Education

• PhD Health Services Research (organizational theory and health economics), Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, Rhode Island
• MBA (health sector management), Fuqua School of Business, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
• BSE (bioengineering) and BS (finance), Jerome Fisher Program in Management & Technology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Faculty Bio

Dr. John McHugh is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health Administration, College of Health Professions. He has taught classes in strategic management and data analytics to MHA students. His research focuses on the ways that organizations respond to changing incentives. He combines organizational theory with health services research methods to better understand organizational changes and how they may affect patient outcomes. His primary area of focus is on transitions of Medicare beneficiaries between hospitals and post-acute providers.

Prior to joining VCU, Dr. McHugh was the faculty director of the management programs in the Department of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. Dr. McHugh holds an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and a PhD from Brown University’s School of Public Health and spent more than 10 years at Navigant Consulting (now GuideHouse) conducting strategy consulting engagements with hospitals and health systems across the country.

Publications

• Cross, DA, Bucy, TI, Rahman, M, McHugh, JP. Access to Preferred Skilled Nursing Facilities: Transitional Care Pathways for Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias. Health Serv Res, 2024 Apr; 59(2):e14263. doi:10.1111/1475-6773.14263. Epub 2023 Dec 25. PMID:38145955; PMCID:PMC10915496
• McHugh JP, Rapp, T, Mor, V, Rahman, Higher hospital referral concentration associated with lower-risk patients in skilled nursing facilities. Health Serv Res, 2021 Oct; 56(5):839-846. doi:10.1111/1475-6773.13654. Epub 2021 Mar 29. PMID:33779987; PMCID:PMC8522567
• McHugh, JP, Zinn, J, Shield, RR, Tyler, DN, Gadbois, E, Soni, S, Mor, V. Strategy and risk sharing in hospital-postacute care integration. Health Care Manage Rev. 2020 Jan/Mar; 45(1):73-82. doi:10.1097/HMR.0000000000000204. PMID:30045098; PMCID:PMC6345608
• McHugh, JP, Foster, AD, Mor, V, Shield, R, Trivedi, AN, Wetle, T, Zinn, JS, Tyler, D. Reducing Hospital Readmissions Through Preferred Networks of Skilled Nursing Facilities. Health Aff (Millwood). 2017 Sep 1; 36(9):1591-1598. doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2017.0211. PMID:28874486; PMCID:PMC5664928
• McHugh, JP, Cross, DA, Flansbaum, B. The Looming Reorganization of Skilled Nursing Facility and Home Health Services – Policy Considerations for a Post-COVID-19 Environment. The Impact of COVID-19 on Post-Acute Care Patients, Providers and Public Policy, Health Care Financing Initiative, McCourt School of Public Policy, Georgetown University. April, 2021. http://hdl.handle/net/10822/1061180
• McHugh, JP, Cross, DA. The application of organizational slack to hospital system responsiveness during the COVID-19 pandemic. J Hosp Manag Policy, 2021. doi:10.21037/jhmhp-21-13
• Van Houtven, C, Miller, K, Gorges, R, Campbell, H, Dawson, W, McHugh, J, et al. (2021). State Policy Responses to COVID-19 in Nursing Homes. Journal of Long-Term Care, (2021), pp. 264–282. doi:10.31389/jltc.81
• McHugh, JP, Shield, RR, Winblad, U, Gadbois, EA, Mor, V, Tyler, DA. Readmission Reduction Strategies for Patients Discharged to Skilled Nursing Facilities: A Case Study From 2 Hospital Systems in 1 City. J Nurs Care Qual. 2021 Jan-Mar 01; 36(1):91-98. doi:10.1097/NCQ.0000000000000459. PMID:31834200; PMCID:PMC7266704
• McHugh, JP, Shay, P, Flansbaum, B. The Critical Role of Hospitalists for Successful Hospital-SNF Integration. J Hosp Med. 2019 Mar, 14(3):192-193. doi:10.12788/jhm.3161. PMID:30811331
• McHugh, JP, Keohane, LM, Grebla, R, Lee, Y, Trivedi, A. Association of daily copayments with use of hospital care among medicare advantage enrollees. BMC Health Serv Res. 2019 Dec 12, 19(1):961. doi:10.1186/s12913-019-4770-1. PMID:31830987; PMCID:PMC6909444