Biography
Dr. Olena Mazurenko is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management. She holds a PhD in Health Care Administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, a medical degree in the specialty of Internal Medicine from Ukraine, and completed her Master’s degree in International Health in Germany. Before joining IU, Mazurenko was an Assistant Professor of Health Care Administration and Policy at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Research Interests
I am a physician and a health services researcher interested in understanding what policies and health information technology (HIT) interventions hold the potential to improve pain care, opioid prescribing in particular, for millions of patients with chronic pain. In my policy work, I successfully examined various health policies related to opioid prescribing, including the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid's reimbursement policy tied to patient experience (PI: KL2TR001106). More recently, I led a research team to assess the effects of the 2016 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guideline for prescribing opioids for chronic pain on tapering among patients on long-term opioid therapy. In my HIT-intervention work, I develop decision support tools in electronic health records to aid clinicians in caring for patients with chronic pain (co-PI: R33 NIDA). I am also involved in developing predictive modeling tools to address health disparities in acute care settings (co-I; AHRQ). Finally, I have collaborated on studies to understand physician decision-making processes when caring for patients with chronic pain. Specifically, I examined how primary care physicians decide to initiate, continue, and taper patients from LTOT.
I am also interested in consumerism in health care, mainly through the High-Deductible Health Plans. Finally, Dr. Mazurenko also examines Medicaid expansion following the Affordable Care Act. Her research has appeared in Health Affairs, Health Care Management Review, and others.
Courses Taught
Dr. Mazurenko has taught courses in human resource management, global health, strategic management and introduction to health care system at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Current Projects
- Nudging primary care providers toward guideline-recommended opioid prescribing through easier and more convenient EHR information design (02/01/2020-07/01/2022)
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Total funding: $2,223,377
Role: Co-Principal Investigator (PI: Dr. Harle)
- Opioid use, substance use disorders, and opioid overdose outcomes after traumatic injury in adolescents. (01/01/2018-12/31/2021) Indiana University Grand Challenges Phase 1
Total funding: $527,206
Role: Principal Investigator
- Predictive modeling for social needs in emergency department settings (5/1/2021-3/31/2026)
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
Total funding: $1,990,281
Role: Co-Investigator (PI: Dr. Vest)
