Rebekah A. Heckmann, MD

Rebekah Heckmann, MD, MPH, is an emergency medicine physician who cares for patients with a range of urgent medical conditions, including trauma, acute illness, and complications from substance use. She also has a clinical focus on supporting patients with substance use disorders, helping them access treatment and navigate behavioral health challenges that often arise in emergency settings.

In her role as assistant professor at Yale School of Medicine, Dr. Heckmann’s research explores ways to improve care for people seeking help in emergency departments, especially those affected by substance use and behavioral health crises. Her work uses social science approaches, such as system dynamics modeling—a method for understanding and improving complex systems—to examine behaviors of patients and bystanders during overdoses and to identify effective health policies. She collaborates on studies that look at improving emergency response to agitation and behavioral crises, enhancing connections to addiction treatment, and measuring the impact of factors such as housing status on treatment engagement.

Dr. Heckmann received her medical training at the University of Minnesota, completed her residency in emergency medicine at the University of Washington, and pursued fellowship training in health policy research and translation at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She also holds a master of public health from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and a master in public administration from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.