Does Emergency Department Access Block Contribute to the Widening of Disparities in Outcomes for Cardiovascular Disease?

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Investigator: Renee Hsia, MD
Sponsor: American Heart Association (National Office)

Location(s): United States

Description

Research interests include the study of health systems to improve the access and delivery of timely acute care for patients, with a particular emphasis on vulnerable populations. Her work has centered around closures of emergency services (including trauma services) in California and nationally, and the effects of closures on patient outcomes for time-sensitive illnesses.  Dr. Hsia also analyzes issues of Emergency Department utilization across different insurance groups, and Emergency Department crowding (using measures such as ambulance diversion and length of stay) and its association with poorer patient outcomes.

Dr. Hsia is also part of the UCSF Center for Healthcare Value, in the section on Price Transparency, with research focusing on the wide variation of prices and lack of price transparency for healthcare in the United States. 

Her research extends globally, specifically regarding cost-effectiveness of emergency care in developing countries.  She is currently involved in the Disease Control Priorities project with a focus on pre-hospital care.  Dr. Hsia has had clinical and public health experience in numerous countries in Africa, including Rwanda, Uganda, Eritrea, Sudan, South Africa, Senegal, and South Sudan.  She is fluent in Mandarin, Cantonese, French, and Spanish, and is a member of the UCSF Global Health Economics Consortium and the Global Health Steering Committee for the UCSF Department of Emergency Medicine.