May Lab

Quality Improvement

The Melvin & Bren Simon Gastroenterology Quality Improvement Program was established in 2014. The program designs, implements, and monitors quality improvement initiatives at UCLA Health to improve patient experience and health outcomes for digestive disease patients. Dr. May is director of the program and the Melvin & Bren Simon Gastroenterology Quality Improvement Fellowship.

GI QI Projects Diagram

We lead the UCLA Health Colorectal Cancer workgroup in collaboration with the UCLA Department of Medicine Quality Program. This workgroup was established in September 2018 as part of a system-wide effort to improve colon cancer screening rates at the 47 UCLA Health clinics.

Dr. May is also part of the leadership for the Value-Based Care Research Consortium, a multidisciplinary collaboration of investigators dedicated to measuring and reducing low-value care at UCLA Health. Our five pillars of care for quality improvement at UCLA health are colorectal cancer screening, follow-up of abnormal screening, value based care, liver disease, and inflammatory bowel disease.

Dr. May directs the Melvin & Bren Simon Gastroenterology Quality Improvement Fellowship, designed to provide comprehensive education in quality improvement and assurance principles for individuals who have completed an ACGME accredited internal medicine residency program or a graduate-level program and are interested in pursuing a career in quality improvement.

Learn more about quality improvement in digestive diseases at UCLA Health.

Publications - Full List of May Lab Publications Here

  1. Goshgarian G, Sorourdi C, May FP, Vangala S, Meshkat S, Roh L, Han MA, Croymans DM. Effect of Patient Portal Messaging Before Mailing Fecal Immunochemical Test Kit on Colorectal Cancer Screening Rates: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2022 Feb 1;5(2):e2146863. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.46863. PMID: 35119462; PMCID: PMC8817202
  2. Peterson E, May FP, Kachikian O, Soroudi C, Naini B, Kang Y, Myint A, Guyant G, Elmore J, Bastani R, Maehara C, Hsu W. Automated identification and assignment of colonoscopy surveillance recommendations for individuals with colorectal polyps. Gastrointest Endosc. 2021 Nov;94(5):978-987. doi: 10.1016/j.gie.2021.05.036. Epub 2021 Jun 1. PMID: 34087201
  3. Soroudi C, Mafi J, Myint A, Gardner J, Kahlon S, Mongare M, Yang L, Tseng CH, Reynolds C, Nair V, Villaflores C, Cates R, Gupta R, Sarkisian C, May FP. Leveraging Electronic Health Records to Measure Low-Value Screening Colonoscopy. Am J Med. 2022 Jun;135(6):715-720.e2. doi: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2021.12.008. Epub 2022 Feb 25. PMID: 35219690
  4. Kardashian A, Patel AA, Aby ES, Cusumano VT, Soroudi C, Winters AC, Wu E, Beah P, Delshad S, Kim N, Yang L, May FP. Identifying Quality Gaps in Preventive Care for Outpatients With Cirrhosis Within a Large, Academic Health Care System. Hepatol Commun. 2020 Sep 9;4(12):1802-1811. doi: 10.1002/hep4.1594. PMID: 33305151; PMCID: PMC7706302
  5. Mafi JN, May FP, Kahn KL, Chong M, Corona E, Yang L, Mongare MM, Nair V, Reynolds C, Gupta R, Damberg CL, Esrailian E, Sarkisian C. Low-Value Proton Pump Inhibitor Prescriptions Among Older Adults at a Large Academic Health System. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2019 Sep 5;. doi: 10.1111/jgs.16117. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 31486549
  6. Yu C, Skootsky S, Grossman M, Garner OB, Betlachin A, Esrailian E, Hommes DW, May FP. A Multi-Level Fit-Based Quality Improvement Initiative to Improve Colorectal Cancer Screening in a Managed Care Population. Clin Transl Gastroenterol. 2018 Sep 4;9(8):177. doi: 10.1038/s41424-018-0046-z. PMID: 30177700
  7. May FP, Yu C, Kaunitz J. High quality of cancer care in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Am J Cancer Res. 2018 Apr 1;8(4):761-762. eCollection 2018 April 1;8(4):761-762. PMID: 29736320
  8. May FP, Gupta S. When Should Screening Stop for Elderly Individuals at Average and Increased Risk for Colorectal Cancer? Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2018 Feb;16(2):178-180.e1. doi: 10.1016/j.cgh.2017.11.009. Epub 2017 Nov 10. PMID: 29133256