Health Care Management Program

Background

Dr. Sakowski is an Associate Professor in Health Care Management at Appalachian State University. She has over 20 years-experience teaching health administration and business students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. In addition, Dr. Sakowski has significant industry and managerial experience. She was a senior health services researcher at Sutter Health, a 26-hospital integrated health care system based in California. There, she led teams to implement and evaluate innovative programs and support health services research across the system.

Dr. Sakowski’s research focus is health care delivery process improvement and the value of process redesign. Her work spans two domains: estimating the costs of complex health services delivery activities that span multiple departments and the implementation, optimization and outcomes of health services delivery innovations. Recent work includes the implementation and use of various health information technologies such as Bar Code Medication Administration systems and electronic health records. She has authored and coauthored numerous publications and presentations in this area, including recent national presentations. Her interest in process improvement is also applied to innovations in health management education, such as her recent work exploring an alternative approach for leadership and professionalism development in the health administration curriculum. Dr. Sakowski’s current research agenda examines the causes and impact of variation in health care delivery practices.

Education

• Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship, University of California San Francisco
• PhD, Economics, The University of Houston
• MA, Economics, The University of Houston
• BS, Management with a concentration in Finance, Case Western Reserve University

Current Courses Being Taught

• HCM 3570 Principles of Financial Management for Health Care
• HCM 4570 Health Services Financial Management
• HCM 5770 Financial Management for Health Organizations I
• HCM 5775 Financial Management for Health Organizations II

Professional Affiliations / Organizations

• AcademyHealth
• American Society of Health Economists
• Association of University Programs in Health Administration
• Healthcare Financial Management Association

Research Interests

Dr. Sakowski’s research focuses on determining the value of health care delivery processes in real world settings by examining the adoption of health care delivery practices and how the implementation of innovations impact costs and outcomes.

Selected Publications

• J. Sakowski, P. Song; “The Extent Hospital Organizational Factors Influence Inpatient Care Delivery: A Case Study Looking at Knee and Hip Replacement Surgery”; Health Services Insights; July 2022
• J. Sakowski, A.Hewitt, N. Johri, S. Wagner; “Implementing an Incremental Approach for Developing Leadership and Professionalism Skills Among Early Careerists in the Health Administration Curriculum”; Journal of Health Administration Education; Spring 2020
• K. Phillips, J. Sakowski, J. Trosman, M. Douglas, S.Y. Liang, P. Neumann; “The Economic Value of Personalized Medicine Tests: What We Know and What We Need to Know”; Genetics in Medicine; Nov. 2013
• J. Sakowski, A. Ketchel; “The Cost of Using a Bar Code Medication Administration Solution to Prevent Medication Errors in the Community Hospital Setting”; The American Journal of Managed Care; Feb. 2013
• J. Sakowski, L. Hooper, T. Holton, A. Brody; “Partners Advancing Clinical Excellence: Building Professional Councils for Quality Improvement at 6 Community Hospitals”; Creative Nursing; Nov. 2012
• T. Schiro, J. Sakowski, R. Romanelli, T. Jukes, J. Newman, A. Hudnut, T. Leonard; “Improving Adherence to Best-Practice Guidelines for Venous Thromboembolism Risk Assessment”; American Journal of Health-Systems Pharmacy; November 15, 2011
• J. Sakowski, J. Kahn, R. Kronick, J. Newman, H. Luft; “Peering into the Black Box: Billing and Insurance Activities in a Medical Group”; Health Affairs; July/August, 2009