Recognizing the complexities of the U.S. health system, our Department equips Emergency Medicine learners with the unique skills to lead change and engage as leaders in health care policy and reform. With our proximity to Washington, D.C. and Annapolis, our faculty, fellows, and residents have engaged in a range of local, State, and Federal policy issues.
We boast a strong track record of physician leaders who have advocated for the interests of their patients and their communities. Our Department’s Section of Health Policy, led by Clinical Associate Professor Kyle Fischer, MD, MPH, is an essential subspecialty within the Department of Emergency Medicine.
Education and Training
For residents, we offer a health care policy elective that may be taken as a longitudinal course taught by emergency medicine faculty through focused health policy readings, asynchronous lectures, and direct engagement with health policy experts.
For fellows, we offer a health policy fellowship designed to give early career emergency physicians a unique, tailored experience in health care policy. Through formal didactic training, at least 2 full-time policy experiences, leadership development, and numerous opportunities to apply policy and advocacy skills both domestically and internationally, the fellowship will provide a springboard for a successful career as a physician leader. The comprehensive 2-year design ensures fellows have in-depth experience that makes them competitive candidates for policy jobs at the completion of the fellowship.
Patient Care
While research and advocacy may take place outside of the hospital, all of our health policy work is informed by our firsthand experiences working clinically in Emergency Departments throughout Baltimore. As emergency medicine providers, we stand at the crossroads of our community. We see firsthand the systemic inequities that affect health outcomes and confront social determinants of health every shift.
Research
Faculty, fellow, and resident physicians in our Section of Health Policy have published peer-reviewed studies in a wide variety of publications. In addition to individual faculty members’ interests, the section collaborates specifically on researching Maryland’s unique hospital global budget payment model and emergency department boarding. Publications have included a variety of journals such as:
- Annals of Emergency Medicine,
- The Journal of Emergency Medicine,
- Western Journal of Emergency Medicine,
- Population Health Management,
- Environmental Health Perspectives,
- Health Services Research,
- Journal of Community Health,
- Injury Prevention; and
- The Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved.
Section Faculty