Neda Ratanawongsa, MD, MPH

Professor of Clinical Medicine

Neda Ratanawongsa, MD, MPH (she/her/hers) is the Interim Chief Medical Officer for the San Francisco Health Network and for Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center. She is on leave from her role as Professor in the Division of General Internal Medicine and the Chief Medical Informatics Officer for the San Francisco Department of Public Health. While at UCSF, she was been a Professor in the UCSF Center for Vulnerable Populations. Researching the electronic health record (EHR) revolution in safety net care, she strategized how innovations in EHR design, implementation, and policy can support compassionate, effective health care for diverse patients. Dr. Ratanawongsa is a mixed methods researcher, with expertise in implementation research, qualitative research, and conversational analysis. She has developed, implemented, and evaluated curricula at the undergraduate, graduate and continuing medical education levels. She has led national committees with the Society of General Internal Medicine (SGIM) and Academy on Communication in Healthcare (ACH).

Dr. Ratanawongsa received her undergraduate and medical degrees at Harvard, then came to UCSF for residency and chief residency in internal medicine. She completed a Masters in Public Health and General Internal Medicine Fellowship at Johns Hopkins University and joined the faculty at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center as an Assistant Professor and Assistant Residency Program Director. She joined the UCSF Division of General Internal Medicine and UCSF Center for Vulnerable Populations in 2008.

Education
M.P.H., 06/2007 - , Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Residency, 06/2003 - Internal Medicine, University of California, San Francisco
M.D., 06/2000 - , Harvard Medical School
B.A., 06/1996 - Social Studies, Harvard University
Honors and Awards
  • Milton W. Hamolsky Junior Faculty Award, Society of General Internal Medicine, 2008
Publications

  1. Arvisais-Anhalt S, Ravi A, Weia B, Aarts J, Ahmad HB, Araj E, Bauml JA, Benham-Hutchins M, Boyd AD, Brecht-Doscher A, Butler-Henderson K, Butte A, Cardillo AB, Chilukuri N, Cho MK, Cohen JK, Craven CK, Crusco SJ, Dadabhoy F, Dash D, DeBolt C, Elkin PL, Fayanju OA, Fochtmann L, Graham JV, Hanna J, Hersh W, Hoffard MR, Hron J, Huang SS, Jackson BR, Kaplan B, Kelly W, Ko K, Koppel R, Kurapati N, Labbad G, Lee J, Lehmann CU, Leitner S, Liao ZC, Medford RJ, Melnick ER, Muniyappa AN, Murray S, Neinstein A, Nichols-Johnson V, Novak L, Ogan WS, Ozeran L, Pageler N, Pandita D, Perumbeti A, Petersen C, Pierce L, Puttagunta R, Ramaswamy P, Rogers KM, Rosenbloom T, Ryan A, Saleh S, Sarabu C, Schreiber R, Shaw KA, Sim I, Sirintrapun SJ, Solomonides A, Spector JD, Starren JB, Stoffel M, Subbian V, Swanson K, Tomes A, Trang K, Unertl KM, Weon JL, Whooley M, Wiley K, Williamson DF, Winkelstein P, Wong J, Xie J, Yarahuan JKW, Yung N, Zera C, Ratanawongsa N, Sadasivaiah S. Paging the Clinical Informatics Community: Respond STAT to Dobbs v Jackson's Women's Health Organization. Applied clinical informatics 2022. PMID: 36535703


  2. Arvisais-Anhalt S, Ratanawongsa N, Sadasivaiah S. Laboratory Results Release to Patients under the 21st Century Cures Act: The Eight Stakeholders Who Should Care. Applied clinical informatics 2022. PMID: 36452981


  3. Sadasivaiah S, Shaffer E, Enanoria W, Su G, Goldman S, Scarafia J, Lee T, Yu A, Goldman LE, Ratanawongsa N. Informatics response to address the COVID-19 pandemic in a safety net healthcare system. JAMIA Open 2021. PMID: 34504999


  4. Neda Ratanawongsa, Benyam Hailu, Dean Schillinger. Health Communication as a Mediator of Health and Healthcare Disparities. 2021. PMID:


  5. Casillas A, Cemballi AG, Abhat A, Lemberg M, Portz JD, Sadasivaiah S, Ratanawongsa N, Semere W, Brown A, Lyles CR. An Untapped Potential in Primary Care: Semi-Structured Interviews with Clinicians on How Patient Portals Will Work for Caregivers in the Safety Net. Journal of medical Internet research 2020. PMID: 32706709


