Deborah Miller, PhD

Deborah M. Miller, PhD, LISW, is member of the Professional Staff at the Mellen Center for Multiple Sclerosis Treatment and Research of Cleveland Clinic and is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University. She also has a joint appointment in the Cleveland Clinic Department of Quantitative Health Sciences, Section of Clinical Outcomes. She is a Master's-prepared social worker. Her PhD is from the Case Western Reserve University School of Applied Social Sciences, with an emphasis in program development and evaluation. She has been a member of the Mellen Center's interdisciplinary-care team since 1985.

Her practice interests focus on marital and family adjustment to the consequences of multiple sclerosis (MS), and she has lectured nationally on these subjects. Her research interests focus on health services research. Most recently she was Co-investigator and Site Principal Investigator for the NINDS to develop Neuro-QOL, a health related quality of life assessment tool for adults and children with common neurological condition. She was also a member of the four-member international research team that developed and validated the MS-specific quality-of-life measure, the Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life Inventory (MSQLI). She has participated in Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) assessment in several pharmacy-sponsored clinical trials that used the MSQLI. She lead a 23-member counsel that developed 5 multiple sclerosis clinical practice guideline.

Dr. Miller led an effort to that developed a telehealth intervention for improving communication between MS patients and their clinicians at the Mellen Center. In 2003 she received an RO1 (PI) grant from the National Institutes of Health's National Library of Medicine (2003-2007) to conduct the investigation "Using the Internet to Improve Patients' Self-Management of Chronic Illness." She was co-investigator for a National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS)-funded study to assess the benefit of rehabilitation on recovery after medication treatment for an acute MS exacerbation.

Previously, she was a consultant to Research Triangle Institute on two NMSS-funded studies -- the MS Quality Indicators Project and the MS Adult Day Program Evaluation. She worked with that same organization for the Multiple Sclerosis International Federation-funded project to develop "Principles to Promote Quality of Life for Persons with Multiple Sclerosis."

Dr. Miller has numerous affiliations with the NMSS. She was a 2005 Inductee into the NMSS Health Care Professionals and Researchers Volunteer Hall of Fame. She is Chair of the organization's Client Education Committee and is a Clinical Consultant.

Education & Professional Highlights

Appointed
2010

Education & Fellowships

Graduate School - Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
Social Welfare
Cleveland, OH
1990

Graduate School - Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
MS in Social Administration ~ Social Work Major
Cleveland, OH USA
1980

Undergraduate - John Carroll University
Philosophy
University Heights, OH USA
1975

Specialty Interests

Family Adjustment To Chronic Illness, Multiple Sclerosis

Awards & Honors

National Multiple Sclerosis Society Health Care Professionals and Researchers Volunteer Hall of Fame, 2005.

Research & Publications

See publications for Deborah Miller, PhD.

(Disclaimer: This search is powered by PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. PubMed is a third-party website with no affiliation with Cleveland Clinic.)

Industry Relationships

Cleveland Clinic physicians and scientists may collaborate with the pharmaceutical or medical device industries to help develop medical breakthroughs or provide medical expertise or education. Cleveland Clinic strives to make scientific advances that will benefit patient care and support outside relationships that promise public benefit. In order for the discoveries of Cleveland Clinic physicians' and scientists' laboratories and investigations to benefit the public, these discoveries must be commercialized in partnership with industry. As experts in their fields, Cleveland Clinic physicians and scientists are often sought after by industry to consult, provide expertise and education.

To assure professional and commercial integrity in such matters, Cleveland Clinic maintains a program that reviews these collaborations and, when appropriate, puts measures in place to minimize bias that may result from ties to industry. Cleveland Clinic publicly discloses the names of companies when (i) its physicians/scientists receive $5,000 or more per year (or, in rare cases, equity or stock options) for speaking and consulting, (ii) its physicians/scientists serve as a fiduciary, (iii) its physicians/scientists receive or have the right to receive royalties or (iv) its physicians/ scientists hold any equity interest for the physician's/scientist's role as inventor, discoverer, developer, founder or consultant.* In publicly disclosing this information, Cleveland Clinic tries to provide information as accurately as possible about its physicians' and scientists' connections with industry.

As of 7/31/2023, Dr. Miller has reported the financial relationships with the companies listed below. In general, patients should feel free to contact their doctor about any of the relationships and how the relationships are overseen by Cleveland Clinic. To learn more about Cleveland Clinic's policies on collaborations with industry and innovation management, go to our Integrity in Innovation page.

Royalty Payments. Dr. Miller receives or has the right to receive royalty payments for inventions or discoveries commercialized through the companies shown below:

Biogen Idec, Inc.
Qr8 Health, Inc.

Public Health Service-Reportable Financial Conflicts of Interest. Cleveland Clinic scientists and physicians engage in basic, translational and clinical research activities, working to solve health problems, enhance patient care and improve quality of life for patients. Interactions with industry are essential to bringing the researchers' discoveries to the public, but can present the potential for conflicts of interest related to their research activities. Click here to view a listing of instances where Cleveland Clinic has identified a Public Health Service (PHS)-Reportable Financial Conflict of Interest and has put measures in place to ensure that, to the extent possible, the design, conduct and reporting of the research is free from bias.

* Cleveland Clinic physicians and scientists subscribe to the guidance presented in the PhRMA Code on Interactions with Healthcare Professionals and the AdvaMed Code of Ethics on Interactions with Health Care Professionals. As such, gifts of substantial value are generally prohibited.

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