David C. Chang, PhD, MPH, MBA, has been appointed Director of Outcomes Research in the Department of Surgery at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. In this role, Chang will develop an outcomes-based research program to help improve the nation’s healthcare systems by shaping the direction of science research, public policy and clinical practice.
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David C. Chang, PhD, MPH, MBA
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Outcomes research focuses on measuring the impact of non-biologic factors, such as quality of life, satisfaction with care, hospital readmissions, resource utilization, insurance and costs of care on patient outcomes. For example, a recent study conducted by Chang found that uninsured sick children in the U.S. were 60 percent more likely to die in the hospital than those with insurance.
“The knowledge we gain from outcomes research is intended to improve our clinical decision-making and health care delivery,” said Chang. “On a larger scale, outcomes research can have an impact on our overall health care system and public health.”
Chang’s research interests include the structure, process, outcomes and quality of trauma care at the hospital level and beyond, with special emphasis on disparities in health care access. Additionally, he has developed risk-stratification indices in trauma, vascular, cardiac, transplant and pediatric surgery, as well as outcomes prediction models.
“Through his work on national and regional databases, Chang is producing practice changing outcomes research that is positively augmenting our faculty and residents’ research efforts,” said Mark A. Talamini, MD, professor and M. J. Orloff Family Chair of the Department of Surgery at UC San Diego Health System. “His efforts will have an impact on local, regional and national health policy.”
Prior to this appointment, Chang was a faculty member in the Department of Surgery at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, with a joint appointment in the Department of Health Policy and Management and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Recently he held a joint appointment in the Department of Surgery at Howard University and directed the Howard-Hopkins Center for Surgical Outcomes Research.
Chang earned his Doctor of Philosophy at Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health in 2004 after completing both his Master’s of Business Administration and Master’s of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University. In 1993, Chang graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Cornell University with a double major in neurobiology and social psychology. Chang has published more than 100 peer-reviewed original research articles, book chapters and monographs, and has received numerous awards, most recently the EMS Geriatrics Award from the governor of Maryland.
Chang is a member of several advisory committees and review groups such as the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) at the Department of Defense and the Roundtable on Emergency Trauma Research (REMeT) sponsored by the National Institutes of Health. He has served as a reviewer for several prestigious journals including Archives of Surgery and The Lancet.
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Media Contact: Jackie Carr, 619-543-6163, jcarr@ucsd.edu