Stebbins empowers patients to heal themselves

Moving back home after a stay in the hospital or other acute-care setting is a precarious time, especially for an elderly patient or one who is living alone. With so many people underinsured and underserved by transportation, medical care, and other social services, it’s no surprise that nearly 20 percent of Medicare patients discharged from the hospital are readmitted within 30 days.

On the front lines of this perilous territory is Marilyn Stebbins, PharmD ’88, who joined the UCSF School of Pharmacy's Department of Clinical Pharmacy faculty in 1998, and in 2013 became vice chair for clinical innovation. Applying her expertise in Medicare Part D (the federal drug benefit program), cost containment, and education, Stebbins creates and implements team-based interventions to help keep patients healthy—and to keep them from landing back in the hospital.

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