Improving Tobacco Cessation with Adult Inpatient Psychiatric Clients

For the past 13 years, Dr. Ortiz has been the Principal Biostatistician at NRI. She serves as the expert in statistical matters and leads the research agenda for the Behavioral Healthcare Performance Measurement System a surveillance system comprised of data submitted by inpatient psychiatric hospitals participating in common measures of quality of care. She provides statistical expertise on statistical methods and data analysis. She currently develops study protocols and implements research projects related to the Inpatient Consumer Survey, to the smoking policies and practices in state psychiatric hospitals, about mortality among mentally ill patients, about forensic populations, and research projects using data from The Joint Commission Hospital Based Inpatient Psychiatric Services (HBIPS) core measure set and from the CMS Inpatient Psychiatric Facility Quality Reporting (IPFQR) program for performance and quality improvement. Currently she leads a mixed-methods study about the prescription of antipsychotic medications among children and youth served by the public mental health systems in the US. She recently completed a study about the mortality status of individuals with mental illness and substance use disorders served by the Michigan Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Administration. During the summer 2021, she will implement a study about the factors associated with the uptake of the influenza vaccination among people with mental illness receiving psychiatric services in inpatient hospitals. Prior to joining NRI, she served as the lead statistician in a randomized control trial testing the effectiveness of a cognitive behavioral therapy aimed at reducing the onset of major depression symptoms among pregnant immigrant women. She also provided consultation on sampling matters.

Missy adds to the diversity of the NRI team by bringing her clinical expertise as a Licensed Professional Counselor and Certified Substance Abuse Counselor in Virginia with experience in the private and public arenas. In addition, she brings 30 years as a trainer focusing on improving clinical skills and facilitating implementation of evidence-based practices in the service of adolescents, adults, and families. Her passion is to collaborate with families and systems to enable the person living with a mental health condition to benefit from treatment so that life can be experienced with purpose, meaning, and joy. Missy is the Clinical Quality Educator for NRI using data to leverage resources in quality improvement efforts for in-patient psychiatric facilities.

Over 20 years of applied experience in program management, human services program evaluation, performance measure development and evaluation, data analysis, and database management. Dr. Schacht directs the performance measurement system that all state hospitals use to meet the ORYX® requirement of The Joint Commission and Inpatient Psychiatric Facility Quality Reporting program of CMS, was a pivotal member of the inter-organizational team for the HBIPS core measure set, and led the development of the NRI’s Inpatient Consumer Survey and its analysis. She is proficient in statistical applications, report writing, and providing educational instruction via webinars on data quality, quality improvement, and using data to inform practice and policy. She has conducted numerous program evaluation studies for the State of Vermont, multi-state initiatives, and special population studies. She has written technical papers, published in peer-reviewed journals, and presented at national conferences. She has served on the Technical Advisory Panel for The Joint Commission for HBIPS measures and the Technical Expert Panel for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for IPFQR measures.