SAJ_8375 (1).jpeg

Stefan Geoffrey Kertesz

Professor of Medicine, Heersink School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Chapter Member: Alabama SSN
Areas of Expertise:

About Stefan

Kertesz's research focuses on improving health and social service delivery for vulnerable populations, including persons with homeless experience, pain, and substance use disorder. Overarching themes in Kertesz's research including the need for special models of primary care for homeless populations, social policy responses to homelessness, care of populations with pain and/or opioid receipt, and prevention of suicide. Kertesz cares directly for Veterans with homeless experience. He serves on the Board of the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship, and previously served as Chair of the homeless Continuum of Care organization in Birmingham, Alabama.

In the News

Opinion: "Suicide and Opioids: No Easy Answers, No Sweeping Conclusions," Stefan Geoffrey Kertesz, Sensible Medicine, April 25, 2023.
Research discussed by "What Is CSI:OPIOIDs?," UAB Heersink, 2023.
Quoted by Sam Whitehead and Andy Miller in "CDC’s New Opioid Guidelines Are Too Little, Too Late for Chronic Pain Patients, Experts Say," NBC News, March 13, 2023.
Quoted by Will Stone and Pien Huang in "CDC Issues New Opioid Prescribing Guidance, Giving Doctors More Leeway To Treat Pain," NPR, November 3, 2022.
Quoted by By Maia Szalavitz in "What the Opioid Crisis Took From People in Pain," The New York Times, March 7, 2022.
Quoted by Jan Hoffman in "Were These Doctors Treating Pain or Dealing Drugs?," The New York Times, February 22, 2022.
Guest on TEDx Talks, November 23, 2019.
Opinion: "No More ‘Shortcuts’ in Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain. Millions of Americans Need Nuanced Care," Stefan Geoffrey Kertesz (with Kate M. Nicholson), Stat News, April 26, 2019.

Publications

"New Data on Opioid Dose Reduction—Implications for Patient Safety" (with Allyson L. Varley). JAMA Network Open 5, no. 6 (2022).

Discusses implications for Patient Safety". Explains research that identifies adverse patient outcomes, including death by suicide, after reduction of long-term prescribed opioids.

"Characteristics Associated With Unsheltered Status Among Veterans" (with Aerin J. DeRussy, Kevin R. Riggs, April E. Hoge, Allyson L. Varley , Ann Elizabeth Montgomery , John R. Blosnich, Audrey L. Jones, Sonya E. Gabrielian, Lillian Gelberg , Adam J. Gordon, and Joshua S. Richman). American Journal of Preventive Medicine 61, no. 3 (2021): 357-368.

Surveys 5406 homeless-experienced veterans across 26 US communities and finds recent unsheltered homeless time was found to correlate with individual and community risk factors.

"Comparison of Patient Experience Between Primary Care Settings Tailored for Homeless Clientele and Mainstream Care Settings" (with Aerin DeRussy, Young Kim, April E. Hoge, Erika L. Austin, Adam J. Gordon, Lillian Gelberg, Sonya E. Gabrielian, Kevin R. Riggs, John R. Blosnich, Ann E. Montgomery, Sally K. Holmes, Allyson L. Varley, David E. Pollio, Adi V. Gundlapalli, and Audrey L. Jones). Medical Care 59, no. 6 (2021): 495-503.

Finds 5766 homeless-experienced veterans, specialized primary care services to produce better primary care experience and prevent bad care experiences, when compared to the experience of homeless-experienced veterans in mainstream primary care settings.

"Housing First on a Large Scale: Fidelity Strengths and Challenges in the VA’s HUD-VASH Progra" (with E. L. Austin, S.K. Holmes, A. J. DeRussy, C. Lukas Van Deusen, and D.E. Pollio). Psychological Services 14, no. 2 (2017): 118-128.

Summarizes a Veterans Affairs study, led by Dr. Kertesz, examining the VA's fidelity to the Housing First model of intervention for homeless Veterans.

"Housing First for Homeless Persons with Active Addiction: Are We Overreaching?" (with Kimberly Crouch, Jesse B. Milby, Robert E. Cusimano, and Joseph E. Schumacher). The Milbank Quarterly 87, no. 2 (2009): 495-534.

Reviews data that supports, alternately, Housing First interventions and behavioral treatment models for persons with addiction and current homelessness.