Leah S. Karliner, MD, MCR

Assistant Adjunct Professor of Medicine

Education:

• Undergraduate: Columbia College of Columbia University, New York, NY
• Medical School: University of California, San Francisco
• Residency: Primary Care Internal Medicine, University of California, San Francisco
• Fellowship and Master's Degree in Clinical Research: University of California, San Francisco

Dr. Karliner is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), and has a Master's degree in Advanced Study in Clinical Research through the UCSF Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. She attended medical school and completed her residency and general medicine fellowship at UCSF.

Her work focuses on improving quality of care for limited English proficient (LEP) patients at critical clinical junctures. She has studied the impact of professional interpreters on clinical care, the major communication challenges for breast cancer physicians (surgeons and oncologists), knowledge gaps for Spanish-speaking patients with a diagnosis of ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast, and women's comprehension of their abnormal mammogram results. Through support from the American Cancer Society, she is currently studying the impact of language barriers on delays in diagnosis and treatment for breast cancer.

Dr. Karliner also has a strong research interest in communication during both hospitalization and transitions in care from the hospital. She is currently studying the impact of interpreter use on comprehension of discharge instructions, as well as the association of language barriers with utilization and hospital outcomes. She plans to translate her research findings in both breast cancer and hospital communication into interventions to decrease disparities in healthcare and improve quality of care for LEP populations.

Areas of interest

Improving quality of care for limited English proficiency patients at critical clinical junctures - e.g. breast cancer care, hospitalization.

Selected Publications

1. Karliner LS, Pérez-Stable EJ, Gildengorin G. The Language Divide: The Importance of Training in the Use of Interpreters in Ambulatory Practice. J Gen Intern Med 2004 Feb;19(2):175-83.

2. Jacobs AE, Chen AH, Karliner LS, Fortier JP, Mutha S. Legal and Regulatory Obligations to Provide Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Emergency Department Services. Clin Ped Emerg Med 2004; 5:85-92.

3. Karliner LS, Kaplan C, Juarbe T, Pasick R, Pérez-Stable EJ. Poor Patient Comprehension of Abnormal Mammography Results. J Gen Intern Med 2005 May; 20(5):432-437.

4. Mutha S, Karliner LS. Improving Cultural Competency: Organizational Strategies for Clinical Care. Journal of Clinical Outcomes Management. J Clin Outcomes Manage 2006 Jan; 13(1):47-51.

5. Jacobs EJ, Chen AH, Karliner LS, Agger-Gupta N, Mutha S. The Need for More Research on Language Barriers in Health Care: A Proposed Research Agenda. The Milbank Quarterly, 2006 March, 84(1): 111-133.

6. Karliner LS, Jacobs EA, Chen A, Mutha S. Do Professional Interpreters Improve Clinical Care? A Systematic Review of the Literature. Health Services Research 2007, 42(2); 727-754.

7. Karliner LS, Napoles-Springer A, Kerlikowske K, Haas J, Kaplan CP. Missed Opportunities: Family History and Behavioral Risk Factors in Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Among a Multi-ethnic Group of Women. JGIM, 2007; 22:308-314.