Research
Our Research Domains
The Health Systems Infrastructure Lab studies the core structures that shape how people move through coverage, benefits, and care. Our work focuses on four domains that influence how systems function at scale.
Eligibility Structures ▸ We study the arrangements that determine how people enter, remain in, or move across coverage programs. This includes the rules, decision points, and administrative processes that shape continuity and transitions.
Routing Pathways ▸ We examine the pathways that guide how benefits, medications, and services are directed through administrative systems. This work focuses on the patterns that influence access and the conditions that create variation in real outcomes.
System Architecture and Integration ▸ We analyze how organizational structures and technical systems shape coordination, information flow, and the movement of people across programs. This includes understanding how components interact and how system behavior emerges from their arrangement.
Facility Infrastructure and Regulatory Compliance ▸ We examine how physical environment requirements in regulated care settings are assessed, documented, and maintained over time, including the spatial measurement methodologies that make compliance findings reproducible and defensible.
Questions We Study
- How do eligibility structures shape continuity and movement across programs?
- What patterns appear when people transition between systems or experience gaps in support?
- How do routing pathways influence access to medications and services?
- Which structural choices create inconsistent or unreliable outcomes?
- How do administrative arrangements shape system behavior at scale?
- What conditions allow systems to function more clearly, reliably, and predictably?
Our Analytical Approach
We study systems as connected structures rather than isolated processes, examining how their components interact and how design choices influence behavior. Our approach includes:
- Mapping pathways and decision points that guide movement through programs
- Studying variation across states, plans, and delivery arrangements
- Analyzing how rules and administrative processes interact to shape outcomes
- Identifying structural patterns that influence reliability and continuity
- Understanding how system behavior emerges from the arrangement of components
Research Contributions
Our work produces structural insight into how coverage systems behave, where administrative friction emerges, and how upstream infrastructure shapes access long before policy is felt. We develop mappings, system models, and cross‑jurisdictional patterns that clarify the mechanics of access across Medicaid and pharmacy infrastructure. These insights are formalized through ongoing research outputs that document how structure determines who receives care and how.
See our Publications.