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Duška M. Franić

BPharm, PharmD, MS, PhD

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, VALUE EVIDENCE

Chapel Hill, NC

Welcoming and accepting change allows you to develop and adapt to whatever life throws at you. Delta, the fourth Greek letter is the alphabet, reminds me that research, clinical practice, and life are all about change. My career started in pharmacy practice in one continent, and with a passion to make a broader impact, evolved to health outcomes research in another to capture the patient’s voice. Consistent with the AESARA ethos, the ultimate goal of research is to positively impact patient lives, a process that will be in constant change.

BIOGRAPHY​

Duška M Franić, PharmD, MS, PhD, is an Executive Director at AESARA’s Evidence Institute. Duška is a pharmacist and health outcomes researcher. She has 7 years of clinical experience across two health care systems in the US and Australia. Duška has a track record of over 20 years of research experience in clinical outcome assessments (COAs), including psychometric and preference-based methods, mixed-methods approaches to instrument development, in addition to patient reported outcome (PRO) psychometric validation. She has co-authored over 140 peer-reviewed publications, book chapters, and presentations, served on editorial boards for various peer-reviewed journals, and is a member of the PhRMA Foundation’s Health Outcomes Research Advisory Committee. Prior to joining AESARA, Duška was a tenured faculty member at a Research 1 University for over two decades and then joined a consulting firm specializing in COAs in 2021.

Key Achievements

Member, PhRMA Foundation Health Outcomes Advisory Committee. 

Deep expertise of US and Australian health care systems and clinical practice

Editorship/editorial board membership: International Journal of Pharmaceutical Care and Health, Current Medical Research and Opinion, Clinical Therapeutics, Journal of the American Pharmaceutical Association

Regular manuscript reviewer since 1995 for the following peer review journals: American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, Clinical Therapeutics, Current Medical Research and Opinion, Folia Phoniatrica et Logopaedica, Journal of Medical Economics, Journal of the American Pharmaceutical Association, Journal of Pharmaceutical Marketing and Management Medical Care, Medical Decision Making, Pharmacoeconomics, NEJM, Quality of Life Research, Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy, Social Science and Medicine, and Value in Health.

Regular review for ISPOR poster, podium and workshops, and ISOQOL research abstracts. A faculty chapter advisor for ISPOR (2004 – 2021) and AMCP (2015 – 2021)

Grant /proposal reviewer for various organizations (e.g., Georgia CTSA, AACP, PhRMA Foundation)

Over 140 published peer reviewed publications, 5 book chapters in HEOR, and presented at numerous congresses, predominantly international.

 

Key Publications

  • Gadson DS, Shisler-Marshall R, Franic DM. Psychometric evaluation of condition-specific instruments used to assess health-related quality of life and related constructs in aphasia Aphasiology 2020;34(12): 1506-1534. DOI: 10.1080/02687038.2020.1787731
  • Franic DM, Seagraves B, Huston S, Corso P. Community attitudes towards colon cancer screening in the US: A national survey. Value in Health 2019; 22(S2):S180. DOI: 10.1016/j.jval.2019.04.782
  • Kangethe A, Franic DM, Corso P. Comparing the validity of the payment card and structured haggling willingness to pay methods: The case of a diabetes prevention program in rural Kenya Social Science and Medicine 2016;169:86-96. DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.09.018
  • Franic DM, Snapp C, DeBusk R. Newly developed functional medicine program in diabetes: impact on clinical and patient reported outcomes – functional medicine and quality of life. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2012,12(Supp 1):18:P250. DOI: 10.1186/1472-6882-12-S1-P250
  • Franic DM, Snapp C, DeBusk R, Krishnamoorthy, N. Construct validity of two commonly used functional medicine instruments: Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire and Medical Symptoms Questionnaire. Quality of Life Research 2012;21(Suppl 1):91. DOI: 10.1007/s11136-012-0248-x
  • Kangethe AW, Franic DM, Corso P, Southwood R. Cost-benefit analysis of a diabetes prevention program in rural Kenya. Value in Health 2012;15(4):A179. DOI:10.1016/j.jval.2012.03.970
  • Kangethe AW, Franic DM. Value of a diabetes prevention program in rural Kenya: comparing payment card and structured haggling willingness to pay methods. Value in Health 2012;15(4):A185. DOI: 10.1016/j.jval.2012.03.1002
  • Franic DM, Bothe A, Bramlett R. Assessment of respondent acceptability for preference measures in stuttering. Journal of Communication Disorders 2012, 45(12):378-389. DOI: 10.1016/j.jcomdis.2012.05.001
  • Franic DM, Bothe A, Bramlett R. A welfare economic approach to measuring outcomes: comparing the willingness to pay and quality adjusted life years. Journal of Fluency Disorders 2012, 37; 300 – 313. DOI: 10.1016/j.jfludis.2012.04.005
  • Kangethe AW, Franic, D. A review and classification of the literature of contingent valuation method studies in sub-Sahara Africa. Value in Health 2011;14(3): A146. DOI: 10.1016/j.jval.2011.02.813
  • Franic D, Vandenberg R, Gafni A. Are health states timeless? A test of the utility independence assumption: comparing a repeated measures design and latent growth modeling. Value in Health 2010;13(3):A4. DOI: 10.1016/S1098-3015(10)72000-3
  • Franic DM, Bothe AK. Psychometric evaluation of condition-specific instruments used to assess health-related quality of life, attitudes, and related constructs in stuttering. American Journal of Speech-Language and Pathology 2008;17:60-80. DOI:10.1044/1058-0360(2008/006)
  • Walthour AE, Franic DM. A comparison of the psychometric properties of health related quality of life instruments used in glioblastoma multiforme patients. Value in Health 2007;10(3):A140. DOI:10.1016/S1098-3015(10)68963-2
  • Williams C, Franic D. Psychometric evaluation of obstructive sleep apnea specific health related quality of life instruments. Value in Health 2007;10(3):A95 DOI:10.1016/S1098-3015(10)68827-4
  • Ramakrishnan S. Franic D. Psychometric evaluation of five migraine health related quality of life instruments. Value in Health 2007;10(3):A93-4. DOI:10.1016/S1098-3015(10)68822-5.
  • Wooten N, Franic DM. Interpretation of risk information in patient information leaflets: a comparison of patients and students. Journal of the American Pharmacists Association 2007;47(2):281.
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Areas of Expertise

  • Health related quality of life (HRQoL)
  • Patient reported outcomes (PROs)
  • Psychometrics
  • Preference and utility assessment
  • Patient Experience Data (PED)
  • Mixed-Methods
  • Systematic literature reviews (SLRs) and gap analyses
  • Project leadership in qualitative and quantitative projects across multiple conditions

Education

  • MS, Pharmaceutical Administration, Ohio State University College of Pharmacy, Columbus, OH
  • BPharm, Victorian College of Pharmacy, Victoria, Australia