Steven K. Dobscha, M.D.

  • Professor of Psychiatry, School of Medicine

Biography

Dr. Dobscha is Principal Investigator on research projects exploring interactions of primary care teams with Veterans prior to suicide; measuring effectiveness of smart phone applications for enhancing distress tolerance; examining stakeholder perspectives on the use of OpenNotes in mental health settings; and identifying predictors of improvements in pain scores among older Veterans. His research interests also include approaches to integrating psychiatric and primary medical care and managing chronic conditions including chronic pain in primary care.

Bush NE, Dobscha SK, Crumpton R, et al. A Virtual Hope Box Smartphone App as an Accessory to Therapy: Proof-of-Concept in a Clinical Sample of Veterans. Suicide & Life-Threatening Behavior, 45, 1 2015. DOI: 10.1111/sltb.12103 Plagge JM, Lu MW, Lovejoy TI, Karl AI, Dobscha SK. Treatment of Comorbid Pain and PTSD in Returning Veterans: A Collaborative Approach Utilizing Behavioral Activation. Pain Medicine, 14(8):1164-72, 2013. Lu MW, Plagge JM, Marsiglio MS, Dobscha SK. Clinician Documentation on Receipt of Trauma-Focused Evidence-Based Psychotherapies in a VA PTSD Clinic. Journal of Behavioral Health Denneson LM, Teo AR, Ganzini L, Helmer DA, Bair MJ, Dobscha SK. Military veterans’ experiences with suicidal ideation: Implications for intervention and prevention. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, available Epub 11/3/2014 ahead of print; doi 10.1111.sltb.12136 Dobscha SK, Corson K, Hickam DH, Perrin NA, Kraemer DF, Gerrity MS. Depression decision support in primary care: A cluster-randomized trial. Annals of Internal Medicine, 145:477-487, 2006. Dobscha SK, Corson K, Perrin NA, Hanson GC, Leibowitz RQ, Dickinson KC, Sullivan MD, Gerrity MS. Collaborative care for chronic pain in primary care: A Cluster-Randomized Trial. JAMA, 301(12):1242-1252, 2009 Dobscha SK, Leibowitz RQ, Flores JA, Doak M, Gerrity MS. Primary care provider preferences for working with a collaborative support team. Implementation Science, 2:16. DOI:10.1186/1748-5908-2-16, 2007. Corson K, Gerrity MS, Dobscha SK: Screening for depression and suicidality in a VA primary care setting: Two items are better than one. American Journal of Managed Care, 10:839-845, 2004. Dobscha SK, Denneson LM, Kovas AE, Teo A, Forsberg CS, Kaplan MS, Bossarte R, McFarland BH. Correlates of suicide among veterans treated in primary care: Case-control study of a nationally representative sample. JGIM, 4:853-60, 2014. doi: 10.1007/s11606-014-3028-1 . Dobscha SK, Denneson LM, Kovas AE, Teo A, Forsberg CS, Kaplan MS, Bossarte R, McFarland BH. Correlates of suicide among veterans treated in primary care: Case-control study of a nationally representative sample. JGIM, 4:853-60, 2014. doi: 10.1007/s11606-014-3028-1. Dobscha SK, Corson K, Helmer D, Bair M, Denneson LM, Brandt C, Beane A, Ganzini L. Brief assessment for suicidal ideation in OEF/OIF veterans with positive depression screens. General Hospital Psychiatry, 35(3):272-278, 2013.
Dobscha SK, Denneson LM, Kovas AE, Corson K, Helmer DA, Bair MJ. Primary Care Clinician Responses to Positive Suicidal Ideation Risk Assessments in Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. General Hospital Psychiatry, 36(3):310-317, 2014. Dobscha SK, Soleck GD, Dickinson KC, Burgess DJ, Lasarev MR, Lee ES, McFarland BH.Associations between race and ethnicity and treatment for chronic pain in the VA. Journal of Pain, 10(10):1078-1087, 2009 . Morasco BJ, Duckart JP, Carr TP, Deyo RA, Dobscha SK. Clinical characteristics of veterans prescribed high doses of opioid medications for chronic non-cancer pain. Pain 151:625-632, 2010. Dobscha SK, Morasco BJ, Duckart JP, Macey T. Correlates of prescription opioid initiation and long-term opioid use in veterans with persistent pain. Clinical Journal of Pain, 29:102–108, 2013. Morasco BJ, Turk DC, Donovan DM, Dobscha SK. Risk for prescription opioid misuse among patients with a history of substance use disorder. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 127;193-199, 2013. Dobscha SK, Heintz RT, Press N, Ganzini L: Oregon physicians’ responses to requests for assisted suicide: A qualitative study. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 7:451-461, 2004. Ganzini L, Dobscha SK, Heintz RT, Press N: Oregon physicians' perceptions of patients who request assisted suicide and their families. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 6:381-390, 2003. Ganzini L, Goy ER, Dobscha SK. Prevalence of depression and anxiety in patients requesting physician aid in dying. British Medical Journal, 337:a1682, 2008. Ganzini L, Goy ER, Dobscha SK. Oregonians’ reasons for requesting physician aid in dying. Archives of Internal Medicine, 169:489-492, 2009. Dobscha SK, Ganzini L: A program for teaching psychiatry residents to provide integrated psychiatric and primary medical care. Psych. Services, 52:1651-1653, 2001. Dobscha SK, Snyder KM, Corson K, Ganzini L. Psychiatry resident graduate comfort with general medical issues:  Impact of an integrated psychiatry-primary medical care training track. Academic Psychiatry, 29:448-451, 2005.

Education and training

    • A.B., 1983, University of California
    • M.D., 1988, Yale University School of Medicine
  • Residency

    • UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute/Brentwood VA, 2005
  • Certifications

    • Consult-Liaison Psychiatry
    • Clinical Informatics

Memberships and associations:

  • Director, VA Health Services Research and Development Center

Areas of interest

  • suicide prevention
  • chronic pain
  • patient-centered care
  • firearms safety

Publications

Publications

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