IHPI’s goals and priorities and its future as an institute are founded upon the substantial accomplishments in health services research and health policy that have distinguished the University of Michigan’s history over the last two centuries. Discover more in this timeline of significant milestones compiled from across the university and IHPI’s local partners.

The Early Years
1850–1956
Founded in 1817, the University of Michigan established various health sciences schools and colleges during its first century, including the Medical School, School of Dentistry, College of Pharmacy, and the roots of the School of Public Health and School of Nursing. In 1869, U-M became the first U.S. university to own and operate its own hospital, and was one of the first major medical schools to teach science-based medicine. Near the end of the 19th Century, research started to become central to the university’s mission, and U-M continues that tradition of excellence to this day.

The origins of the University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is founded in Detroit in 1817. In 1837, the Board of Regents held its first meeting in Ann Arbor and formally accepted the proposal by the town to locate the university there. The first college-level classes were held at U-M in Ann Arbor in 1841.
U-M Medical School opens
The University of Michigan Medical School opened its doors in 1850 and became U-M’s first professional school.
U-M establishes the Department of Physical Culture and Hygiene (predecessor of the School of Kinesiology).

Beginnings of the U-M School of Dentistry
The U-M School of Dentistry is founded as the College of Dental Surgery, making U-M the first state university in the world and the second university in the U.S. to offer education in dentistry. The college was renamed the School of Dentistry in 1927.

Origins of the U-M College of Pharmacy
The U-M School of Pharmacy was established as the School of Pharmacy, becoming the first pharmacy school in a public university. It became a college in 1915.
U-M adopts a policy, soon adopted by many other medical schools, to subscribe to every major medical journal in the world.
Teaching Sanitary Science
The teaching of sanitary science (part of the origins of the modern public health field) begins at U-M.

Training School for Nurses established
The U-M Training School for Nurses is established in response to a growing need for professional nurses, organized and operated under the auspices of the Medical School. It was reorganized as the U-M Hospital Training School in 1912.
U-M awards its first MS in Hygiene
The university awarded this degree to Edna D. Day, who went on to lead the University of Missouri’s Department of Home Economics.
Degrees in Public Health
The curricula for master’s and doctoral degrees in public health are approved by the Board of Regents.
BS in Public Health Nursing
Program leading to the BS in Public Health Nursing is established.
Public Health moves to new graduate division
The Board of Regents highlights the interdisciplinary nature of public health by moving programs from the Medical School to a new Graduate School Division of Hygiene.
Thomas Henry Simpson Memorial Institute for Medical Research is established at U-M.
Fred J. Hodges joins the Medical School as head of roentgenology (radiology). Hodges will pioneer the idea of routine chest x-rays as part of hospital admission, a practice that becomes nearly standard everywhere and is credited with helping detect tuberculosis, heart trouble, and lung cancer.
“The Social and Economic Aspects of Public Health and Medicine”
“The Social and Economic Aspects of Public Health and Medicine,” believed to be first course on medical care organization and financing offered at a U.S. university, is taught at U-M.
The Hollerith punch card system is implemented at University Hospital, recording patient statistical information about diagnosis, treatment, and condition at discharge to facilitate research on various diseases, particularly cancer.
First master of social work degree
U-M offers its first master of social work degree (MSW) through the Institute of Public and Social Administration (later to become the Institute of Social Work in 1946).

Sinai helps develop voluntary health insurance plan
U-M’s Nathan Sinai, a professor of Hygiene and Public Health, develops a voluntary health insurance plan with the Michigan State Medical Society that later becomes a prototype for Blue Shield.
U-M’s nursing program officially recognized
U-M’s nursing program is officially recognized as an independent university teaching unit and the name of the school changes to the University of Michigan School of Nursing.
The Human Heredity Clinic is established to collect data and provide genetic counseling regarding hereditary disease, one of the first human genetics programs in the country connected to a university hospital.
U-M School of Public Health Established
The U-M School of Public Health (SPH) is established by the Board of Regents after 50 years of the teaching of disease prevention and health promotion at the university.
“Public Health Economics and Medical Care Abstracts” published
Public Health Economics and Medical Care Abstracts [which eventually became Medical Care Review (1967) and subsequently Medical Care Research and Review (1995)] is published by the U-M Bureau of Public Health Economics in the School of Public Health [see next].
The National Sanitation Foundation (now NSF International) is founded at SPH as an independent, not-for-profit organization to set standards for the food-service industry.
Regents approve Bureau of Public Health Economics
The Board of Regents approves the Bureau of Public Health Economics within the School of Public Health. Its Medical Care Reference Collection becomes the nation’s primary source of archival information on community aspects of medical care.

