HITLAB Research in Review

HITLAB Research in Review  

HITLAB’s Research practice has deep expertise in innovation and the design and implementation of new digital health technologies.  Utilizing a variety of offerings from rapid cycle verification studies to implementation pilots, HITLAB Research can help quickly assess the potential outcome efficacy and economic value of new technologies.  

The team combines rigorous research methodologies with extensive healthcare knowledge and business expertise to provide stakeholders actionable insights quickly and efficiently. 

Sara is a healthcare delivery researcher and digital health strategist dedicated to improving the healthcare experience for all. A social scientist by training, Sara applies her expertise in qualitative research methods and user-centered design to incorporate the needs and priorities of clinicians, patients and their families into the development of innovative, useful, and useable health informatics tools.  Previously on the faculty at NYU Langone’s Center for Healthcare Innovation and Delivery Science, Sara currently directs the research service line at HITLAB (Healthcare Information Technology Lab) and serves on the Board of HITLAB’s Women’s HealthTech Initiative. 

 Tell us a bit about when your interest in science began? 

I studied sociology in college and after graduating, I was trying to figure out how to best utilize this foundation to start a career. I always had an interest in health and illness from a sociological standpoint so when I graduated, I enrolled in a master’s program at the University of South Florida’s School of Public Health that focused on applied social and behavioral science. The program spoke to my intellectual interests as well as my desire to work in a real-world setting. 

 After I finished my Masters, I worked as an adjunct sociology professor at the University of Tampa for a couple of years and then moved to NYC to complete my doctoral work at Columbia as well as more teaching- this time at Fordham University. 

 I knew this was the area I wanted to focus on after being introduced to and learning from Robert Merton, Father of the “Focus Group” while studying at USF. I realized how much I loved finding different perspectives in people’s actions and experiences.  

How long have you been in healthcare research? 

I began my career in digital health research around 2016. I was doing a lot of work related to person centered healthcare and increasingly got involved in projects incorporating patient/caregiver feedback into technology design. Given that I have a background in qualitative research methods- this seemed like a good way to utilize and apply my expertise in a way that would make a difference in the patient experience. 

Do you like what you do? 

I love it!! Can’t imagine doing anything else! 

If you could impart one piece of advice for someone wishing to pursue a career in science or research, particularly females, what would it be? 

Work! You will learn more working and dipping yourself into the world than you will in any kind of classroom setting. Whether it is working in a hospital cafeteria, a doctor’s office, doing paperwork in a lab, whatever the setting may be, you’ll learn from that. And utilize your time working to create connections and ask questions in real world settings. 

Tell us one fun fact about yourself? 

Growing up, I wanted to be a ballet dancer! When I can find the time, I still love to take ballet class. 

HITLAB is collaborating with the Cardiology Department of SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University’s: Dr. Jason Lazar and Dr. Gulzhan Tologonova, Medical Graduate on two current cardiology-focused digital health verification studies.  

SUNY downstate is the only college of medicine in Brooklyn and provides care for underserved populations. “It is part of our mission to ensure that digital health solutions serve to create equity and reduce disparities in care,” said Dr. Lazar, the Vice Dean of Education at SUNY Downstate College of Medicine. . 

“I have collaborated with HITLAB and the team on a number of different projects over the past decade. During this time, I have come to value the vision of digital health, innovation and its potential for promoting health and treating illness.”  

The AccurKardia study is a collaboration between HITLAB, the SUNY Downstate team and cardiology-focused start up Accurkardia, headed by CEO and Co-founder Juan Jiminez. The study is aimed at examining the accuracy and feasibility of using the company's clinical-grade, device agnostic, API electrocardiology analytics capabilities with data from a smart-watch.  Using deep learning models, they are evaluating the potential and accuracy of real time QT interval measurement from a smart watch relative to traditional EKGs. The work is ongoing but preliminary findings indicate AccurKardia's solution holds great promise for remote measurement of important cardiologic health indicators such as the QT interval.  

The team is planning a follow up collaboration expanding the study to evaluate the use of the technology with a wider patient population. 

HILTAB’s research conducted in collaboration with Brightside and Yalini Senathirajah, PhD was published in Cureus Journal of Medical Science. The article “The comparative evaluation of measurement-based psychiatric care delivered via specialized telemental health platform vs. treatment as usual: A retrospective analysis” examines the effectiveness of a telemental health platform compared to treatment as usual (TAU) in significantly reducing symptoms of depression in adults.  

The telemental health platform approach is predicated on the hypothesis that algorithmic clinical decision support, plus frictionless communication between patient and prescriber, along with more frequent measurement-based assessments and medication adjustment, yields better outcomes for patients. While Brightside offers psychiatric services alone as well as in combination with therapy, the focus of this study is on the platform’s core offering of psychiatric care and medication delivery. 

Congratulations to the entire Brightside team as well as to Sara Chokshi, DrPH, Vandana Yadav and the entire HITLAB research practice! 

Sara Chokshi and Kat Marriott presented at the American Telehealth Association Conference (ATA2022 Annual Conference and Expo) in Boston earlier this month. The poster presented was titled “The Acceptability and Implementation of an Online Cognitive Behavior Therapy Platform,” and featured preliminary findings from a recent collaboration with OPTT.  

For more on the work HITLAB is doing with OPTT, check out this video