Blake McGee

PhD, Nursing, Emory University (2018)
MPH, Population & Family Health, Columbia University (2007)
BSN, Nursing, Emory University (2013)
BSFS, Middle East Regional Studies, Georgetown University (2003)

Clinical Expertise
Emergency nursing/EMS, ambulatory care, clinical trials, and adult health

Research Interests
I am a former emergency room nurse with a PhD in nursing science and a focus on health policy. My research looks at health policy trade-offs and their effects on patient outcomes and health care costs. My dissertation examined the effects of prescription drug co-pays on treatment adherence, hospital use, and medical costs among Medicare Part D participants with heart failure. Recently, I was awarded an AHA/ASA Young Investigator Seed Grant and an American Nurses Foundation research grant to look at differences in ischemic stroke outcomes among low-income, working-age adults between states that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act and states that did not.

I teach health policy, research methods, and statistics to nursing and other health professions students. I’m also an active member of the Georgia Nurses Association, where I serve on the Legislative Committee, and a member of the board of directors at Urban Health and Wellness, a nonprofit primary care clinic for low-income, uninsured adults.

Selected Publications

1. Derington, C., King, J., Bryant, K., McGee, B., Moran, A. Weintraub, W., … Bress, A. (in press). Cost-effectiveness and challenges of implementing intensive blood pressure goals and team-based care. Current Hypertension Reports.
2. McGee, B., Phillips, V., Higgins, M., & Butler, J. (2019). Prescription drug spending and medication adherence among Medicare beneficiaries with heart failure. Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy, 25, 705-13. PMID: 31134861.
3. Baker, H., & McGee, B. (2017). Pre-college programs: An innovative way to introduce nursing to college-bound students. Journal of Nursing Education, 56, 316. PMID: 28467564
4. Culyba, R., McGee, B., & Weyer, D. (2011). Changing HIV clinical knowledge and skill in context: The impact of longitudinal training in the southeast United States. Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, 22, 128-39.

Selected Presentations

1. McGee, B., Parikh, R., & Phillips, V. (2019). Heart failure prescription drug spending and medical costs in Medicare Part D. American Heart Association Scientific Sessions, Philadelphia, PA.
2. McGee, B. (2019). Prescription drug spending and hospital use among Medicare beneficiaries with heart failure. AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting, Washington, DC.
3. McGee, B. (2018). Prescription drug spending and medication adherence in heart failure. Paper presented at Georgia Nursing Leadership Coalition Doctoral Symposium, Atlanta, GA.
4. Baker, H., & McGee, B. (2017). Introducing global health nursing to university-bound students: A case study. Poster presented at Sigma Theta Tau International Research Congress, Dublin, Ireland.
5. McGee, B. (2015). Does medication cost sharing predict emergency room use for asthma? Poster presented at AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting, Minneapolis, MN.
6. Donovan, M., McGee, B., Heath, A., Hitron, E., … & Gary, R. (2014). Posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms following acute myocardial infarction as a predictor of future health outcomes. Poster presented at Southern Nursing Research Society annual conference, San Antonio, TX.

Funding
The Impact of State Decisions about the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid Expansion on Acute Ischemic Stroke Severity, Outcomes, and Rehabilitation Use. Principal Investigator. American Heart Association/American Stroke Association Young Investigator Database Research Seed Grant. Awarded $1,500 plus analysis support from the Duke Clinical Research Institute (10/2019–09/2020).

Medicaid Coverage Expansion and 30-day Readmission after Acute Ischemic Stroke. Principal Investigator. American Nurses Foundation Anne Zimmerman Research Endowment Fund. Awarded $4,950 (09/2019–08/2020).

Memberships
American Heart Association
Sigma Theta Tau
AcademyHealth
Georgia Nurses Association
American Nurses Association
ISPOR

Service
Board of Directors, Urban Health and Wellness
Legislative Committee and Chapter Advisor, Georgia Nurses Association

Awards and Honors
AcademyHealth Alice S. Hersh Scholarship alternate, 2017
Georgia Nursing Leadership Coalition Health Policy Scholarship, 2015
Sigma Theta Tau International Rising Star of Scholarship and Research, 2015
Fuld Fellowship for Leadership and Social Responsibility in Nursing, 2012