Alissa Chen, MD, MPH, is a primary care physician and researcher who enjoys focusing on prevention.
“In medical school, I completed a master’s in public health. As I learned more about the health care system and how to help patients on a larger level, I knew that primary care was the best way to do that as a physician,” she says. “Primary care is all about prevention, which we do by screening and by treating illnesses early to prevent long-term problems.”
That, Dr. Chen says, is her favorite way to practice medicine. “I want to keep people happy and healthy for a long time as opposed to treating the downstream effects of untreated illnesses,” she says.
The best part of her job, she says, is getting to know her patients and building relationships with them. “It’s just such a beautiful thing to be a part of people’s lives,” she says.
Dr. Chen’s clinical care is largely focused on managing hypertension and diabetes. “Both of theses conditions are complicated and I enjoy dedicating time to help patients understand them,” she says. “For patients, understanding diabetes is like getting a PhD in it. There are so many things patients need to learn to manage it, like how to monitor sugar, give injections, and alter your diet. Similarly, high blood pressure may seem simple, but a deep understanding of it is important when it is an illness patients might not feel on a daily basis. I like finding ways to explain things to people in ways they can understand and partnering with them to figure out which medications work best for them.”
Dr. Chen’s research interests include health care access and affordability and obesity in older adults.