  6. Fontil V, Khoong EC, Hoskote M, Radcliffe K, Ratanawongsa N, Lyles CR, Sarkar U. Evaluation of a Health Information Technology-Enabled Collective Intelligence Platform to Improve Diagnosis in Primary Care and Urgent Care Settings: Protocol for a Pragmatic Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR research protocols 2019. PMID: 31389337


  7. Khoong EC, Cherian R, Matta GY, Lyles CR, Schillinger D, Ratanawongsa N. Perspectives of English, Chinese, and Spanish-Speaking Safety-Net Patients on Clinician Computer Use: Qualitative Analysis. Journal of medical Internet research 2019. PMID: 31120020


  8. Sadasivaiah S, Lyles CR, Kiyoi S, Wong P, Ratanawongsa N. Disparities in Patient-Reported Interest in Web-Based Patient Portals: Survey at an Urban Academic Safety-Net Hospital. Journal of medical Internet research 2019. PMID: 30912747


  9. Lyles CR, Tieu L, Sarkar U, Kiyoi S, Sadasivaiah S, Hoskote M, Ratanawongsa N, Schillinger D. A Randomized Trial to Train Vulnerable Primary Care Patients to Use a Patient Portal. Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine : JABFM 2019. PMID: 30850461


  10. Fontil V, Radcliffe K, Lyson HC, Ratanawongsa N, Lyles C, Tuot D, Yuen K, Sarkar U. Testing and improving the acceptability of a web-based platform for collective intelligence to improve diagnostic accuracy in primary care clinics. JAMIA Open 2019. PMID: 31984344


  11. Valy Fontil, Elaine Khoong, Mekhala Hoskote, Kate Radcliffe, Neda Ratanawongsa, Courtney Rees Lyles, Urmimala Sarkar. Evaluation of an health-IT-enabled collective intelligence platform to improve diagnosis in primary care and urgent care settings: Study Design (Preprint). 2018. PMID:


  12. Ratanawongsa N, Cardenas A, Occeña B, Critchfield J, Mercer M, Myers K. Certified Medical Interpreters' Perspectives on Relationship-Centered Communication in Safety-Net Care. MedEdPublish (2016) 2018. PMID: 38074532


  13. Matta GY, Khoong EC, Lyles CR, Schillinger D, Ratanawongsa N. Finding Meaning in Medication Reconciliation Using Electronic Health Records: Qualitative Analysis in Safety Net Primary and Specialty Care. JMIR medical informatics 2018. PMID: 29735477


  14. Ratanawongsa N, Quan J, Handley MA, Sarkar U, Schillinger D. Language-concordant automated telephone queries to assess medication adherence in a diverse population: a cross-sectional analysis of convergent validity with pharmacy claims. Volume 18 of Issue 1. BMC health services research 2018. PMID: 29625571


  15. Ratanawongsa N, Matta GY, Bohsali FB, Chisolm MS. Reducing Misses and Near Misses Related to Multitasking on the Electronic Health Record: Observational Study and Qualitative Analysis. JMIR human factors 2018. PMID: 29410388


  16. Neda Ratanawongsa, Angelica Cardenas, Bruce Occeña, Jeff Critchfield, Mary Mercer, Kara Myers. Certified Medical Interpreters’ Perspectives on Relationship-Centered Communication in Safety-Net Care. MedEdPublish 2018. PMID:


  17. Lowry C, Orr K, Embry B, Nguyen M, Petersen A, James C, Seidel K, Ratanawongsa N. Primary care scribes: writing a new story for safety net clinics. BMJ open quality 2017. PMID: 29435506


  18. Sadasivaiah S, Smith DE, Goldman S, Ratanawongsa N. Improving best possible medication history with vulnerable patients at an urban safety net academic hospital using pharmacy technicians. BMJ open quality 2017. PMID: 29450283


  19. Ratanawongsa N, Matta GY, Lyles CR, Koenig CJ, Barton JL, Yu K, Schillinger D. Multitasking and Silent Electronic Health Record Use in Ambulatory Visits. Volume 177 of Issue 9. JAMA internal medicine 2017. PMID: 28672379


  20. Handley MA, Quan J, Chao MT, Ratanawongsa N, Sarkar U, Emmons-Bell S, Schillinger D. Use of Complementary Health Approaches Among Diverse Primary Care Patients with Type 2 Diabetes and Association with Cardiometabolic Outcomes: From the SF Bay Collaborative Research Network (SF Bay CRN). Volume 30 of Issue 5. Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine : JABFM 2017. PMID: 28923815


