Biography
I am an Associate Professor at Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine and Health Economist at VA Boston Healthcare System. My research spans multiple areas: a) disparities in healthcare access and outcomes, b) health reform, c) health outcomes evaluation, and d) comparative and cost effectiveness.
I have many years of investigator experience studying the role of uninsurance, out-of-pocket costs and limited health literacy in understanding racial/ethnic disparities in healthcare utilization and outcomes, with recent applications to acute stroke, joint replacement and HPV vaccination.
Current research covers: a) impact of Massachusetts health reform on access to care, b) national estimates in inpatient disparities for Hispanics, c) disparities in access to ED care, and d) sensitivity of veterans demand for VA care to external (non-VA) local and regional conditions. Other topics of current research include, disparities in adoption of HPV vaccination, joint replacement procedure use, comparative effectiveness of high vs. low intensity VTE prophylaxis agents, and modeling the impact of low health literacy on health outcomes.
I also have extensive experience in the use of large observations data (clinical, administrative and survey), and expertise in the application of advanced statistical and econometric methods. My research has been funded by NIH, AHRQ and VA.