David Zingmond, M.D., Ph.D.

David Zingmond, M.D., Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Division of General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is a member of the Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI), the UCLA medical group, and the Community Engagement and Research Program (CERP).  Dr. Zingmond’s research examines clinical care and outcomes in three areas:  quality of care for the elderly, HIV/AIDS, and specialty surgery quality of care and outcomes. Dr. Zingmond has published numerous peer-reviewed articles in journals such as JAMA, Medical Care, Health Affairs, American Journal of Public Health, Annals of Emergency Medicine, and Annals of Surgery. He has also written a UCLA Newsroom blog on health policy issues related to the 2008 presidential election. Dr. Zingmond holds a degree in medicine from the Stanford University School of Medicine and a doctorate in Health Services from UCLA. He completed a primary care fellowship and STAR fellowship at the UCLA School of Medicine.

Dr. Zingmond is leading a HCFO study examining the impact and potential spillover effects of the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP), an initiative under the Affordable Care Act that penalizes hospitals with high rates of preventable readmissions for Medicare patients with certain conditions. Dr. Zingmond and colleagues will investigate the effects of the HRRP on Medicare fee-for-service patients and the diffusion of these policies to patients who are covered through private insurance, Medicare managed care, and Medicaid. Additionally, the study will examine the effects of the HRRP on additional conditions that are not currently outlined in the program, but which are expected to be included in FY2014 and FY2015. Dr. Zingmond will examine the program’s impact on all-cause medical and surgical index admissions. Finally, the UCLA team will identify key quality improvement initiatives at high and low performing hospitals through interviews with hospital quality improvement officers. The goal of this project is to provide policymakers with early information on an important policy initiative under health care reform.

Additional information about Dr. Zingmond’s HCFO-funded work is available here. More information on his research and a list of selected publications can be found here.