Pablo Buitron de la Vega MD, MSc
Assistant Professor, General Internal Medicine
801 Massachusetts Ave | (617) 414-6663pbuitro1@bu.edu

Sections
General Internal Medicine
Centers
Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research
Biography
I am a general internist and preventive medicine physician with a longstanding interest in health care education and the impact of patients’ attitudes, health beliefs and social determinants of health (SDOH). I provide clinical care to a majority of Hispanic patients, an underserved population in healthcare.I am also Program Director of the Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) Preventative Medicine Residency and an Assistant Professor of Medicine. I am the clinical lead for Boston Medical Center THRIVE, a program that systematically screen patients for SDOH and refers them to resources when requested. Additionally, I am passionate about the use of emerging educational technologies, including virtual worlds, virtual reality, and mind mapping, to develop interdisciplinary experiences to teach about health equity and SDOH.
Education
Medicine-Internal, MD, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, 2009
Public Health, MSc, Boston University School of Public Health, 2016
Publications
Buitron de la Vega P, Dimitri N, Araujo Brinkerhoff C, Stern A, Damus K, Miselis H, Garg PS, Sarfaty S, Sprague Martinez L. Virtual Reality Simulated Learning Environments: A Strategy To Teach Interprofessional Students About Social Determinants Of Health. Acad Med. 2022 Jun 14. PMID: 35703204.
Published on 5/6/2022McCuistian C, Kimball SL, Buitron de la Vega P, Godfrey LB, Fortuna LR, Valentine SE. Consideration of racism experiences in the implementation of trauma-focused therapy in primary care. Health Serv Res. 2022 May 06. PMID: 35521941.
Published on 5/31/2020Lasser KE, Buitron de la Vega P, Ashe EM, Xuan Z, Alva S, Battisti L, Losi S, Sieber C, Richards C, Sullivan P, Triscari L, Brody L, Roth MT, LeBlanc A, Silverstein M. A pharmacy liaison-patient navigation intervention to reduce inpatient and emergency department utilization among primary care patients in a Medicaid accountable care organization: A pragmatic trial protocol. Contemp Clin Trials. 2020 07; 94:106046. PMID: 32485325.
Published on 4/1/2020Giraldo P, Hsu HE, Ashe EM, Buitron de la Vega PA, Losi S, Silverstein M, Lasser KE. Provision of Utility Shut-off Protection Letters at an Urban Safety-Net Hospital, 2009-2018. J Ambul Care Manage. 2020 Apr/Jun; 43(2):179-182. PMID: 32073502.
Published on 6/1/2019Buitron de la Vega P, Losi S, Sprague Martinez L, Bovell-Ammon A, Garg A, James T, Ewen AM, Stack M, DeCarvalho H, Sandel M, Mishuris RG, Deych S, Pelletier P, Kressin NR. Implementing an EHR-based Screening and Referral System to Address Social Determinants of Health in Primary Care. Med Care. 2019 06; 57 Suppl 6 Suppl 2:S133-S139. PMID: 31095052.
Published on 7/10/2018Buitron de la Vega P, Coe C, Paasche-Orlow MK, Clark JA, Waite K, Sanchez MJ, Armstrong E, Bokhour BG. "It's like a mirror image of my illness": Exploring Patient Perceptions About Illness Using Health Mind Mapping-a Qualitative Study. J Gen Intern Med. 2018 10; 33(10):1692-1699. PMID: 29992428.
Published on 3/13/2018Quintiliani LM, Murphy JE, Buitron de la Vega P, Waite KR, Armstrong SE, Henault L, Volandes AE, Paasche-Orlow MK. Feasibility and Patient Perceptions of Video Declarations Regarding End-of-Life Decisions by Hospitalized Patients. J Palliat Med. 2018 06; 21(6):766-772. PMID: 29649398.
Published on 1/6/2017Buitron de la Vega P, Paasche-Orlow MK, Clark JA, Bokhour BG. Using Health Mind Maps to Capture Patient's Explanatory Models of Illness. Boston. 2017.
Published on 5/3/2016Hadeel Zainah, Aarthee Karthikeyan, Pablo Buitron, Douglas Jennings, Suzan L Davis, George Alangaden, Daniela Moreno, FadiSamaan, Sarah Al Helou, Ghattas Alkoury, Wassim Stephane, Salim Daikh and Mayur Ramesh. The Efficacy of Acticoat-Silver Dressing in Preventing Left-Ventricle-Assisted Device Infections. Immunochemistry & Immunopathology. 2016; 2:122.
Published on 12/16/2015Buitron de la Vega P, Tandon P, Qureshi W, Nasr Y, Jayaprakash R, Arshad S, Moreno D, Jacobsen G, Ananthasubramaniam K, Ramesh M, Zervos M. Simplified risk stratification criteria for identification of patients with MRSA bacteremia at low risk of infective endocarditis: implications for avoiding routine transesophageal echocardiography in MRSA bacteremia. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis. 2016 Feb; 35(2):261-8. PMID: 26676855.
Media Mentions
Published on 4/25/2022
El médico ecuatoriano que diseñó un programa que atiende a más de 100.000 personas en Boston
Published on 5/27/2021
Leah A. Zallman—A Leading Voice For Addressing Health Inequities Among Immigrants
Published on 10/24/2020
Most providers still don't universally screen for social needs
Published on 5/12/2020
Real Doctors. Real Social Workers. Virtual Patients.
Published on 9/12/2019
How Do Social Determinants of Health Play Out in Physician Practice?
Published on 5/28/2019
Study: EHRs Can Help Address Social Needs in Primary Care
Published on 5/28/2019
Boston Medical Center implements SDOH screening tool in EHR
Published on 5/28/2019
Hospitals: Working Beyond Their Walls to Improve Health
Published on 5/28/2019
A Model for Integrating SDOH Screening and Referral in the EHR
View full list of 9 media mentions.