  21. Tieu L, Schillinger D, Sarkar U, Hoskote M, Hahn KJ, Ratanawongsa N, Ralston JD, Lyles CR. Online patient websites for electronic health record access among vulnerable populations: portals to nowhere? Volume 24 of Issue e1. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA 2017. PMID: 27402138


  22. Lyles CR, Ratanawongsa N, Bolen SD, Samal L. mHealth and Health Information Technology Tools for Diverse Patients with Diabetes. Journal of diabetes research 2017. PMID: 28326330


  23. Schillinger D, McNamara D, Crossley S, Lyles C, Moffet HH, Sarkar U, Duran N, Allen J, Liu J, Oryn D, Ratanawongsa N, Karter AJ. The Next Frontier in Communication and the ECLIPPSE Study: Bridging the Linguistic Divide in Secure Messaging. Volume 2017. Journal of diabetes research 2017. PMID: 28265579


  24. Ratanawongsa N, Chan LL, Fouts MM, Murphy EJ. The Challenges of Electronic Health Records and Diabetes Electronic Prescribing: Implications for Safety Net Care for Diverse Populations. Journal of diabetes research 2017. PMID: 28197420


  25. Ratanawongsa N, Barton JL, Lyles CR, Wu M, Yelin EH, Martinez D, Schillinger D. Computer use, language, and literacy in safety net clinic communication. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA 2016. PMID: 27274017


  26. Ratanawongsa N, Barton JL, Lyles CR, Wu M, Yelin EH, Martinez D, Schillinger D. Association Between Clinician Computer Use and Communication With Patients in Safety-Net Clinics. JAMA internal medicine 2016. PMID: 26619393


  27. Ratanawongsa N. Capsule Commentary on Dzeng et al., Moral Distress Amongst American Physician Trainees Regarding Futile Treatments at the End of Life: a Qualitative Inquiry. Journal of general internal medicine 2016. PMID: 26519283


  28. Tieu L, Sarkar U, Schillinger D, Ralston JD, Ratanawongsa N, Pasick R, Lyles CR. Barriers and Facilitators to Online Portal Use Among Patients and Caregivers in a Safety Net Health Care System: A Qualitative Study. Volume 17 of Issue 12. Journal of medical Internet research 2015. PMID: 26681155


  29. Ratanawongsa N, Karter AJ, Quan J, Parker MM, Handley M, Sarkar U, Schmittdiel JA, Schillinger D. Reach and Validity of an Objective Medication Adherence Measure Among Safety Net Health Plan Members with Diabetes: A Cross-Sectional Study. Volume 21 of Issue 8. Journal of managed care & specialty pharmacy 2015. PMID: 26233541


  30. Chao MT, Handley MA, Quan J, Sarkar U, Ratanawongsa N, Schillinger D. Disclosure of complementary health approaches among low income and racially diverse safety net patients with diabetes. Patient education and counseling 2015. PMID: 26146238


  31. Quan J, Lee AK, Handley MA, Ratanawongsa N, Sarkar U, Tseng S, Schillinger D. Automated Telephone Self-Management Support for Diabetes in a Low-Income Health Plan: A Health Care Utilization and Cost Analysis. Volume 18 of Issue 6. Population health management 2015. PMID: 26102298


  32. Soraya Azari, Neda Ratanawongsa, Jennifer Hettema, Caroline Cangelosi, Matt Tierney, Diana Coffa, Brad Shapiro, Sharad Jain, David Hersh, Jennifer Manuel, Daniel Ciccarone, Paula Lum. A Skills-Based Curriculum for Teaching Motivational Interviewing-Enhanced Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) to Medical Residents. MedEdPORTAL 2015. PMID:


  33. Gupta S, Brenner AT, Ratanawongsa N, Inadomi JM. Patient trust in physician influences colorectal cancer screening in low-income patients. American journal of preventive medicine 2014. PMID: 25084682


  34. . Disclosure of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use Among Diverse Safety Net Patients with Diabetes. 2014. PMID:


  35. Ratanawongsa N, Handley MA, Sarkar U, Quan J, Pfeifer K, Soria C, Schillinger D. Diabetes health information technology innovation to improve quality of life for health plan members in urban safety net. Volume 37 of Issue 2. The Journal of ambulatory care management 2014. PMID: 24594561


  36. Ratanawongsa N, Barton JL, Schillinger D, Yelin EH, Hettema JE, Lum PJ. Ethnically diverse patients' perceptions of clinician computer use in a safety-net clinic. Journal of health care for the poor and underserved 2013. PMID: 24185151