Institute for Social Research established at U-M
The Institute for Social Research (ISR), among the world’s largest and oldest academic survey research organizations, and a leader in the development and application of social science methods and education, is established at U-M. ISR’s portfolio of work includes a breadth of research examining the relationships between human health, behavior, and social factors. Rensis Likert, an organizational psychologist and developer of the Likert Scale, served as ISR’s first director (pictured at left with Angus Campbell, ISR’s co-founder and second director).

The origins of the School of Social Work
The U-M School of Social Work, preceded by the U-M Institute of Social Work, is established.
The Ann Arbor Veterans Administration Hospital is dedicated.

Thomas Francis Jr. concludes field trials of Salk polio vaccine
SPH Professor Thomas Francis Jr. concludes the two-year national field trials of the Salk polio vaccine, and on April 12 announces to the world that the vaccine developed by his former student Jonas Salk is “safe, effective, and potent.”

Tecumseh Community Health Study launches
The Tecumseh Community Health Study begins through the efforts of SPH and other U-M faculty, focusing on behavioral, environmental, and family factors associated with cardiovascular disease and other chronic conditions. The study focused on the entire community of Tecumseh, Michigan, rather than a representative sample. The investigators were able to quantify the role of a number of factors involved in the development of coronary heart disease.
Walter McNerney, a professor of Hospital Administration in the School of Business, directs an unprecedented study of costs, reimbursement, utilization, and hospital economics in the state of Michigan, commissioned by the governor. McNerney went on to help design the Medicare and Medicaid programs, and oversaw the merger of Blue Cross and Blue Shield in the late 1970s.

The Formative Years
1960–1985
The 1960s saw the beginnings of significant changes in the American healthcare system. The period was marked by the rapid expansion of social programs, including the establishment of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965, and the concomitant blossoming of social sciences and federal support for this research. HSR came into greater prominence as a field over the next 50 years, helped by various shifts in healthcare financing that incentivized interdisciplinary research on how healthcare was organized, delivered, and paid for.
Axelrod expands SPH program in Medical Care Organization
SPH Professor S.J. “Sy” Axelrod expands the SPH program in Medical Care Organization, which soon takes on a central role in educating administrators for the Social Security Administration, established by Congress in 1965.
The Multi-Organ Transplant Program, the first transplant center in Michigan, is established at U-M.

CRUSK begins at ISR
The Center for Research on the Utilization of Scientific Knowledge (CRUSK) is established at ISR; undertakes a variety of HSR and other research until 1985, when its work was largely absorbed into ISR’s three other research centers.

Donabedian publishes “Evaluating the Quality of Medical Care”
Avedis Donabedian’s landmark article “Evaluating the Quality of Medical Care” is published in the Milbank Quarterly, establishing the widely used structure-process-outcome framework. The papers were commissioned by NIH’s Health Services Research Study Section from carefully selected authors as a means of defining the scope, methods, and standards of the field.
ISR Launches Panel Study of Income Dynamics
ISR launches the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), a national study of socioeconomic factors and health that has led to key inter-generational analyses and a more nuanced understanding of the dynamics of poverty.
The Towsley Center for Continuing Medical Education opens.
Hospital Economics, as well as “The Economic Effects of National Health Insurance,” are published by Sylvester Berki.
Quantitative Techniques for Hospital Planning and Control is published by J.R. Griffith, a professor of Health Management and Policy and Medical Administration.
Future Directions in Health Services Research Conference
U-M hosts conference on “Future Directions in Health Services Research,” organized by the newly formed Health Services Research Group, a cross-campus organization of health services researchers.
HSR group hosts second conference
The U-M HSR Group holds its second conference, which discussed developing a proposal for a health services research center.
Monitoring the Future Study begins
The Monitoring the Future study, which annually surveys approximately 50,000 American young people on behaviors, attitudes, and values, begins under ISR.
U-M establishes Health Services Research Center
U-M establishes the Health Services Research Center, located within the Office of the Vice President for Research, after receiving one of five original awards from the National Center for Health Services Research (a predecessor of the Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality). U-M’s center continued through 1979.
Establishment of U-M Center for Nursing Research
The U-M Center for Nursing Research is established and nursing research becomes central to the mission of the School of Nursing.

