Mary Catherine Beach, MD

Primary Academic Title

Professor of Medicine

Background

Centers and Institutes

• Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics (jhu.edu)
• Johns Hopkins Center for Health Equity | Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (jhu.edu)
• Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology, and Clinical Research
• Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality | Johns Hopkins Medicine

Recent News Articles and Media Coverage

Words Matter: How Language Used in Health Care Settings Can Impact the Quality of Pediatric Care, Center for Health Care Strategies(Feb 17, 2022)

Research Interests

Bioethics, Health care quality for underserved populations, HIV and substance abuse, Patient-clinician communication, Respect, Sickle-cell disease

Lab Website

Mary Catherine Beach Lab - Lab Website

• Research in the Mary Catherine Beach Lab focuses on humanizing healthcare through investigation of patient-provider communication and relationships. Current research involves investigating the theoretical foundations of respect, as well as the impact of physician attitudes and communication on patients in the primary care setting, with a specific focus on HIV, substance abuse and sickle cell disease patients.

Research Summary

Dr. Beach is currently conducting research on the theoretical foundations of respect and the impact of physician attitudes and patient-physician communication on patient outcomes.

Google Scholar

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=EFqrGD4AAAAJ

Selected Publications

• aha S, Beach MC. The Impact of Patient-Centered Communication on Patients' Decision Making and Evaluations of Physicians: A Randomized Study Using Video Vignettes. Patient Education and Counseling. 2011 Sep;84(3):386-92.

• Beach MC, Duggan PS, Cassell CK, Geller G. What does ‘respect’ mean? Exploring the moral obligation of health professionals to respect patients. Journal of General Internal Medicine. 2007 May;22(5):692-5.

• Beach MC, Keruly J, Moore RD.  Is the quality of the patient-provider relationship associated with better adherence and health outcomes for patients with HIV? J Gen Internal Med. 2006 Jun;21(6):661-5.

• Beach MC, Price EG, Gary TL, Robinson KA, Gozu A, Palacio A, Smarth C, Jenkes MW,  Feuersein CJ, Bass EB, Powe NR, Cooper LA. Cultural competence: A systematic review of health care provider educational interventions. Medical Care. 2005 Apr;43(4):356-73.

• Beach MC, Roter D, Korthuis PT, Epstein RM, Sharp V, Ratanawongsa N, Cohn J, Eggly S, Sankar A, Moore RD, Saha S. A multicenter study of physician mindfulness and health care quality. Annals of Family Medicine. 2013 Sep-Oct;11(5):421-8.

• Beach MC, Roter D, Rubin H, Frankel R, Levinson W, Ford DE. Is physician self-disclosure related to patient evaluation of office visits? Journal of General Internal Medicine. 2004 Sep;19(9):905-10.

• Beach MC, Roter DL, Saha S, Korthuis PT, Eggly S, Cohn J, Sharp V, Moore RD, Wilson IB.  Impact of a Brief Patient and Provider Intervention to Improve the Quality of Communication about Medication Adherence among HIV Patients.  Patient Education and Counseling, 2015 May 21

• Beach MC,Roter DL, Wang NY, Duggan PS, Cooper LA. Are physicians’ attitudes of respect accurately perceived by patients and associated more positive communication behaviors? Patient Education and Counseling. 2006 Sep;62(3):347-54.

• Flickinger TE, Saha S, Moore RD, Beach MC.  Higher Quality Communication and Relationships Are Associated with Improved Patient Engagement in HIV Care. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes. 2013 Jul 1;63(3):362-6.

• Flickinger TE, Saha S, Roter D, Korthuis PT, Sharp V, Cohn J, Eggly S, Moore RD, Beach MC. “Clinician empathy is associated with differences in patient-clinician communication behaviors and higher medication self-efficacy in HIV care.” Patient Educ Couns. 2015 Sep 3. pii: S0738-3991(15)30070-7. doi: 10.1016/j.pec.2015.09.001. [Epub ahead of print]

• Flickinger TE, Saha S, Roter D, Korthuis PT, Sharp V, Cohn J, Moore RD, Ingersoll KS, Beach MC. “Respecting patients is associated with more patient-centered communication behaviors in clinical encounters.” Patient Educ Couns. 2015 Aug 20. pii: S0738-3991(15)30057-4. doi: 10.1016/j.pec.2015.08.020. [Epub ahead of print]

• Haywood C Jr, Lanzkron S, Hughes MT, Brown R, Massa M, Ratanawongsa N, Beach MC. A Video-Intervention to Improve Clinician Attitudes toward Patients with Sickle Cell Disease: The Results of a Randomized Experiment. Journal of General Internal Medicine. 2011 May;26(5):518-23.

• Haywood C Jr, Williams-Reade J, Rushton C, Beach MC, Geller G. “Improving clinician attitudes of respect and trust for persons with sickle cell disease.” Hosp Pediatr. 2015 Jul;5(7):377-84. doi: 10.1542/hpeds.2014-0171.

• Haywood Jr. C., Diener-West M., Strouse J., Patrick Carroll C., Bediako S., Lanzkron S., Haythornthwaite J., Onojobi G., and Beach MC., for the IMPORT Investigators. Perceived Discrimination in Health Care is Associated with a Greater Burden of Pain in Sickle Cell Disease. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. 2014 Nov;48(5):934-43. Epub Apr 15

• Hsu I, Saha S, Korthuis PT, Sharp V, Cohn J, Moore RD, Beach MC. Providing Support to Patients in Emotional Encounters: A New Perspective on Missed Empathic Opportunities. Patient Education and Counseling. 2012 Sep;88(3):436-42.

• Kinsman H, Roter D, Berkenblit G, Saha S, Korthuis PT, Wilson I, Eggly S, Sankar A, Sharp V, Cohn J, Moore RD, Beach MC. “We’ll do this together”: The Role of the First Person Plural in Fostering Partnership in Patient-Physician Relationships. Journal of General Internal Medicine. 2010 Mar;25(3):186-93.

• Laws MB, Rose GS, Beach MC, Lee Y, Rogers WS, Velasco AB, Wilson IB. “Patient-provider concordance with behavioral change goals drives measures of motivational interviewing consistency.” Patient Educ Couns. 2015 Jun;98(6):728-33. doi: 10.1016/j.pec.2015.02.014. Epub 2015 Feb 23.

• Saha S, Korthuis PT, Cohn JA, Sharp VL, Moore RD, Beach MC. Primary care provider cultural competence and racial disparities in HIV care and outcomes. J General Internal Medicine. 2013 May;28(5):622-9

Courses & Syllabi

Genes to Society: Scholarly Concentrations, Year Two, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

Honors

• Generalist Physician Faculty Scholars Program, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
• K-08 Award, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
• George Engel Award 22nd annual George L. Engel Award for Outstanding Research contributing to the Theory, Practice and Teaching of Effective Healthcare Communication and Related Skills, Academy of Communication in Healthcare
• Levine Mentoring Award, Johns Hopkins, 1/1/15
• Jozien Bensing Award for Outstanding Research contributing to Effective Healthcare Communication, European Association of Communications in Healthcare (EACH), 1/1/10

Professional Activities

Johns Hopkins, Leadership Program for Women Faculty, 1/1/13