A distinguished researcher committed to improving care coordination and patient safety.
Joanna Abraham, PhD, FACMI, FAMIA
Associate Professor of Anesthesiology
Associate Professor of Medicine
Dr. Abraham is an Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and the Institute for Informatics at Washington University School of Medicine. She holds a PhD in Information Sciences and Technology from Pennsylvania State University, with a multidisciplinary background in computer science, human factors, and biomedical informatics. Her research focuses on developing and implementing innovative informatics tools to enhance patient safety and care quality.
Dr. Abraham has led projects on medication ordering practices, care transitions, telemedicine, mental health, and the use of machine learning for perioperative risk management. Her work aims to create collaborative systems that improve care coordination and safety, applying insights from real-world clinical settings. Her research has resulted in the implementation of evidence-based tools and patient-centered programs across multiple hospitals and has been widely disseminated in leading journals. Dr. Abraham’s current work is funded by the AHRQ, NIH and the Foundation for Barnes Jewish Hospital.
At the national level, she chairs several scientific committees, including the American Medical Informatics Association’s People and Organizational Issues-Evaluation Working Group, the Diana Forsythe Awards Committee, the EMR Implementation Committee of the Na tional Multi-Center Handoff Collaborative, and serves on the Leapfrog National Expert Panel on CPOE Standards.
Abraham’s work has received recognition from the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) through a Distinguished Paper Award in 2012, the New Investigator Award in 2019, the Diana Forsythe Awards in 2010, 2021 and 2023, and also finalists in 2022 and 2023.
- Implementation of AI – Social and Organizational issues around implementing AI in clinical settings)
- Patient and general public perspectives on AI in surgical care
- Perioperative mental health
- Care transitions and AI
View publications and research interests on Research Profiles »
- A Culturally Adapted Perioperative Mental Health Intervention for Older Black Surgical Patients
Abraham, J., Cooksey, K. E., Holzer, K. J., Mehta, D., Avidan, M. S. & Lenze, E. J., 2024, (Accepted/In press) In: American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. - A Perioperative Mental Health Intervention for Depressed and Anxious Older Surgical Patients: Results From a Feasibility Study
Abraham, J., Holzer, K. J., Lenard, E. M., Meng, A., Pennington, B. R. T., Wolfe, R. C., Haroutounian, S., Calfee, R., Hammil, C. W., Kozower, B. D., Cordner, T. A., Schweiger, J., McKinnon, S., Yingling, M., Baumann, A. A., Politi, M. C., Kannampallil, T., Miller, J. P., Avidan, M. S. & Lenze, E. J., Feb 2024, In: American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. 32, 2, p. 205-219 15 p. - Perioperative mental health intervention for depression and anxiety symptoms in older adults study protocol: design and methods for three linked randomised controlled trials
Holzer, K. J., Bartosiak, K. A., Calfee, R. P., Hammill, C. W., Haroutounian, S., Kozower, B. D., Cordner, T. A., Lenard, E. M., Freedland, K. E., Tellor Pennington, B. R., Wolfe, R. C., Miller, J. P., Politi, M. C., Zhang, Y., Yingling, M. D., Baumann, A. A., Kannampallil, T., Schweiger, J. A., McKinnon, S. L. & Avidan, M. S. & 2 others, , Apr 3 2024, In: BMJ Open. 14, 4, e082656. - User-Centered Design of a Machine Learning Dashboard for Prediction of Postoperative Complications
Fritz, B. A., Pugazenthi, S., Budelier, T. P., Tellor Pennington, B. R., King, C. R., Avidan, M. S. & Abraham, J., Apr 1 2024, In: Anesthesia and analgesia. 138, 4, p. 804-813 10 p. - A multi- and mixed-method adaptation study of a patient-centered perioperative mental health intervention bundle
Abraham, J., Meng, A., Baumann, A., Holzer, K. J., Lenard, E., Freedland, K. E., Lenze, E. J., Avidan, M. S. & Politi, M. C., Dec 2023, In: BMC health services research. 23, 1, 1175. - An evidence synthesis on perioperative Handoffs: A call for balanced sociotechnical solutions
Abraham, J., Duffy, C., Kandasamy, M., France, D. & Greilich, P., Jun 2023, In: International Journal of Medical Informatics. 174, 105038. - An Intraoperative Telemedicine Program to Improve Perioperative Quality Measures: The ACTFAST-3 Randomized Clinical Trial
King, C. R., Gregory, S., Fritz, B. A., Budelier, T. P., Ben Abdallah, A., Kronzer, A., Helsten, D. L., Torres, B., McKinnon, S., Goswami, S., Mehta, D., Higo, O., Kerby, P., Henrichs, B., Wildes, T. S., Politi, M. C., Abraham, J., Avidan, M. S. & Kannampallil, T., Sep 22 2023, In: JAMA Network Open. 6, 9, p. E2332517 - Behavioral Mechanisms That Mediate Mental and Physical Health Improvements in People With Chronic Pain Who Receive a Digital Health Intervention: Prospective Cohort Pilot Study
Cheng, A. L., Agarwal, M., Armbrecht, M. A., Abraham, J., Calfee, R. P. & Goss, C. W., Jan 2023, In: JMIR Formative Research. 7, 1, e51422. - Expanding Critical Care Delivery beyond the Intensive Care Unit: Determining the Design and Implementation Needs for a Tele-Critical Care Consultation Service
Abraham, J., Kandasamy, M., Fritz, B., Konzen, L., White, J., Drewry, A. & Palmer, C., Jul 21 2023, In: Applied clinical informatics. 15, 1, p. 178-191 14 p. - Handoff Effectiveness Research in periOperative environments (HERO) Design Studio: A Conference Report
Sparling, J. L., France, D., Abraham, J., Duffy, C. C., Michael, M., Riesenberg, L. A., Lazzara, E. H., Hong Mershon, B., Lane-Fall, M. B., Keebler, J. R., Weinger, M. B. & Greilich, P. E., Aug 2023, In: Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety. 49, 8, p. 422-430 9 p.