Description of Research Expertise

Dr. Merchant is a tenured Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and has secondary appointments in the Department of Internal Medicine, Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care, and Division of Health Policy. She is also a physician executive and serves as the Vice President and Chief Transformation Officer for Penn Medicine. Much of her research and operations work bridges new technologies in the fields of cardiovascular health, mental health, cancer care, disaster medicine, public health, health equity and resuscitation science. Dr. Merchant has been continuously funded by the NIH since 2011 and her work has been published in journals such as NEJM, JAMA, Circulation, and Health Affairs. She is a member of the editorial board of JAMA. She is an Aspen Health Innovators Fellow and was recognized by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation as one of 10 investigators likely to have a significant impact on the future of health and healthcare in the US. She is a member of the National Academy of Medicine.

Selected Publications

Agarwal AK, Southwick L, Pelullo A, McCalpin HJ, Gonzales RE, Asch DA, Livesey C, Bellini L, Kishton R, Beck S, Merchant RM: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Health Care Worker Mental Health and Utilization of a Digital Mental Health Platform from 2020 to 2023 British Medical Journal Quality Open Press 13 (3): 2024.

Muir, KJ, Merchant, RM, Lasater, KB, Brooks Carthon, JMB: Emergency nurses’ reasons for not recommending their hospital to clinicians as a good place to work: A qualitative analysis JAMA Network Open : 2024.

Agarwal AK, Southwick L, Gonzales R, Bellini L, Asch DA, Shea J, Mitra N, Yang L, Balachandran M, Wolk C, Becker-Haimes E, Merchant RM: Effect of a Digital Engagement Strategy on Healthcare Worker Mental Health and Well-being: A Randomized Controlled Trial Journal of the American Medical Association Network Open : 2024.

Harrison J, McDermott G, Dixon EL, Mehta M, Haider A, Rareshide C, Southwick L, Agarwal AK, Merchant RM, Kilaru AS.: Eligibility of emergency department patients for public benefit programs Academic Emergency Medicine : 2024.

Agarwal AK, Gonzales RE, Sagan C, Nijim S, Asch DA, Merchant RM, South EC: Perspective of black patients on racism within emergency care Journal of the American Medical Association Health Forum 5 (3): e2400046,2024.

Merchant RM, Becker LB, Brooks SC, Chan PS, Del Rios M, McBride ME, Neumar RW, Previdi JK, Uzendu A, Sasson C: The American Heart Association Emergency Cardiovascular Care 2030 Impact Goals and Call to Action to Improve Cardiac Arrest Outcomes: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association. Circulation 149 (8): e914-e933,2024.

Pearson TA, Vitalis D, Pratt C, Campo R, Armoundas AA, Au D, Beech B, Brazhnik O, Chute CG, Davidson KW, Diez-Roux AV, Fine LJ, Gabriel D, Groenveld P, Hall J, Hamilton AB, Hu H, Ji H, Kind A, Kraus WE, Krumholz H, Mensah GA, Merchant RM, Mozaffarian D, Murray DM, Neumark-Sztainer D, Petersen M, Goff D.: The Science of Precision Prevention: Research Opportunities and Clinical Applications to Reduce Cardiovascular Health Disparities Journal of the American College of Cardiology Advances 3 (1): 100759,2024.

Southwick L, Sharma M, Rai S, Beidas R, Mandell D, Curtis B, Asch DAA, Chandra Guntuku SC, Merchant RMM: Integrating Patient-Generated Digital Data into Mental Health Therapy: A mixed methods analysis of user experience JMIR Mental Health : 2024.

Sehgal NK, Agarwal AK, Southwick L, Pelullo A, Ungar L, Merchant RM, Chandra-Guntuku S: Disparities by race and urbanity in online health care facility reviews Journal of the American Medical Association Network Open : 2024.

Laurie Morrison L, Hunt E, Grunau B, Aufderheide T, Callaway C, Tonna J, Sasson C, Blewer A, McNally B, , Yannopoulos D, Belohlavek J, Bartos J, Combes A, Idris A, Merchant RM, States L, Tinsley E, Wong R, Youngquist S, Sopko G, Kern K: International Consensus on Evidence Gaps and Research Opportunities in Extracorporeal Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation for Refractory Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: A Report from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Workshop Journal of the American Heart Association : 2024.

Academic Contact Information

PCAM, 5th floor, C-suite
Philadelphia, PA 19104