Chien-Wen Tseng, a University of Hawaiʻi John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) associate professor and associate research director of family medicine and community health, has been appointed to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF).
“Dr. Tseng is the first USPSTF member appointed from the State of Hawaiʻi,” said UH President David Lassner. “Her perspectives, having worked with diverse communities in Hawaiʻi, will undoubtedly be a unique and valuable addition to the task force.”
The task force is an independent, volunteer panel of national experts in prevention and evidence-based medicine. Members come from many health-related fields, including internal medicine, family medicine, pediatrics, behavioral health, obstetrics/gynecology, and nursing. Members are appointed to serve a four-year term by the director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, with guidance from task force leadership.
“On behalf of my fellow task force members, I am delighted to welcome Dr. Tseng to the task force,” said USPSTF Chair Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo. “Her clinical and research expertise in the areas of primary healthcare and preventive care will be a valuable addition to the task force.”
Task force critical to nation’s health
Allen L. Hixon, professor and chair of family medicine and community health at JABSOM, describes the task force as “critical to the health of our nation, because it addresses topics that directly affect and improve the health of Americans.”
In recent years, the task force has put forth numerous clinical screening guidelines on breast cancer, high blood pressure, depression in children and adults and preventive medications such as aspirin to prevent heart disease and colon cancer.
“Task force members review the latest scientific evidence and determine national preventive health standards. Physicians and insurance companies alike rely on these measures in the delivery of high quality healthcare,” explained Hixon.
“This is a great responsibility for Dr. Tseng and an honor for the John A. Burns School of Medicine and the University of Hawaiʻi,” said JABSOM Dean Jerris R. Hedges. “Along with her colleagues in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, we are extremely proud of her service to the nation.”
Hedges also expressed deep gratitude to U.S. Senator Brian Schatz for his support in nominating Tseng for consideration by the task force.
“I congratulate Dr. Tseng on this appointment and for making history as the first physician from Hawaiʻi to serve in this role,” said Schatz. “The task force will be well served by her years of clinical, research and policy experience, and I’m proud to have nominated her for this esteemed position.”
More about Chien-Wen Tseng
Tseng is the Hawaiʻi Medical Service Association endowed chair in health services and quality research. She is also a physician investigator with the nonprofit Pacific Health Research and Education Institute, an affiliate of the Veterans Affairs Pacific Islands Health Care System.
Tseng is an active physician and a teacher of primary healthcare and preventive care to medical students and family medicine residents. As a family physician, Tseng’s research focuses on improving quality of healthcare and lowering financial barriers to care, such as reducing the high cost of drugs for chronic and acute diseases.
—By Tina Shelton
