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Umar Mahmood

Stanford Medicine Professor of Radiology

Contact Info
Mail Code: 5281
um1@stanford.edu

Current Research and Scholarly InterestsDr. Mahmoud-Werthmann's research focuses on implementation science, health equity, and healthcare delivery innovation, with an emphasis on improving care for patients experiencing social and structural barriers to health. She is particularly interested in understanding how evidence-based interventions can be effectively implemented, adapted, and scaled within real-world healthcare settings to improve access, quality, and outcomes for vulnerable populations.

A central theme of her work is centering the experiences of patients and communities in the design of healthcare interventions. She has a strong interest in qualitative and mixed-methods research and values approaches that elevate patient perspectives, identify barriers to care, and inform the development of more responsive healthcare systems. Her current work includes qualitative research exploring telehealth access and utilization among unstably housed populations, with a particular focus on co-designing potential solutions alongside patients and community stakeholders.

Her research also includes evaluation of community health worker programs, implementation strategies to increase adoption of evidence-based addiction treatment, including emergency department naltrexone prescribing, and operational approaches to addressing health-related social needs within healthcare systems. More broadly, she is interested in developing and evaluating scalable models that improve care transitions, strengthen system navigation, and advance health equity across the continuum of care.

In addition to her health services and implementation research, Dr. Mahmoud-Werthmann is interested in advancing equity within academic medicine. Her work in this area focuses on understanding barriers to advancement for women in emergency medicine and exploring innovative models of mentorship, sponsorship, and professional development that promote equitable career advancement and leadership opportunities.