Walid Gellad, MD, MPH - Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion
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Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion

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Walid Gellad, MD, MPH

CHERP COIN Investigator

Staff Physician, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System

Professor of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

Professor of Health Policy and Management, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health

Director, Center for Pharmaceutical Policy and Prescribing

Profile

Dr. Gellad's research focuses on physician prescribing practices and on policy issues affecting access and adherence to medications for patients, optimizing the quality, safety, and value of prescribing and prescription drug use. He is a nationally recognized authority on improving the measurement of medication adherence, has authored more than 100 articles in leading medical and policy journals, and he is a regular commentator on pharmaceutical policy issues in major news outlets including the New York Times, Washington Post, and NPR, and the Wall Street Journal.

He was the recipient of a career development award from the Department of Veterans Affairs to study the quality and efficiency of prescribing in the VA and continues to lead research funded by the VA, NIH, CDC, and the state of Pennsylvania on multiple studies of pharmaceutical policy and prescription use. His work spans clinical areas, from diabetes, to Hepatitis C, to prescription drug and substance abuse. His policy area of expertise is prescription drug pricing and spending. He is a former member of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory committee on nonprescription drugs and currently an alternate member of the FDA Drug Safety Oversight Board.

Dr. Gellad is board certified in internal medicine and completed a residency and chief residency in internal medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School. He sees primary care patients in the VA Pittsburgh Heathcare System and attends on the inpatient general medical service.

News of Note

Dr. Gellad was honored with a 2019 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.

CBS Pittsburgh News story

Dr. Gellad's work comparing outcomes for Veterans who are covered by both VHA and Medicare Part D shows significantly higher risk for death from prescription opioids.

Read about Dr. Gellad's publication with Secretary Shulkin in the Journal of General Internal Medicine

Read profile of Dr. Gellad in Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News

Funded Research

STORM Implementation Program Evaluation (SDR 16-193) as Principal Investigator

Published Research

Prescriber perspectives on low-value prescribing: A qualitative study. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (2021)
Fine MJ, Gellad WF, Thorpe CT, Radomski TR, et al. Identifying sociodemographic profiles of veterans at risk for high-dose opioid prescribing using classification and regression trees. Journal of opioid management (2021)
Fine MJ, Gellad WF, Thorpe CT, Radomski TR, Hausmann LRM, et al. Identifying sociodemographic profiles of veterans at risk for high-dose opioid prescribing using classification and regression trees. Journal of Opioid Management (2021)
Hausmann LRM, Thorpe JM, Gellad WF, Thrope CT, Radomski TR, Fine MJ, et al. Buprenorphine Dispensing in Pennsylvania During the COVID-19 Pandemic, January to October 2020. Journal of General Internal Medicine (2021)
Suda KJ, Gellad WF, et al. Prescriber perspectives on low-value prescribing: A qualitative study. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (2021)
Thorpe CT, Fine MJ, Gellad WF, Radomski TR, et al. Identifying sociodemographic profiles of veterans at risk for high-dose opioid prescribing using classification and regression trees. Journal of Opioid Management (2021)
Thorpe CT, Hausmann LRM, Fine MJ, Radomski TR, Gellad WF, Thorpe JM, et al. Source of Post-Transplant Care and Mortality among Kidney Transplant Recipients Dually Enrolled in VA and Medicare. (2021)
Weisbord SD, Fine MJ, Gellad WF, Hall DE, et al. Deintensification of Diabetes Medications among Veterans at the End of Life in VA Nursing Homes. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (2020)
Zhao X, Mor MK, Aspinall SL, Ersek MT, Gellad WF, et al. Racial/Ethnic Differences in the Medical Treatment of Opioid Use Disorders Within the VA Healthcare System Following Non-Fatal Opioid Overdose. J Gen Intern Med (2020)
Essien UR, Zhao X, Thorpe CT, Mor MK, Hausmann LR, Fine MJ, Gellad WF, et al. Incidence and Predictors of Aspirin Discontinuation in Older Adult Veteran Nursing Home Residents at End of Life. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (2020)
Mor MK, Zhao X, Aspinall SL, Ersek MT, Gellad WF, Thorpe JM, Thorpe CT, et al. Brand-name prescription drug use among diabetes patients in the VA and Medicare Part D. Ann Intern Med (2013)
Gellad WF, Zhao X, Mor MK, Thorpe CT, Fine MJ, et al. The impact of family caregivers on potentially inappropriate medication use in non-institutionalized older adults with dementia. Am J Geriatr Pharmacother (2012)
Thorpe JM, Thorpe CT, Gellad WF, et al.

Research Areas

  • Pharmacy Policy
  • Physician Prescribing Practices
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