Dr. Nathan works to improve the value of surgical care for patients and payers. His health services research portfolio focuses on variation in the cost and quality of surgical care, and he seeks to identify strategies to improve outcomes and control costs. He received a K08 career development award from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and is a co-investigator on two National Institutes of Health (NIH) R01 grants, all focused on evaluating the impact of Medicare payment policy innovations on the costs and quality of surgical care. Recently, his work has shifted on leveraging the assets of hospital systems to optimize surgical care. Dr. Nathan was awarded the 2018 Joan L. and Julius H. Jacobson II Promising Investigator Award by the American College of Surgeons in recognition of his past work and anticipated future contributions.
Dr. Nathan is heavily involved in national and regional efforts to improve the value of healthcare services. He is the Director of the Michigan Value Collaborative, a coalition of 87 Michigan hospitals focused on achieving the best possible outcomes at the lowest reasonable cost for patients in Michigan. He is the Co-Chair of the Cancer Steering Committee for the Michigan Surgical Quality Collaborative (MSQC) and directs MSQC efforts to standardize pancreatectomy care across the state of Michigan. Finally, he is the Cancer Liaison Physician to Michigan Medicine for the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer.