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LeRoi Hicks, M.D., MPH
Chief Medical Officer of Wilmington Hospital and Physician Leader of iREACH
Expertise & Research Interests
- Social Determinants of Health/Health Disparities
- Medicine
- Chronic Disease
- Internal Medicine
- Health Equity
Education
- MPH, Harvard School of Public Health
- MD, Indiana University School of Medicine
LeRoi Hicks, M.D., MPH
Chief Medical Officer of Wilmington Hospital and Physician Leader of iREACH
Dr. LeRoi Hicks is the recipient of numerous clinical and research awards and is nationally known for his research on health care disparities.
His research has been related to three areas:
(1) The effects of patients’ racial and cultural background on the treatment and clinical outcomes of chronic disease;
(2) the development and assessment of interventions aimed at improving quality of medical care and the reduction of disparities in care; and
(3) community-based participatory research to identify and address healthcare disparities.
Multimedia
of 09
Experience
Downloadable Images and Links
Media Appearances
Poor Health: A Frayed Safety Net
2018-04-29 , Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
There is no data about how many patients lack access to specialty care. But there are roughly 35 million uninsured Americans and millions more who are underinsured or on Medicaid. All of those people potentially could have difficulty getting specialty care should they need it.
There also is no national data that shows the cost to health systems when poor patients do not go to see a specialist when they need to. What is known is that inpatient care and emergency room treatment are more expensive than outpatient office visits with specialists, and yet for health care providers the current payment system acts as a disincentive to providing specialty care to the poor. A 2013 National Institutes of Health study found that the average cost of a visit to the emergency department in the United States was $2,168. Many specialists charge at least $350, and office visits that involve procedures can cost more.
Leroi Hicks, now vice chair of the department of medicine at ChristianaCare Health System in Delaware and author of the Harvard study, said the main problem is systemic.
"Even now, with all the changes we're going through with health care, we still operate under a system where specialists are operating under a fee-for-service model and not a plan for the patient's overall health," he said. Because of that, "we shouldn't be surprised that doctors who don't get reimbursed for a service don't provide care to people without insurance."
There also is no national data that shows the cost to health systems when poor patients do not go to see a specialist when they need to. What is known is that inpatient care and emergency room treatment are more expensive than outpatient office visits with specialists, and yet for health care providers the current payment system acts as a disincentive to providing specialty care to the poor. A 2013 National Institutes of Health study found that the average cost of a visit to the emergency department in the United States was $2,168. Many specialists charge at least $350, and office visits that involve procedures can cost more.
Leroi Hicks, now vice chair of the department of medicine at ChristianaCare Health System in Delaware and author of the Harvard study, said the main problem is systemic.
"Even now, with all the changes we're going through with health care, we still operate under a system where specialists are operating under a fee-for-service model and not a plan for the patient's overall health," he said. Because of that, "we shouldn't be surprised that doctors who don't get reimbursed for a service don't provide care to people without insurance."
Participants of study examining Wilmington's west side can earn up to $75
1970-01-01 , Delaware Online / The News Journal
Dr. LeRoi Hicks, chair of ChristianaCare's department of medicine and a study organizer, said they've started to realize that only a small amount of what is done in hospitals and clinics actually improves the health of communities.
"We need much more information about what occurs outside of hospitals, particularly for those most vulnerable populations, which include people from high-stressed communities and communities that are traditionally under-resourced," Hicks said.
"We need much more information about what occurs outside of hospitals, particularly for those most vulnerable populations, which include people from high-stressed communities and communities that are traditionally under-resourced," Hicks said.
2017 UMES Physical Therapy grads receive degrees
2017-09-15 , WESM
UMES' pass-rate record is among the nation's best, a fact not lost on Dr. LeRoi Hicks, the commencement speaker, who said he was impressed by graduates' performance he discovered while doing homework on the program.
Bayard awarded recertification
2016-10-26 , Delaware Business Times
LeRoi S. Hicks, M.D, MPH, FACP of ChristianaCare has been appointed Hugh R. Sharp Jr. Chair of Medicine and physician leader of ChristianaCare’s Acute Medicine service line.
Access to specialty health care out of reach for low-income patients
2014-08-05 , Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
LeRoi Hicks, now vice chair of the department of medicine at ChristianaCare Health System in Delaware and author of the Harvard study, said the main problem is systemic.
Access to specialty care out of reach for many
2014-08-02 , ModernHealthcare.com
Leroi Hicks, now vice chair of the department of medicine at ChristianaCare Health System in Delaware and author of the Harvard study, said the main problem is systemic.
Selected Papers and Publications
Observation Status, Poverty, and High Financial Liability Among Medicare Beneficiaries
Medicare beneficiaries hospitalized under observation status are subject to cost-sharing with no spending limit under Medicare Part B. Because low-income status is associated with increased hospital use, there is concern that such beneficiaries may be at increased risk for high use and out-of-pocket costs related to observation care. Our objective was to determine whether low-income Medicare beneficiaries are at risk for high use and high financial liability for observation care compared with higher-income beneficiaries.
The Unmet Need for Postacute Rehabilitation Among Medicare Observation Patients: A Single-Center Study
Medicare beneficiaries admitted under observation status must pay for postacute inpatient rehabilitation (PAIR) services, out of pocket, at potentially prohibitive costs.
Cardiovascular Disease and Risk in Primary Care Settings in the United States
Primary care site may play an important role in cardiovascular disease prevalence; however, the distribution of risk factors and outcomes across care sites is not known. In this study, a cross-sectional analysis of 21,778 adult participants from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES; 1999 to 2008) using multivariate logistic regression was conducted to assess the relation between site of usual care and disease prevalence.
Impact of Resident Workload and Handoff Training on Patient Outcomes
The landscape of medical education changed substantially in 2003 when the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) first implemented its resident duty-hour restriction.1,2 Since this implementation, little is known about the amount of continued variation of resident workload between residency programs and the effect of workload on patient outcomes. Several studies have examined the association of the ACGME changes with patient safety outcomes, mortality, quality of care, and specialty care utilization within the hospital. Results of these studies have overall shown improved or equivalent care since the duty-hour implementation, although many of these studies are single institution and lack generalizability.
Health Disparities and the Criminal Justice System: An Agenda for Further Research and Action
Although racial and ethnic minorities are more likely to be involved with the criminal justice system than whites in the USA, critical scientific gaps exist in our understanding of the relationship between the criminal justice system and the persistence of racial/ethnic health disparities. Individuals engaged with the criminal justice system are at risk for poor health outcomes. Furthermore, criminal justice involvement may have direct or indirect effects on health and health care.
Event Appearances
IU School of Medicine Diversity Week: Leroi Hicks, MD, MPH
2023-06-08, A Call to Fix the Least Humane of All Inequities, Wishard Hospital, Myers Auditorium
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LeRoi Hicks, M.D., MPH
Chief Medical Officer of Wilmington Hospital and Physician Leader of iREACH
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