgically frail from 25% to 8%. The results have been replicated at multiple medical centers as the practice was implemented across VA. Further analysis of more than 50,000 patients in a non-VA setting found that one-year mortality declined from 20% to 16%, an absolute reduction of 4%. With support from VHA’s National Surgery Office, Geriatrics and Extended Care, and the Diffusion of Excellence, the Surgical Pause has been implemented at more than 50 VA medical centers and in a growing number of private sector institutions. Based on this success and enthusiasm from the field, the National Surgery Office adopted the Surgical Pause program earlier this year, with Dr. Hall continuing to provide leadership as Medical Director. In addition, Dr. Hall is the Principal Investigator of two HSR studies on frailty and prediction of postoperative loss of independence, which will lead to continued improvement of the Surgical Pause. He is also multi-PI on a QUERI project that is evaluating Surgical Pause implementation within VISN 4.
Dr. Hall joined VAPHS as a practicing general surgeon and core investigator at CHERP in 2007. His clinical practice and research are informed by his training as a surgeon and as an ordained priest of the Episcopal Church. In addition to the measurement and mitigation of surgical frailty, Dr. Hall’s research interests include the long-term loss of independence after surgery, quality improvement, shared decision making, medical ethics, and development of reliable healthcare delivery systems that support the whole person.
Dr. Hall serves as a formal mentor to a multitude of students — undergraduate, medical school, graduate, and medical residents — and is an informal mentor to colleagues within and outside VHA. Under his guidance, virtually all of his mentees have contributed to peer-reviewed publications, and many have advanced to become independent Principal Investigators. He has further amplified the impact of his work by successfully translating his work from VHA to non-VHA healthcare systems and providers at the local, national, and international levels.
“Throughout his service at VA, . . . Dr. Hall has modeled the integrity, commitment, advocacy, respect, and excellence that the VA seeks in its workforce. His work reflects an unwavering commitment to real-world impact at the bedside.”—Walid Gellad, MD, MPH, Associate Chief of Staff for R&D, VAPHS; Ali Sonel, MD, Chief of Staff, VAPHS; and Donald Koenig, Executive Director, VAPHS.
HSR is pleased to present Dr. Hall with this prestigious award and joins his colleagues and the HSR community in celebrating his achievements.
