Research in Hospital Medicine
The Division of Hospital Medicine conducts research focused on improving the care of hospitalized patients. Our investigators study how clinical decisions, care processes, and health system factors influence outcomes across the inpatient continuum, from admission through discharge and recovery after hospitalization.
By combining expertise in clinical care, quality improvement, health services research, and clinical informatics, we generate evidence that informs practice, supports operational decision-making, and advances the field of hospital medicine.
Areas of Research
Hospital Outcomes and Quality of Care
Our faculty examine patient outcomes associated with common inpatient conditions, with a particular focus on guideline-concordant care, mortality, length of stay, complications, and care variation. This work helps identify opportunities to improve the quality, safety, and value of hospital-based care.
Readmissions and Care Transitions
The transition from hospital to home is an essential period in patient care. We study readmissions, post-discharge utilization, and patterns of care across clinical settings to better understand factors that influence recovery after hospitalization.
Health Equity and Safety-Net Medicine
Through our clinical presence at both Clements University Hospital and Parkland Health, we investigate differences in care delivery and outcomes across diverse patient populations. Our research seeks to identify factors that contribute to disparities in hospitalization outcomes and to develop approaches that improve care for all patients.
Because the same questions can be studied in two very different resource environments, findings that hold across both sites carry a degree of external validity that single-site research rarely achieves, which is precisely what funders, collaborators, and health systems look for when asking whether evidence will translate beyond it point of generation.
Hospital Operations and Workforce Science
Hospital medicine plays a central role in the daily operations of health systems. Our investigators study staffing models, patient flow, care coordination, and operational processes to better understand how health systems can deliver efficient, high-quality care.
Learning Health Systems and Clinical Informatics
We leverage clinical and administrative data to address questions that arise from routine patient care. Working collaboratively with experts across UT Southwestern, we apply advanced analytics and informatics approaches to transform clinical data into actionable evidence.
Research Infrastructure
The Division supports a growing portfolio of outcomes and health services research through access to institutional clinical data, regional and national benchmarking resources, administrative claims datasets, and large-scale de-identified electronic health record data. These resources allow investigators to evaluate patient outcomes at the local, regional, and national levels.
Research efforts are supported by faculty leadership, collaborative partnerships, and a structured environment that encourages multidisciplinary investigation and scholarly development.
Education and Mentorship
Training future investigators is an important component of the Division's academic mission. Faculty members mentor residents, fellows, medical students, and early-career researchers in outcomes research, quality improvement, implementation science, and health services research. Participation in ongoing projects provides trainees with opportunities to develop research skills while contributing to studies that address real-world clinical challenges.
Collaborate With Us
The Division welcomes collaboration with investigators across UT Southwestern and external institutions. We are particularly interested in partnerships focused on hospitalization outcomes, quality improvement, implementation science, health equity, health services research, and clinical informatics. Together, we are advancing evidence that improves care for hospitalized patients and strengthens the systems that serve them.