Karen E. Lasser MD, MPH

Professor, General Internal Medicine

Professor, Community Health Sciences

801 Massachusetts Ave | (617) 414-6688
karen.lasser@bmc.org
klasser@bu.edu

Sections

General Internal Medicine

Centers

Clinical Addiction Research and Education Unit

Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research

Biography

Dr. Lasser is a primary care internist, certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine, and a health services researcher. She is a Deputy Editor at JAMA.

Her primary areas of expertise and research are quality of care, interventions to reduce health inequities, health policy, smoking cessation, and primary care practice-based research.

She is the author of over 100 peer-reviewed publications, was the former Director of Ambulatory Quality Improvement for the Department of Medicine at Cambridge Health Alliance/Harvard Medical School, and has held several quality leadership roles at Boston Medical Center. Her research has been supported by NIDA, NHLBI, AHRQ, CDC, and the American Cancer Society. Her essays have been published in Pulse and the British Medical Journal.

Other Positions

Websites

BU Profile

CARE Unit Faculty

School of Public Health Faculty

Boston Medical Center Provider Profile

ResearchGate

Google Scholar

Education

Medicine, MD, Cornell University Medical College

Clinical Evaluation/Research, MPH, Harvard School of Public Health

History, AB, Harvard University

Publications

Published on 10/1/2026

Thompson KD, Sabharwal M, Lasser KE, McCloskey L, Gordon SH, Nguyen K, Patton E, Cole MB. Postpartum Linkage to Primary Care Among Patients With Diabetes and Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy Following Medicaid ACO Implementation. Med Care. 2026 Oct 01. PMID: 42820376.

PubMed

Published on 8/27/2026

Ogden SN, Loo S, Cole MB, Thompson KD, Lim KN, Gordon SH, Ncube CN, Patton EW, Lasser KE, McCloskey L. How Medicaid Accountable Care Organizations Advance Maternal Health Care Quality: Drivers of Change and Challenges From the Perspective of ACO Leaders, Clinicians, and Care Coordinators. Milbank Q. 2026 Aug 27. PMID: 42661241.

PubMed

Published on 8/18/2026

Greenland P, Lasser KE. New Dyslipidemia Guidelines Lower the Lipid Treatment Goals and Raise the Bar for Clinical Practice. JAMA. 2026 Aug 18; 336(7):549-550. PMID: 42475090.

PubMed

Published on 10/1/2025

Cole MB, Lim K, Nguyen KH, Gordon SH, McCloskey L, Ncube C, Patton E, Michals A, Sisson E, Lasser KE. Medicaid Accountable Care Model Designs and Maternal Health Measures. JAMA Netw Open. 2025 Oct 01; 8(10):e2536565. PMID: 41060648.

PubMed

Published on 9/3/2024

Piper ME, Stein JH, Lasser KE. E-Cigarette Use in Adults. JAMA. 2024 Sep 03; 332(9):751-752. PMID: 39110470.

PubMed

Published on 9/1/2024

Cole MB, Kim J, Gordon SH, Lasser KE, Ncube C, Patton E, Deen N, Carey K, Cabral H, Goldman AL, Ogden S, McCloskey L. Massachusetts Medicaid ACO Program May Have Improved Care Use And Quality For Pregnant And Postpartum Enrollees. Health Aff (Millwood). 2024 Sep; 43(9):1209-1218. PMID: 39226509.

PubMed

Published on 5/1/2024

Law AC, Bosch NA, Song Y, Tale A, Lasser KE, Walkey AJ. In-Hospital vs 30-Day Sepsis Mortality at US Safety-Net and Non-Safety-Net Hospitals. JAMA Netw Open. 2024 May 01; 7(5):e2412873. PMID: 38819826.

PubMed

Published on 4/5/2024

Andriola C, Ellis RP, Siracuse JJ, Hoagland A, Kuo TC, Hsu HE, Walkey A, Lasser KE, Ash AS. A Novel Machine Learning Algorithm for Creating Risk-Adjusted Payment Formulas. JAMA Health Forum. 2024 Apr 05; 5(4):e240625. PMID: 38639980.

PubMed

Published on 2/10/2024

Cole MB, Strackman BW, Lasser KE, Lin MY, Paasche-Orlow MK, Hanchate AD. Medicaid Expansion and Preventable Emergency Department Use by Race/Ethnicity. Am J Prev Med. 2024 Jun; 66(6):989-998. PMID: 38342480.

PubMed

Published on 1/16/2024

Taylor JL, Lasser KE. Intranasal Naloxone for Opioid Overdose. JAMA. 2024 Jan 16; 331(3):250-251. PMID: 38127361.

PubMed

View full list of 110 publications.