  37. Beach MC, Roter D, Korthuis PT, Epstein RM, Sharp V, Ratanawongsa N, Cohn J, Eggly S, Sankar A, Moore RD, Saha S. A multicenter study of physician mindfulness and health care quality. Annals of family medicine 2013. PMID: 24019273


  38. Lyles CR, Schillinger D, Lopez A, Handley M, Ratanawongsa N, Sarkar U. Safety events during an automated telephone self-management support intervention. Volume 7 of Issue 3. Journal of diabetes science and technology 2013. PMID: 23759391


  39. Ratanawongsa N, Karter AJ, Parker MM, Lyles CR, Heisler M, Moffet HH, Adler N, Warton EM, Schillinger D. Communication and medication refill adherence: the Diabetes Study of Northern California. JAMA internal medicine 2013. PMID: 23277199


  40. Ratanawongsa N, Korthuis PT, Saha S, Roter D, Moore RD, Sharp VL, Beach MC. Clinician stress and patient-clinician communication in HIV care. Journal of general internal medicine 2012. PMID: 22821571


  41. Hilton JF, Barkoff L, Chang O, Halperin L, Ratanawongsa N, Sarkar U, Leykin Y, Muñoz RF, Thom DH, Kahn JS. A cross-sectional study of barriers to personal health record use among patients attending a safety-net clinic. Volume 7 of Issue 2. PloS one 2012. PMID: 22363761


  42. Ratanawongsa N, Handley MA, Quan J, Sarkar U, Pfeifer K, Soria C, Schillinger D. Quasi-experimental trial of diabetes Self-Management Automated and Real-Time Telephonic Support (SMARTSteps) in a Medicaid managed care plan: study protocol. Volume 12. BMC health services research 2012. PMID: 22280514


  43. Ratanawongsa N, Crosson JC, Schillinger D, Karter AJ, Saha CK, Marrero DG. Getting under the skin of clinical inertia in insulin initiation: the Translating Research Into Action for Diabetes (TRIAD) Insulin Starts Project. The Diabetes educator 2012. PMID: 22222513


  44. López A, Detz A, Ratanawongsa N, Sarkar U. What patients say about their doctors online: a qualitative content analysis. Volume 27 of Issue 6. Journal of general internal medicine 2012. PMID: 22215270


  45. Hettema JE, Ratanawongsa N, Manuel JK, Ciccarone D, Coffa D, Jain S, Lum PJ. A SBIRT curriculum for medical residents: development of a performance feedback tool to build learner confidence. Substance abuse 2012. PMID: 22738001


  46. Ratanawongsa N, Bhandari VK, Handley M, Rundall T, Hammer H, Schillinger D. Primary care provider perceptions of the effectiveness of two self-management support programs for vulnerable patients with diabetes. Journal of diabetes science and technology 2012. PMID: 22401329


  47. Laura Hanyok, Lynsey Brandt, Colleen Christmas, David Hellmann, Cynthia Rand, Neda Ratanawongsa, Janet Record, Roy Ziegelstein. The Johns Hopkins Aliki Initiative: A Patient-centered Curriculum for Internal Medicine Residents. MedEdPORTAL 2012. PMID:


  48. Ratanawongsa N, Federowicz MA, Christmas C, Hanyok LA, Record JD, Hellmann DB, Ziegelstein RC, Rand CS. Effects of a focused patient-centered care curriculum on the experiences of internal medicine residents and their patients. Journal of general internal medicine 2011. PMID: 21948228


  49. Jennifer T. Chang, Alicia Fernandez, Jennifer P. Thomas, Neda Ratanawongsa, Roxana Munoz, Yunghui Lin, Chim Lau, Hal F. Yee, John M. Inadomi. Adherence to Colorectal Cancer Screening Among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Low-Income Patients – Does Patient-Provider Language Concordance Matter?. Gastroenterology 2011. PMID:


  50. Haywood C, Lanzkron S, Hughes MT, Brown R, Massa M, Ratanawongsa N, Beach MC. A video-intervention to improve clinician attitudes toward patients with sickle cell disease: the results of a randomized experiment. Journal of general internal medicine 2010. PMID: 21181560


  51. Lattimer L, Haywood C, Lanzkron S, Ratanawongsa N, Bediako SM, Beach MC. Problematic hospital experiences among adult patients with sickle cell disease. Journal of health care for the poor and underserved 2010. PMID: 21099065


  52. Ratanawongsa N, Wright SM, Vargo EM, Carrese JA. Challenges in primary care relationships: seeing it from both sides. Patient education and counseling 2010. PMID: 20828976


