Biostatistician Kirbee Johnston joins the Center for Health Systems Effectiveness

Johnston joins the CHSE team to support Medicaid research evaluating Substance Use Disorder.

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The Center for Health Systems Effectiveness welcomes new biostatistician Kirbee Johnston, whose work will support our NIH R01-funded project which uses TAF data to examine how CMS Substance Use Disorder (SUD) waiver designs might impact outcomes for Opioid users on a national scale.

Johnston spent several years at the Oregon State University College of Pharmacy where she supported OSU faculty and provided statistical analyses on Medicaid and Medicare claims, Prescription Drug Monitoring Program fills, and Treatment Episode Data. A seasoned researcher, her work has been published in multiple high-impact journals including JAMA and Health Affairs, among others. 

Her interest in public health began as a college freshman, and after a stint teaching English in Austria she decided to pursue her dream of working in healthcare by enrolling in the OHSU-PSU School of Public Health to pursue her Master of Public Health in biostatistics.

In her off hours, Johnston enjoys spending time with her husband and her cat, tending her chickens and honing her skills playing the kalimba, an instrument in the lamellophone family based on the Mbira which are traditional to the Shona people of Zimbabwe.

About the Center for Health Systems Effectiveness

The Center for Health Systems Effectiveness researches health care service delivery with the aim of improving the value and sustainability of the U.S. healthcare system.

To learn more about the CHSE, visit us on the web or email us at CHSE-info@ohsu.edu.