General Internal Medicine Research : University of Vermont

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Department of Medicine

General Internal Medicine Research

Bio for Benjamin Littenberg

Benjamin Littenberg

Henry and Carleen Tufo Professor of Medicine
Professor of Nursing

Contact Information

E-mail: Benjamin.Littenberg@uvm.edu
Office Location: Medicine- Gen. Internal Medicine, Given Courtyard S459

Education

1979 Bachelor of Arts in Economics, magna cum laude, Western Reserve College, Cleveland, Ohio
1983 Doctor of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio

Academic Interests

Methodologies for Technology Assessment
Clinical Technology Assessment
Quality Improvement and Patient Safety

Research Interests

Methodologies for Technology Assessment
Clinical trials
Assessment of comorbidity
Meta-analytic methods for analysis of non-traditional data (diagnostic assessment data, non-randomized data, uncontrolled data)
Assessing patients' preferences - novel assessment instruments
Decision analysis
Clinical Technology Assessment
Hyperactive airways - asthma and cough
Common problems in Primary Care
Diagnostic tests
Quality Improvement and Patient Safety
Breast cancer
Diabetes
Epidemiology and reporting of error

Academic Appointments

1986-89 Clinical Instructor and Physician Specialist, Department of Medicine, Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, California
1989-1994 Assistant Professor of Medicine, Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, New Hampshire
1994-1999 Associate Professor of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
1999-present Henry and Carleen Tufo Professor of Medicine and Director of General Internal Medicine, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, Vermont

Research Grants

2K30 RR022260 (Littenberg) 6/1/05-5/30/13, National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) $873,762. This grant supports developing a curriculum in clinical research at the University of Vermont to effectively and efficiently transform clinicians and other young academics into successful independent clinical investigators.

1R24 HS019462 (Miller) 8/1/10-7/31/12 Agency for Health Research and Quality (AHRQ) Consultant. $963,121. This project establishes a national network of primary care patient centered medical homes with integrated behavioral and psychological services. The goal is to determine the determinants of high quality care in such settings.

R01 HL083067 (Yusen) 1/1/06-12/31/10 Consultant. National Institutes of Health (NHLBI) $1,262,250. The goal of this project is to assess the effectiveness of lung transplantation in patients with COPD in the new donor lung allocation system.

K24 DK068380 (Littenberg) PI 7/1/04-6/30/09 $789,660. National Institutes of Health (NIDDK). This career development award supports the investigation of barriers to optimum care for patients with diabetes and the mentoring of research fellows and other junior colleagues.

R01 DK61167 (Littenberg) PI 9/1/03-8/31/07 $2,031,287 National Institutes of Health (NIDDK).
The project implemented and evaluated a regional system to support evidence-based disease management by primary care providers, their practices, and their patients in the community. The primary study question was: "What is the effect of a Diabetes Information System (including education, feedback and decision support) upon disease control measured by glycated hemoglobin?" Secondary questions addressed the effect of the system upon adherence to guideline recommendation, blood pressure, patient satisfaction, medication use, costs, and functional status. Evaluation included a prospective randomized trial in 7,400 patients across the region.

Awards and Honors

1975-1979 Western Reserve College Presidential Scholarship
1986 Howard S. Levine, M.D. Science Award for research, University of Connecticut Affiliated Residency Programs
1986 Ludwig J. Pyrtek, M.D. Award for research, Hartford Hospital
1989 Fellow of the American College of Physicians
1989 Society of General Internal Medicine Associates Member Prize for outstanding scientific presentation
1991-1994 American College of Physicians George Morris Piersol Teaching and Research Scholarship
1998 Quality Care Research Award, The Academic Medicine and Managed Care Forum

Publications

Littenberg B, MacLean CD, Zygarowski K, Drapola B, Duncan J, Frank C. The Vermedx Diabetes Information System Reduces health Care Utilization. Am J Managed Care 2009 15:166-170.

Dunagan WC, Littenberg B, Ewald GA, Jones CA, Emery VB, Waterman BM, Silverman DS, Rogers JG. Randomized trial of nurse-administered, telephone-based disease management program for patients with heart failure. J Card Fail 2005;11:358-65.

Garbutt JM, Goldstein M, Gellman E, Shannon W, Littenberg B. A randomized placebo-controlled trial of antimicrobial treatment for children with acute sinusitis. Pediatrics. 2001;107:619-625

Littenberg B, Moses LE. Estimating diagnostic accuracy from multiple conflicting reports: A new meta-analytic method. Medical Decision Making 1993;13:313-321

Littenberg B, Gluck EH. A controlled trial of methylprednisolone in the emergency treatment of acute asthma. New England Journal of Medicine 1986;314:150-152.

For a complete listing of Dr. Littenberg's publications, visit PubMed.