  53. Bediako SM, Lattimer L, Haywood C, Ratanawongsa N, Lanzkron S, Beach MC. Religious coping and hospital admissions among adults with sickle cell disease. Journal of behavioral medicine 2010. PMID: 20812027


  54. Ratanawongsa N, Zikmund-Fisher BJ, Couper MP, Van Hoewyk J, Powe NR. Race, ethnicity, and shared decision making for hyperlipidemia and hypertension treatment: the DECISIONS survey. Medical decision making : an international journal of the Society for Medical Decision Making 2010. PMID: 20881155


  55. Haywood C, Lanzkron S, Ratanawongsa N, Bediako SM, Lattimer-Nelson L, Beach MC. Hospital self-discharge among adults with sickle-cell disease (SCD): associations with trust and interpersonal experiences with care. Journal of hospital medicine 2010. PMID: 20533577


  56. Haywood C, Lanzkron S, Ratanawongsa N, Bediako SM, Lattimer L, Powe NR, Beach MC. The association of provider communication with trust among adults with sickle cell disease. Journal of general internal medicine 2010. PMID: 20195785


  57. Gozu A, Nidiry MA, Ratanawongsa N, Carrese JA, Wright SM. Patient factors associated with following a relocated primary care provider among older adults. The American journal of managed care 2009. PMID: 19298101


  58. Ratanawongsa N, Haywood C, Bediako SM, Lattimer L, Lanzkron S, Hill PM, Powe NR, Beach MC. Health care provider attitudes toward patients with acute vaso-occlusive crisis due to sickle cell disease: development of a scale. Patient education and counseling 2009. PMID: 19233587


  59. Ratanawongsa N, Rand CS, Magill CF, Hayashi J, Brandt L, Christmas C, Record JD, Howell EE, Federowicz MA, Hellmann DB, Ziegelstein RC. Teaching residents to know their patients as individuals. The Aliki Initiative at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. The Pharos of Alpha Omega Alpha-Honor Medical Society. Alpha Omega Alpha 2009. PMID: 19722298


  60. Windish DM, Ratanawongsa N. Providers' perceptions of relationships and professional roles when caring for patients who leave the hospital against medical advice. Journal of general internal medicine 2008. PMID: 18648890


  61. Ratanawongsa N, Roter D, Beach MC, Laird SL, Larson SM, Carson KA, Cooper LA. Physician burnout and patient-physician communication during primary care encounters. Journal of general internal medicine 2008. PMID: 18618195


  62. Ratanawongsa N, Wright SM, Carrese JA. Well-being in residency: effects on relationships with patients, interactions with colleagues, performance, and motivation. Patient education and counseling 2008. PMID: 18541401


  63. Ratanawongsa N, Thomas PA, Marinopoulos SS, Dorman T, Wilson LM, Ashar BH, Magaziner JL, Miller RG, Prokopowicz GP, Qayyum R, Bass EB. The reported validity and reliability of methods for evaluating continuing medical education: a systematic review. Academic medicine : journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges 2008. PMID: 18316877


  64. Ratanawongsa N, Wright SM, Carrese JA. Well-being in residency: a time for temporary imbalance? Medical education 2007. PMID: 17316212


  65. Marinopoulos SS, Dorman T, Ratanawongsa N, Wilson LM, Ashar BH, Magaziner JL, Miller RG, Thomas PA, Prokopowicz GP, Qayyum R, Bass EB. Effectiveness of continuing medical education. Evidence report/technology assessment 2007. PMID: 17764217


  66. Ratanawongsa N, Bolen S, Howell EE, Kern DE, Sisson SD, Larriviere D. Residents' perceptions of professionalism in training and practice: barriers, promoters, and duty hour requirements. Journal of general internal medicine 2006. PMID: 16808778


  67. Ratanawongsa N, Wright SM, Levine RB. Association between higher mental well-being and residents' capacity for empathy. Journal of general internal medicine 2006. PMID: 16686827


  68. Ratanawongsa N, Howell EE, Wright SM. What motivates physicians throughout their careers in medicine? Comprehensive therapy 2006. PMID: 17918306


  69. Ratanawongsa N, Kern DE, Barker LR. Promoting humanistic care in the house staff continuity clinic. Medical education 2005. PMID: 16262841


  70. Ratanawongsa N, Teherani A, Hauer KE. Third-year medical students' experiences with dying patients during the internal medicine clerkship: a qualitative study of the informal curriculum. Academic medicine : journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges 2005. PMID: 15980080