Health Services Research Comes of Age
1986-2010
Interdisciplinary collaborations flourish in health services research, as investigators organize themselves and develop new partnerships around pressing questions related to healthcare quality, costs, access, and equity. Beginning in the 1990s, U-M’s own health system developed and implemented innovative health programs with high intensity medical and disease management (first used in pilot insurance products with Ford and General Motors—Partnership Health and ActiveCare), and many of these are still used in UMHS initiatives.

U-M creates M-CARE
In response to the need to contain medical costs, U-M establishes M-CARE, becoming the second university in the U.S. to create its own managed care program. M-CARE also reviewed, facilitated, and supported clinical and health services research activities and provided a rich source of healthcare data for analysis. It was acquired by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan in 2006.
The Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients is established through a contract to Arbor Research by HRSA (AHRQ’s predecessor). The SRTR is an ever expanding national database of transplant statistics that supports ongoing evaluation of the scientific and clinical status of solid organ transplantation.

Warner’s work in tobacco and health
SPH Professor Kenneth Warner serves as senior scientific editor of the 25th anniversary Surgeon General’s report on smoking and health. His Congressional testimony in 1985 helped solidify federal taxation as a smoking disincentive.
The Geriatric Research and Training Center is established at U-M, the first in the U.S., through a grant from the National Institute on Aging.
SPH Professor Avedis Donabedian publishes the Seven Pillars of Quality. The Donabedian Paradigm forms the basis for the statistical model used to rank hospitals and health care facilities.
The U.S. National Nursing Home Resident Assessment Instrument (V 1.0 and 2.0) is implemented.
Health and Retirement Study begins
The Health and Retirement Study begins under the auspices of ISR. It has grown to become the largest and most representative longitudinal panel study of Americans over the age of 50.
SMITREC established
The Serious Mental Illness Treatment Resource and Evaluation Center (SMITREC) is established at the Ann Arbor VA in partnership with the Department of Psychiatry. SMITREC is now co-located with CCMR.

Monto conducts major flu vaccine study
SPH Professor Arnold Monto conducts a major study of the effectiveness of the influenza vaccine in the elderly, the findings from which help convince Medicare policymakers to make the flu vaccine a covered benefit.
U-M KECC formed
The U-M Kidney Epidemiology and Cost Center (KECC), a collaboration of the School of Public Health and the Medical School, is formed with the awarding of the United States Renal Data System contract to the University of Michigan.

First Cohort of Health Policy Research Scholars
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Scholars in Health Policy Research program admits its first cohort at U-M.

VA Health Services Research and Development Center established
The Ann Arbor VA Health Services Research & Development Center of Excellence, a future IHPI local partner, is established; it is now the Center for Clinical Management Research (CCMR).
CHCR established
The Center for Health Communications Research (CHCR) is established at U-M.
The Dialysis Outcomes and Practice Patterns Study (DOPPS) is established by Arbor Research. Now conducted in more than 20 countries, the DOPPS family of studies has illuminated the effects of dialysis practices on a wide range of patient outcomes.

