Bio

Bio

Becca Tisdale, MD, MPA is an internist and health services researcher with interests in global health cardiology and health systems. She received a B.A. with distinction in Human Biology from Stanford in 2009, followed by a master of public administration (MPA) joint degree from Sciences Po, Paris and the London School of Economics. She then matriculated at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons for medical school, where she was active in global health activities, researching multidisciplinary teams in HIV care in Ethiopia and serving on the board of the student international health organization. As a global health track resident at Stanford, Becca spent time working in Rwanda through the Johnson and Johnson program and participated in the inaugural Women Leaders in Global Health conferences at Stanford and in London. In 2019-2020, she comprised one third of Stanford?s first all-woman internal medicine chief resident cohort. Outside of work, she enjoys all things French as well as running, both in races and after her toddler son.

Clinical Focus

  • Internal Medicine

Honors & Awards

  • Julian Wolfsohn Award for clinical judgment, leadership, teaching, and kindness, Stanford Internal Medicine Residency (2017)
  • Alpha Omega Alpha, Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons (2016)
  • Glasgow-Rubin Achievement Award for women graduates in top 10% of class, Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons (2016)
  • Drs. Savitt & McCormack Award for medical skill, consideration, understanding, and compassion, Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons (2016)

Professional Education

  • Bachelor of Arts, Stanford University, HUMBI-BA (2009)
  • Board Certification: American Board of Internal Medicine, Internal Medicine (2019)
  • Chief Residency, Stanford University Internal Medicine Residency, CA (2020)
  • Residency: Stanford University Internal Medicine Residency (2019) CA
  • Medical Education: Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (2016) NY
  • MPA, Sciences Po/London School of Economics, Public Administration (2012)
  • BA, Stanford University, Human Biology (2009)

Stanford Advisors

Contact

  • Hospitalist for Stanford Medical Center 500 Pasteur Dr Stanford, CA 94305
    • Tel: (650) 723-8287
    Fax: (650) 723-8596

Publications

All Publications

  • Trends in Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction for Patients With a New Diagnosis of Heart Failure. Circulation. Heart failure Tisdale, R. L., Haddad, F., Kohsaka, S., Heidenreich, P. A. 2020: CIRCHEARTFAILURE119006743

    Abstract

    BACKGROUND: The left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) guides treatment of heart failure, yet this data has not been systematically collected in large data sets. We sought to characterize the epidemiology of incident heart failure using the initial LVEF.METHODS: We identified 219 537 patients in the Veterans Affairs system between 2011 and 2017 who had an LVEF documented within 365 days before and 30 days after the heart failure diagnosis date. LVEF was obtained from natural language processing from imaging and provider notes. In multivariate analysis, we assessed characteristics associated with having an initial LVEF <40%.RESULTS: Most patients were male and White; a plurality were within the 60 to 69 year age decile. A majority of patients had ischemic heart disease and a high burden of co-morbidities. Over time, presentation with an LVEF <40% became slightly less common, with a nadir in 2015. Presentation with an initial LVEF <40% was more common in younger patients, men, Black and Hispanic patients, an inpatient presentation, lower systolic blood pressure, lower pulse pressure, and higher heart rate. Ischemic heart disease, alcohol use disorder, peripheral arterial disease, and ventricular arrhythmias were associated with an initial LVEF <40%, while most other comorbid conditions (eg, atrial fibrillation, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, malignancy) were more strongly associated with an initial LVEF >50%.CONCLUSIONS: For patients with heart failure, particularly at the extremes of age, an initial preserved LVEF is common. In addition to clinical characteristics, certain races (Black and Hispanic) were more likely to present with a reduced LVEF. Further studies are needed to determine if racial differences are due to patient or health systems issues such as access to care.

    View details for DOI 10.1161/CIRCHEARTFAILURE.119.006743

    View details for PubMedID 32867526

  • Association Between Neighborhood Social Risk and Hospital Readmission Reduction Penalties Under the New Stratified Approach: Is Dual Eligibility Adjustment Enough? Circulation. Cardiovascular quality and outcomes Sandhu, A. T., Tisdale, R., Joynt Maddox, K. E., Heidenreich, P. A. 2020: CIRCOUTCOMES119006353

    View details for DOI 10.1161/CIRCOUTCOMES.119.006353

    View details for PubMedID 32600063

  • Novel Graduate Medical Education in the Era of a Novel Virus Journal of Graduate Medical Education Tisdale, R., Filsoof, A., Singhal, S. 2020
  • How Much Time are Physicians and Nurses Spending Together at the Patient Bedside? Journal of hospital medicine Sang, A. X., Tisdale, R. L., Nielsen, D., Loica-Mersa, S., Miller, T., Chong, I., Shieh, L. 2019; 14: E1?E6

