Pablo Buitron de la Vega MD, MSc
Assistant Professor, General Internal Medicine
801 Massachusetts Ave | (617) 414-6663Pablo.BuitrondelaVega@bmc.org
pbuitro1@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 Chobanian and Avedisian 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
Public Health, MSc, Boston University School of Public Health
Publications
Murray Horwitz ME, Dugas JN, McCloskey L, So-Armah K, Yarrington CD, Buitron de la Vega P, Benjamin EJ, Battaglia TA. Associations between Health-Related Social Needs and Postpartum Linkage to Care. Am J Prev Med. 2025 Apr; 68(4):707-716. PMID: 39716509.
Published on 7/22/2024Jiangliu Y, Kim HT, Lazar M, Liu E, Mantri S, Qiu E, Berube M, Sood H, Walia AS, Biondi BE, Mesias AM, Mishuris R, Buitron de la Vega P. A Medical Student-Led Multipronged Initiative to Close the Digital Divide in Outpatient Primary Care. Appl Clin Inform. 2024 Aug; 15(4):808-816. PMID: 39038793.
Published on 5/15/2024Lim K, Nguyen KH, Goutos D, Shafer PR, Buitron de la Vega P, Cole MB. The Association Between Hospital-Based Food Pantry Use and Subsequent Emergency Department Utilization Among Medicaid Patients With Diabetes. J Ambul Care Manage. 2024 Jul-Sep 01; 47(3):122-133. PMID: 38744317.
Published on 12/16/2023Zhu M, Arinze N, Buitron de la Vega P, Alonso A, Levin S, Farber A, King E, Kobzeva-Herzog A, Chitalia VC, Siracuse JJ. High Prevalence of Adverse Social Determinants of Health in Dialysis Access Creation Patients in a Safety-Net Setting. Ann Vasc Surg. 2024 Mar; 100:31-38. PMID: 38110081.
Published on 10/8/2023Egan KA, Xuan Z, Hofman M, Ma Shum J, Fernández-Pastrana I, Fiechtner L, Sandel M, Buitron de la Vega P, Kistin CJ, Hsu H. Food Pantry Referral and Utilization in a Pediatric Primary Care Clinic. Am J Prev Med. 2024 Mar; 66(3):444-453. PMID: 37813171.
Published on 8/4/2023Borden CG, Ashe EM, Buitron de la Vega P, Gast V, Saint-Phard T, Brody-Fialkin J, Power J, Wang N, Lasser KE. A novel pharmacy liaison program to address health-related social needs at an urban safety-net hospital. Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2023 Aug 04; 80(16):1071-1081. PMID: 37210728.
Published on 4/1/2023Cordova-Ramos EG, Jain C, Torrice V, McGean M, Buitron de la Vega P, Burke J, Stickney D, Vinci RJ, Drainoni ML, Parker MG. Implementing Social Risk Screening and Referral to Resources in the NICU. Pediatrics. 2023 Apr 01; 151(4). PMID: 36919445.
Published on 1/3/2023Buitron de la Vega P, Ashe EM, Xuan Z, Gast V, Saint-Phard T, Brody-Fialkin J, Okonkwo F, Power J, Wang N, Lyons C, Silverstein M, Lasser KE. A Pharmacy Liaison-Patient Navigation Intervention to Reduce Inpatient and Emergency Department Utilization Among Primary Care Patients in a Medicaid Accountable Care Organization: A Nonrandomized Controlled Trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2023 Jan 03; 6(1):e2250004. PMID: 36622674.
Published on 6/14/2022Buitron 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 12 01; 97(12):1799-1803. PMID: 35703204.
Published on 5/20/2022McCuistian 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 Dec; 57 Suppl 2:235-248. PMID: 35521941.
Media Mentions
Published on 4/25/2023
"There Is Nothing More Powerful Than a Story": BMC Doc Shares Her Own Legacy of Medical Mistrust
Published on 1/10/2023
Added social needs interventions don’t necessarily lead to less hospital use
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
View full list of 11 media mentions.