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Asaf Bitton, M.D.

Associate Professor of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital
Associate Professor of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School
Associate Professor of Health Care Policy in the Department of Health Policy and Management, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

As a practicing primary care physician and health systems innovator, my work centers on improving the measurement and delivery of primary care nationally and globally. I have a particular focus on the implementation and evaluation of new team-based models of primary care delivery, and their associated payment structures. In the past, I studied the epidemiology and control of non-communicable diseases in low and middle income countries, with a focus on global tobacco control.

In addition to my appointments at the Division of General Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital and the Department of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School, I direct the work at Ariadne Labs for the Primary Health Care Performance Initiative (www.phcperformanceinitiative.org). This joint effort with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Bank, the World Health Organization, along with Results for Development, aims to measure in both traditional and novel ways primary care functions and performance within low and middle income partner countries, with the goal of understanding variation in performance and tailoring improvement initiatives to address performance gaps.

I also serve as a Senior Advisor to the Comprehensive Primary Care initiative at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation. This national multi-payer initiative launched in 2012 combines payment reform and practice redesign to transform 474 primary care practices in 8 states over 4 years with the overarching goal of improving quality of care, patient experience, and reducing costs.

I practice primary care medicine and am the Assistant Medical Director at the Brigham and Women’s Advanced Primary Care Associates, South Huntington, a patient-centered medical home practice in Jamaica Plain, MA.

Health risks, chronic diseases, and access to care among US Pacific Islanders.
Authors: Authors: Bitton A, Zaslavsky AM, Ayanian JZ.
J Gen Intern Med
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The future of health information technology in the patient-centered medical home.
Authors: Authors: Bates DW, Bitton A.
Health Aff (Millwood)
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Growing epidemic of coronary heart disease in low- and middle-income countries.
Authors: Authors: Gaziano TA, Bitton A, Anand S, Abrahams-Gessel S, Murphy A.
Curr Probl Cardiol
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Clinical problem-solving. A fragile balance.
Authors: Authors: Bitton A, Yialamas M, Levy BD, Katz JT, Loscalzo J.
N Engl J Med
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The global cost of nonoptimal blood pressure.
Authors: Authors: Gaziano TA, Bitton A, Anand S, Weinstein MC.
J Hypertens
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Clinical risk factors for severe Clostridium difficile-associated disease.
Authors: Authors: Henrich TJ, Krakower D, Bitton A, Yokoe DS.
Emerg Infect Dis
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An international survey of training programs for treating tobacco dependence.
Authors: Authors: Rigotti NA, Bitton A, Richards AE, Reyen M, Wassum K, Raw M.
Addiction
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Small bowel bezoar in a patient with Noonan syndrome: report of a case.
Authors: Authors: Bitton A, Keagle JN, Varma MG.
MedGenMed
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Anger expression and lifestyle incongruity interactions on blood pressure in Samoan adults.
Authors: Authors: Bitton A, McGarvey ST, Viali S.
Am J Hum Biol
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Severe hypoglycaemia post-gastric bypass requiring partial pancreatectomy: evidence for inappropriate insulin secretion and pancreatic islet hyperplasia.
Authors: Authors: Patti ME, McMahon G, Mun EC, Bitton A, Holst JJ, Goldsmith J, Hanto DW, Callery M, Arky R, Nose V, Bonner-Weir S, Goldfine AB.
Diabetologia
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