Arbor Research Collaborative for Health is founded
Arbor Research Collaborative for Health, a future IHPI local partner, was founded by U-M researchers as the University Renal Research and Education Association (URREA); it was renamed in 2006 to better reflect the breadth of its efforts to improve patient care and support the development of sound public healthcare policies.
Origins of the U-M Injury Prevention Center
The U-M Injury Prevention Center had its origins as the Injury Research Center (founded within the Department of Emergency Medicine by Ron Maio), which in 2010 merged with the Center for Injury Prevention among Youth (founded by Jean Shope in 2008). The Injury Prevention Center was designated a CDC-funded Injury Control Research Center in 2012.
Launch of first Collaborative Quality Initiative
A group of five hospitals in Michigan – led by U-M cardiologists and supported by the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation and Blue Care Network – launches the Blue Cross Blue Shield Cardiovascular Consortium-Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (BMC2-PCI), an initiative to study variation in angioplasty. This first Collaborative Quality Initiative (CQI) paved the way for more than 20 other BCBSM initiatives, most of them led by U-M medical faculty, to collect, analyze, and share data to improve healthcare processes and outcomes across some of the most common and costly areas of healthcare in Michigan.
CHEAR Unit established
The Child Health Evaluation and Research (CHEAR) Unit is established within the Department of Pediatrics. CHEAR has since grown to include formal representation from 10 U-M schools and colleges, and informal/collaborative links with many other schools and departments.
Michigan Comprehensive Hand Center for Innovation Research (M-CHOIR) established
M-CHOIR, the research arm of the U-M Comprehensive Hand and Upper Extremity Center, conducts a wide array of clinical and health services research.
First Health & Society Scholars cohort
The first cohort begins the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health & Society Scholars program at U-M.
V-BID Center launches
The Center for Value-Based Insurance Design (V-BID), jointly run by SPH and the Medical School, is established at U-M.
Center for Managing Chronic Disease established
The U-M Center for Managing Chronic Disease (CMCD), dedicated to helping people control the effects of chronic illness by conducting research that develops new and better ways to support patients and their caregivers in disease management, is established at U-M.
Master’s of Science in Health and Health Care Research program established
The Master’s of Science in Health and Health Care Research program is established through Rackham Graduate School, originally designed for scholars who were admitted to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars Program at U-M (now the IHPI Clinician Scholars Program). Today, IHPI administers the Master’s program.

Altarum Institute
Altarum Institute, a future IHPI local partner which traces its roots to 1946 with a group of U-M engineering professors, sets its singular strategic focus on health and healthcare.
CanSORT established
The Cancer Surveillance & Outcomes Research Team (CanSORT), an interdisciplinary group of investigators at U-M dedicated to studying cancer quality of care, is established.
Healthy Minds Study launches
The Healthy Minds Study (HMS), an annual survey examining mental health service utilization and related issues among undergraduate and graduate students, launches. HMS, based in the School of Public Health with significant involvement from the Institute for Social Research and the U-M Depression Center, has been fielded at more than 125 college and university campuses across the U.S. and internationally, with over 150,000 survey respondents.

CHRT established
The Center for Healthcare Research & Transformation (CHRT), a future IHPI local partner, is established as a nonprofit partnership between U-M and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, created as part of U-M’s sale of its M-CARE health plan.
CHEAR begins National Poll on Children’s Health
The CHEAR Unit establishes the National Poll on Children’s Health, which measures opinions, perceptions, and priorities regarding major healthcare issues and trends for U.S. children and people in their communities.
Dow Division for Urologic Health Services Research
The Dow Division for Urologic Health Services Research is established within the Department of Urology.

Mathematica opens Ann Arbor office
Mathematica Policy Research, a future IHPI local partner, opens its Ann Arbor office.
The Curtis Center for Health Equity Research and Training is established
Located at the U-M School of Social Work, the Curtis Center for Health Equity Research and Training is dedicated to furthering society’s understanding of social and behavioral health conditions and to improve the lives of marginalized populations.