    Abstract

    BACKGROUND: Bedside rounding involving both nurses and physicians has numerous benefits for patients and staff. However, precise quantitative data on the current extent of physician-nurse (MD-RN) overlap at the patient bedside are lacking.OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine the frequency of nurse and physician overlap at the patient beside and what factors affect this frequency.DESIGN: This is a prospective, observational study of time-motion data generated from wearable radio frequency identification (RFID)-based locator technology.SETTING: Single-institution academic hospital.MEASUREMENTS: The length of physician rounds, frequency of rounds that include nurses simultaneously at the bedside, and length of MD-RN overlap were measured and analyzed by ward, day of week, and distance between patient room and nursing station.RESULTS: A total of 739 MD rounding events were captured over 90 consecutive days. Of these events, 267 took place in single-bed patient rooms. The frequency of MD-RN overlap was 30.0%, and there was no statistical difference between the three wards studied. Overall, the average length of all MD rounds was 7.31 ± 0.58 minutes, but rounding involving a bedside nurse lasted longer than rounds with MDs alone (9.56 vs 5.68 minutes, P < .05). There was no difference in either the length of rounds or the frequency of MD-RN overlap between weekdays and weekends. Finally, patient rooms located farther away from the nursing station had a lower likelihood of MD-RN overlap (Pearson's r = -0.67, P < .05).CONCLUSION: RFID-based technology provides precise, automated, and high-throughput time-motion data to capture nurse and physician activity. At our institution, 30.0% of rounds involve a bedside nurse, highlighting a potential barrier to bedside interdisciplinary rounding.

    View details for DOI 10.12788/jhm.3204

    View details for PubMedID 31112496

  • What's in a Name? Factors That Influence the Usage of Generic Versus Trade Names for Cardiac Medications Among Healthcare Providers CIRCULATION-CARDIOVASCULAR QUALITY AND OUTCOMES Ouyang, D., Tisdale, R., Cheng, P., Chi, J., Chen, J. H., Ashley, E. 2018; 11 (8)

    View details for DOI 10.1161/CIRCOUTCOMES.118.004704

    View details for Web of Science ID 000442242700009

  • Acetaminophen or Tylenol? A Retrospective Analysis of Medication Digital Communication Practices. Journal of general internal medicine Ouyang, D., Tisdale, R., Ashley, E., Chi, J., Chen, J. H. 2018

    View details for PubMedID 29717410

  • EMR-based handoff tool improves completeness of internal medicine residents' handoffs. BMJ open quality Tisdale, R. L., Eggers, Z., Shieh, L. 2018; 7 (3): e000188

    Abstract

    Background: The majority of adverse events in healthcare involve communication breakdown. Physician-to-physician handoffs are particularly prone to communication errors, yet have been shown to be more complete when systematised according to a standardised bundle. Interventions that improve thoroughness of handoffs have not been widely studied.Aim: To measure the effect of an electronic medical record (EMR)-based handoff tool on handoff completeness.Intervention: This EMR-based handoff tool included a radio button prompting users to classify patients as stable, a 'watcher' or unstable. It automatically pulled in EMR data on the patient's 24-hour vitals, common lab tests and code status. Finally, it provided text boxes labelled 'Active Issues', 'Action List (To-Dos)' and 'If/Then' to fill in.Implementation and evaluation: Written handoffs from general and specialty (haematology, oncology, cardiology) Internal Medicine resident-run inpatient wards were evaluated on a randomly chosen representative sample of days in April and May 2015 at Stanford University Medical Center, focusing on a predefined set of content elements. The intervention was then implemented in June 2015 with postintervention data collected in an identical fashion in August to September 2016.Results: Handoff completeness improved significantly (p<0.0001). Improvement in inclusion of illness severity was notable for its magnitude and its importance in establishing a consistent mental model of a patient. Elements that automatically pulled in data and those prompting users to actively fill in data both improved.Conclusion: A simple EMR-based handoff tool providing a mix of frameworks for completion and automatic pull-in of objective data improved handoff completeness. This suggests that EMR-based interventions may be effective at improving handoffs, possibly leading to fewer medical errors and better patient care.

    View details for DOI 10.1136/bmjoq-2017-000188

    View details for PubMedID 30019013

  • What's in a Name? Factors That Influence the Usage of Generic Versus Trade Names for Cardiac Medications Among Healthcare Providers. Circulation. Cardiovascular quality and outcomes Ouyang, D., Tisdale, R., Cheng, P., Chi, J., Chen, J. H., Ashley, E. 2018; 11 (8): e004704

    View details for PubMedID 30354370

  • Stress and Anxiety Scores in First and Repeat IVF Cycles: A Pilot Study. PloS one Turner, K., Reynolds-May, M. F., Zitek, E. M., Tisdale, R. L., Carlisle, A. B., Westphal, L. M. 2013; 8 (5)

    View details for DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0063743

    View details for PubMedID 23717472

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