Bio

Ken Suzuki is a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University's Department of Surgery. He received his PhD in Economics from the University of California at Santa Cruz in June 2024. Before UC Santa Cruz, he earned his MA in Economics from Hitotsubashi University in 2017 and his BA in Economics from Yokohama National University in 2015. His research interests include health economics, applied microeconomics, econometrics, and statistical causal inference. His research utilizes large administrative datasets from the Veterans Health Administration (VA) to examine how health policies affect patient healthcare utilization and health outcomes.

Stanford Advisors

Contact

  • Academic
    ksuzuki4@stanford.edu
    University - Scholar Department: Surgery Position: Postdoctoral Scholar

Additional Info

  • Mail Code: 5552

All Publications

  • Medical advice lines offering on-demand access to providers reduced emergency department visits. Health affairs scholar Tran, L. D., Rose, L., Suzuki, K., Urech, T., Vashi, A. 2023; 1 (6): qxad079

    Abstract

    Instant access to clinicians through virtual care is designed to allow patients to receive care they need while avoiding high-cost visits in acute-care settings. This study investigates the effect of offering patients the option to instantly connect with emergency care providers instead of being referred to the emergency department (ED) following calls to a medical advice line. We used a staggered rollout design to assess the effects of implementing this program on key outcomes among Veterans Affairs enrollees. Analyzing over 1 million calls from 2019 to 2022, we found that access to a provider reduced the proportion of patients who subsequently visited the ED compared with those with access to the standard medical advice line (38% vs 36%). There was no significant difference observed in subsequent inpatient admissions or 30-day mortality. We found that a majority of callers (65%) achieved issue resolution or were directed to lower acuity settings for further evaluation. Although substantial direct cost savings were not evident, our findings demonstrate that on-demand access to a virtual provider can effectively decrease ED visits.

    View details for DOI 10.1093/haschl/qxad079

    View details for PubMedID 38756361

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC10986286

  • Effective or Self-Selective: Random Assignment Demonstrates Short-Term Study Abroad Effectively Encourages Further Study Abroad JOURNAL OF STUDIES IN INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION Kato, M., Suzuki, K. 2019; 23 (4): 411-428

    View details for DOI 10.1177/1028315318803713

    View details for Web of Science ID 000476497800001