U-M establishes North Campus Research Complex
U-M acquires the former Pfizer pharmaceutical research campus in Ann Arbor and establishes the North Campus Research Complex (NCRC), IHPI’s future headquarters.
V-BID principles incorporated into ACA
Incorporating research from the U-M Center for Value-Based Insurance Design (V-BID), comprehensive healthcare reform is enacted through the Affordable Care Act, including provisions to authorize health plans nationwide to remove barriers for high-value preventive medical services.
Clinical Database to Support Comparative Effectiveness Studies of Complex Patients, 2005-2010 -AHRQ grant is awarded to College of Pharmacy investigators.
CHOP begins at U-M
The Center for Health Outcomes & Policy (CHOP), a consortium of more than 100 faculty and staff, including clinician scientists, economists, biostatisticians, epidemiologists and other social scientists from the Medical School and School of Public Health, is established at U-M.
CBSSM founded
The Center for Bioethics and Social Sciences in Medicine (CBSSM), supported by the Dean’s Office at the Medical School, the Department of Internal Medicine, the Department of Psychiatry, and the Ann Arbor Veterans Administration Medical Center (Center for Clinical Management Research), is established at U-M.

CHEPS established
The Center for Healthcare Engineering and Patient Safety (CHEPS) is established within the College of Engineering.

Looking Toward the Future
2011 and beyond
The early 21st century has seen previously unprecedented challenges and opportunities for the U.S. healthcare system. Recognizing the tremendous potential for providing a common home for the many rich veins of ongoing research, programs, and partnerships at U-M at a most critical time for healthcare in the U.S., the U-M Regents approved the creation of the Institute for Healthcare Policy & Innovation (IHPI) in 2011. This milestone paralleled the proliferation of large healthcare data sets, a continued focus on healthcare accessibility, safety, affordability, effectiveness, cost-transparency, patient-centered care, and an ever-growing demand for translating health services research to inform public policy.
Master of Health Informatics degree program established
The Master of Health Informatics degree program is established jointly by U-M School of Public Health and School of Information.

IHPI approved by the U-M Board of Regents
The Institute for Healthcare Policy & Innovation is approved by the Board of Regents. The original cohort of faculty members is 318 individuals.
Dialysis payment reforms implemented
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services implement a new dialysis payment system developed by the U-M Kidney Epidemiology and Cost Center (KECC), which leads to a reduction of approximately $225 million per year in Medicare payments for dialysis.

IHPI opens at North Campus Research Complex
Under the leadership of interim Institute Director Rodney Hayward, IHPI opens its administrative headquarters at the North Campus Research Complex.

Ayanian becomes IHPI director
John Z. Ayanian joins U-M as inaugural Director of IHPI. He split his time between U-M and his previous roles at Harvard University’s Medical School and School of Public Health during this first year.
IHPI names first leadership team
The first IHPI Leadership Team is appointed, with 10 senior faculty members from five U-M schools and colleges. Gail Campanella is appointed as IHPI Managing Director.
CODA established
The Center for Clinical Outcomes Development and Application (CODA), whose mission is to achieve excellence in measurement development, selection, and application to improve clinical health research and care, is established at U-M.
U-M KECC is awarded a five-year federal contract, with a sub-contract to Arbor Research collaborators, to serve as the coordinating center for the United States Renal Data System.

Healthy Michigan Plan evaluation
IHPI begins an evaluation of the Healthy Michigan Plan, the state’s expansion of Medicaid, under a multi-year contract with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
Path of Excellence in Health Policy and Economics launched
The Medical School begins offering medical students the choice to pursue a Path of Excellence in Health Policy and Health Economics, in collaboration with IHPI.
IHPI grows to 465 members
IHPI grows to 465 members with more than $500 million in extramural research funding. The Institute establishes a National Advisory Board of top leaders in healthcare and health services research.

