Karen B. DeSalvo, MD, MPH, MSc
C. Thorpe Ray Chair in Internal Medicine
Chief, General Internal Medicine and Geriatrics
Vice Dean, Community Affairs and Health Policy
Professor of Medicine

Contact Information
Tulane University Health Sciences Center
School of Medicine
Section of General Internal Medicine & Geriatrics, SL-16
1430 Tulane Avenue
New Orleans, LA 70112
E-mail: kdesalv@tulane.edu
Phone: 504-988-5473
Fax: 504-988-8252

Education
MD, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana
MPH, Tulane University School of Public Health and TropicalMedicine, New Orleans, Louisiana
MSc in Clinical Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts

Biography
Karen DeSalvo, MD, MPH, MSc is Professor of Medicine at the Tulane School of Medicine and holds the C. Thorpe Ray Endowed Chair in Internal Medicine.  She serves as for Vice Dean for Community Affairs and Health Policy at Tulane University School of Medicine and has responsibility for implementing the Medical School’s mission to build healthier communities, including oversight of the community health center programs. She also has served as the Section Chief of General Internal Medicine and Geriatrics since 2000.  Dr. DeSalvo’s research and policy interests focus on advancing policy and practice aimed at improving care quality and effectiveness with a particular focus on vulnerable populations.

Dr. DeSalvo has been a leader in health sector recovery and health care reform efforts in Louisiana since Hurricane Katrina.  She also led the development of a replicable model of a neighborhood based medical home for the medically underserved which is now a Tier 3 NCQA Patient Centered Medical Home.  She was selected as a founding member of the Louisiana Health Care Quality Forum Board and chairs its Medical Home Committee.  She a member of the Louisiana Medicaid Technical Advisory Committee and is Vice Chair of the Louisiana Health Care Commission.  Dr. DeSalvo was recognized the Woman of Excellence in Health Care by the Louisiana Legislative Women’s Caucus for her health care reform efforts in 2008. 

She received her Bachelor of Arts from Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts in Biology and Political Science.  She matriculated to Tulane University Health Sciences Center where she simultaneously received her Medical Doctorate and Masters of Public Health.  She remained at Tulane as a resident, Chief Resident and Fellow in Internal Medicine.  She participated as a fellow in the Program in Clinical Effectiveness at Harvard University where she received a Masters in Clinical Epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health in May of 2002.

Research
Dr. DeSalvo’s research interests include developing strategies to identifying high risk patients with chronic disease and developing patient-centered care delivery systems for them.

Selected Publications
1. DeSalvo KB. “Cultural Barriers to Wellness.” The Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 73:705, 1998.

2. Bollinger K et al. “Health Care for the Homeless: A Public Health Concern.” Journal of the Louisiana State Medical Society. 145(7), 321-3. July, 1993.

3. DeSalvo KB, Bowdish B, Alper A, Grossman D, Merrill W. “Physician Variation in Revisit Interval Assignment.” Archives of Internal Medicine. 160(2), 205-208, January 2000.

4. Butt A, Dascomb KK. DeSalvo KB, Bazzano L, Kissinger P, Szerlip HZ. “Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection in Elderly Patients.” Southern Medical Journal. 94(4), 397-400, 2001.

5. Block JP, DeSalvo KB, Fisher WP. “Are physicians equipped to address the obesity epidemic?” Preventive Medicine. Vol 36, 669-675. June 2003.

6. DeSalvo KB, Block JP, Muntner P, Merrill W. “Predictors of variation in office visit interval assignment.” International Journal for Quality in Health Care. Vol 15 (5), 399-405, October 2003.

7. Block JP, Schribner R, DeSalvo KB. “Fast food, race and income: a geographical analysis.” American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Vol. 27 (3), 211-217, October 2004.

8. Hartnett ME, Key IJ, Loyacano NM, Horswell RL, DeSalvo KB. “Perceived Barriers to Diabetic Eye Care: Qualitative study of patients and doctors.” Archives of Ophthalmology. Vol 123, 387-391, March 2005.

9. DeSalvo KB, Fan VS, McDonell M, Fihn SD. “Predicting Mortality and Health Care Utilization with a Single Question.” Health Services Research. 2005 Aug; Vol. 40(4):1234-46.

10. Muntner, Wildman, Reynolds, DeSalvo, Chen, Fonseca. “Glycosylated Hemoglobin Level and Peripheral Arterial Disease in Non-diabetic and Diabetic Adults.” Diabetes Care. 2005 Aug; Vol. 28 (8):1981-7.

11. Wood MK, Muntner P, Jannu A, DeSalvo KB, Reed R. “Reliability of a Medication Adherence Measure in an outpatient clinic setting.” Am J Med Sci, 2005 Sep; Vol. 330(3):128-133.

12. Muntner P, Menke A, DeSalvo KB Rabito F, Batuman V. “Continued Decline in Blood Lead Levels among Adults in the United States: The National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys.” Arch Intern Med. 2005 Oct 10; Vol. 165(18):2155-61.

13. DeSalvo KB, Muntner P, Fox E. “Community-Based Health Care for ‘The City that Care Forgot’”, J Urban Health. Dec; 82 (4):520-3, Dec 2005.

14. DeSalvo KB, Gregg JV, Kleinpeter M, Pederson B, Stepter A, Peabody, J Cardiac risk underestimation in urban, black women. J Gen Intern Med. 2005 Dec; Vol. 20(12):1127-31.

15. DeSalvo KB, “September 19th, A letter from New Orleans” Ann Intern Med, Vol. 143(12):905-6, December, 2005.

16. DeSalvo KB, Fisher WP, Tran K, Bloser N, Merrill W, Peabody JW. Assessing Measurement Properties of Two Single-item General Health Measures. Qual Life Res. 2006 Mar;15(2):191-201

17. DeSalvo KB, Bloser N, Reynolds K, He J, Muntner P. Mortality Prediction with a Single General Self-Rated Health Question. J Gen Intern Med. 2005 Dec 7

18. DeSalvo KB, Moises J, Uddo J. “The nine o'clock meeting.” Health Aff (Millwood). Vol. 25(2):483, Mar-Apr, 2006.

19. DeSalvo KB, “Now it is the when we need it meeting”. Updates and Photographs, an online supplement to "Witness to Disaster," Narrative Matters Special Edition, Health Affairs. 25 (2). 2006: 478-490, http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/full/25/2/478/DC1

20. Peabody JW, Nordyke RJ, Tozija F, Bertenthal DS, McCulloch CE, DeSalvo KB, Munoz JA, Luck J. Quality of care and its impact on population health: A cross-sectional study from Macedonia. Soc Sci Med. 2006 May; Vol. 62(9):2216-24.

21. Muntner P, DeSalvo KB, Wildman RP, Raggi P, He J, Whelton PK. “Trends in prevalence, awareness, treatment and control of cardiovascular disease risk factors among patients with a history of myocardial infarction and stroke.” Am J of Epidemiology. 2006 May 15; 163(10):913-20.

22. DeSalvo, KB, “New Orleans Health Care After Katrina – 1 Year Out”. Johns Hopkins Advanced Studies in Medicine. Vol. 6 (7). July/August 2006