CHIBE Q&A: Victor Lei, PharmD, MSHP

Learn more about Victor Lei, PharmD, MSHP, a Senior Research Scientist at CHIBE.

What projects are you working on these days?

I work under Amol Navathe, MD, PhD, where my main effort is currently focused on helping a collaborator (Hawaii Medical Service Association) understand their high cost member populations to develop new care models and interventions. Over the past few months, we have been particularly interested in patients with serious illnesses (i.e. conditions that have high risk of mortality and either negatively impacts a patient’s daily function or quality of life). We believe such patients would benefit from earlier palliative care and assessments for hospice. Our team’s role is to help our collaborators identify the area of opportunity, define screening criteria, and help design an intervention pilot. Outside of that project, I have been finishing up some deliverables/manuscripts for some machine learning and behavioral science projects.

How has the pandemic affected your work?

Luckily all of my work can be done remotely, but it definitely has taken some time to adjust to all virtual meetings and the lack of a separate work office. I still feel like I am not operating at 100% even though it has been almost a year since the transition to remote work. The thing I miss most is the unplanned social interactions and academic conversations with my colleagues.

How has your pharmacy degree helped or informed your work?

My pharmacy degree has helped me tremendously with my work. I am often using my clinical background to help define the appropriate methods and analyses for our projects. My additional training in clinical informatics allows me to be a liaison between the clinical and technical members within our teams. I find this helps our teams work more effectively and efficiently