IHPI becomes National Clinician Scholars host site
IHPI becomes one of four host sites of the National Clinician Scholars Program, which trains physicians and nurses together to lead policy-relevant research and mobilize partnerships to improve health and healthcare.
Michigan Center for Interprofessional Education is established
The Michigan Center for Interprofessional Education brings together the health science schools on all three U-M campuses to support the advancement of curriculum, culture, faculty development, and research to transform the future of collaborative health practice.
Inaugural IHPI Clinician Scholars Program cohort
In collaboration with the National Clinician Scholars Program, IHPI’s first Clinician Scholars begin their two-year training program on addressing new and emerging issues related to healthcare delivery and improving the health of communities. IHPI’s inaugural CSP cohort includes nurse, physician, and pharmacist researchers.
Michigan Integrated Center for Health Analytics and Medical Prediction (MiCHAMP) is established
MiCHAMP is a multidisciplinary research collaborative harnessing existing national, regional and local healthcare data to develop medical prediction models that address complex clinical problems.
Acute Care Research Unit (ACRU) is established
ACRU represents a group of investigators based at U-M and a number of other institutions researching ways to improve Access, Costs, Utilization, Transitions and Effectiveness through multidisciplinary health services research across the acute care continuum.

Michigan OPEN launches
The Michigan Opioid Prescribing Engagement Network (Michigan OPEN), an initiative to develop a novel preventative approach to the opioid epidemic in the state of Michigan, launches with support from IHPI.
Center for Evaluating Health Reform (CEHR) is established
CEHR is charged with advancing our knowledge of health system reform through improving the process of academic research.
Center for Eye Policy & Innovation (CEPI) is established
CEPI’s work spans many areas of health services research in ophthalmology, collaborating across the U-M and beyond using an interdisciplinary approach to address some of the most pressing issues facing patients and the delivery of eye care.
IHPI launches National Poll on Healthy Aging
IHPI, with sponsorship from AARP and Michigan Medicine, launches the National Poll on Healthy Aging (NPHA). The poll taps into the perspectives of people throughout the U.S. to help inform clinicians, researchers, and policymakers about a range of aging-related topics.
Center for Improving Patient and Population Health (CIPPH) established
CIPPH works to address the most vexing problems faced by patients and vulnerable populations.
IHPI reaches 500 members
IHPI membership grows to 500 faculty across U-M.
The Concussion Center is established at U-M
The Concussion Center conducts multi-disciplinary research to answer crucial questions about concussion prevention, identification, diagnosis, management, and outcomes to advance patient health and support outreach and engagement programs for communities.
Center for Precision Health Data Science established
The Center’s mission is to democratize the use of big data to improve human health by disseminating user-friendly analytic and visualization tools for health researchers aspiring to reduce disease and improve health for the population and the patient.
The Cognitive Health Services Research Program is established
The COG-HSR Program‘s mission is to perform interdisciplinary research, publishing, and training that aims to optimize brain health and impact public policy in order to protect and improve the health and well-being of individuals.
The Pivot Hub is established at U-M
The overarching aim of the Preventing Harms through Discovery and Innovation (Pivot) Hub at the U-M School of Nursing is to revolutionize thinking around preventing healthcare-associated harm through training, collaboration with healthcare systems, and research.
IHPI reaches 600 members
The institute grows from its original cohort of 318 members to 600 and counting. IHPI members hail from 18 U-M schools, colleges, and institutes, span 3 U-M campuses, and represent 20+ specialized health services research centers and programs.
Center for Disability Health and Wellness (UM-CDHW) is established
UM-CDHW develops and applies innovative research, clinical, and educational strategies to address inequities in healthcare access, quality, and outcomes experienced by individuals with physical, sensory and developmental disabilities across the lifespan.
Responding to COVID-19
IHPI researchers and clinicians have played a critical role in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, building models to project virus spread and its impact on populations, developing clinical resources and guidelines for the frontlines of care, and creating data registries to better understand treatment outcomes.

IHPI Turns 10
On May 19, 2021, the Institute marked its first decade of developing, sharing, and implementing evidence and critical insights in healthcare policy and practice. Read more in 10 Years of Collaboration, Evidence, and Impact.
The need for innovation and critical evaluation within healthcare and health policy is at one of its greatest in history. IHPI focuses its vision firmly on the future, with its goals and priorities founded on the vibrant work in health services research that has preceded the institute and continues to thrive with new energy and direction.