About

Mark Bounthavong, Pharm.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., is an Associate Professor of Clinical Pharmacy at the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. His research interests include pharmacoeconomics, program and implementation evaluations, applied econometrics, and evidence-synthesis using Bayesian methods. More recently, his work has focused on evaluating the impact of academic detailing on aligning provider behavior with evidence-based practices, particularly in relation to the opioid epidemic. Dr. Bounthavong holds a B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of California, Irvine, a PharmD from Western University of Health Sciences College of Pharmacy, and completed a PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residency at VA Loma Linda Medical Center. He also completed a Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research Fellowship at Western University of Health Sciences College of Pharmacy, earned a Master of Public Health from Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, and obtained a PhD from the University of Washington's CHOICE Institute. His notable contributions include implementing the first pharmacist-run immunization clinic at the Veterans Health Administration, developing national formulary monographs for VA Pharmacy Benefits Management, and providing economic analysis that contributed to establishing the first emergency department pharmacist position at the Veterans Health Administration. His research has been recognized with awards such as the Best Paper Award at the Vancouver Health Economics Methodology Meeting and the U.S. Under Secretary of Health Pharmacy Practice Innovation Award.

Research topics

• Internal medicine
• Medicine
• Emergency medicine
• Nursing
• Surgery
• Psychology
• Psychiatry
• Physical therapy
• Family medicine

Selected publications

• Is there a principal-agent problem between large retail-chain pharmacy corporations and community pharmacists?

  Journal of the American Pharmacists Association · 2026-03-07

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• P-249. Healthcare Utilization and Costs in People Living with HIV and Neuropsychiatric Disorders in the United States

  Open Forum Infectious Diseases · 2026-01-01

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Abstract Background People living with HIV (PLWH) have increased prevalence and risk of neuropsychiatric disorders. This study assessed incremental all-cause healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) and costs among US PLWH with vs. without neuropsychiatric disorders. Methods A retrospective analysis of US administrative claims (Jan 2020-Dec 2022, Optum’s de-identified Clinformatics® Data Mart Database) examined all-cause HCRU and costs among adult (≥ 18 years) PLWH with ≥ 1 pharmacy claim for anchor antiretroviral therapy (ART) agent (NNRTI, PI, or INSTI) in 2021 (index date: earliest anchor ART claim). PLWH were followed to the earliest of 12 months or end of continuous enrollment and stratified into 2 groups based on the presence of neuropsychiatric disorders (yes/no) during baseline (12 months pre-index) using ICD-10 diagnosis codes from medical claims. Differences in all-cause per-patient-per-month (PPPM) HCRU and costs (converted to 2023 USD) between groups were estimated using multivariable generalized linear models with negative binomial/Poisson distribution (HCRU) and gamma distribution (costs), adjusting for baseline characteristics. Results Of 22,402 PLWH identified, 9,506 (42%) had neuropsychiatric disorders. PLWH with vs. without neuropsychiatric disorders were older (mean age 56 vs. 54 years), more were women (21% vs. 17%) and White (51% vs. 44%), and had higher mean Quan-Charlson Comorbidity Index scores (1.82 vs. 0.92) and baseline total costs ($4,579 vs. $3,416); all p < 0.001. Unadjusted all-cause PPPM HCRU and costs were significantly higher in PLWH with vs. without neuropsychiatric disorders (all p < 0.001; Table). In multivariable analyses, PLWH with vs. without neuropsychiatric disorders generally had significantly greater all-cause PPPM HCRU, including office visits (28% higher), and costs, but outpatient ED visits/costs and outpatient other costs were not significantly higher (Table). Conclusion PLWH with neuropsychiatric disorders experience a greater HCRU and cost burden than those without neuropsychiatric disorders. Further investigation of the role of HIV, including ART, in the development of neuropsychiatric disorders may help improve individualization of care and prevent excess HCRU and costs. Disclosures Sean P. Fleming, PhD, MSW, Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA: Employee|Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA: Stocks/Bonds (Public Company) Shweta Kamat, MS, PhD, Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA: Contracted research Girish Prajapati, M.B.B.S., MPH , Merck & Co., Inc.: Employee|Merck & Co., Inc.: Stocks/Bonds (Private Company) Viktor Chirikov, MS, PhD, Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA: Contracted research Wenying Quan, MS, Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA: Contracted research Mark Bounthavong, PharmD, PhD, Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA: Consultant|University of California, San Diego: Employment

  PublisherDOI

• Evaluation of the "Follow Your Heart" project: Academic detailing to improve hypertension composite quality measure

  Journal of the American Pharmacists Association · 2026-02-07

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Academic detailing is effective at altering clinician practice and patient outcomes for opioid use disorder

  Addiction · 2026-05-07

  article
  PublisherDOI

• P-231. Healthcare Utilization and Costs in People Living with HIV and Cardiovascular Disease in the United States

  Open Forum Infectious Diseases · 2026-01-01

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Abstract Background Aging people living with HIV (PLWH) have higher prevalence and increased risk of comorbidities such as cardiovascular disease (CVD). This study assessed incremental all-cause healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) and costs among PLWH with and without CVD in the US. Methods A retrospective analysis of US administrative claims (Jan 2020-Dec 2022, Optum’s de-identified Clinformatics® Data Mart Database) examined all-cause HCRU and costs among adult (≥ 18 years) PLWH with ≥ 1 pharmacy claim for anchor antiretroviral therapy (ART) agent (NNRTI, PI, or INSTI) in 2021 (index date: earliest anchor ART claim). PLWH were followed to the earliest of 12 months or end of continuous enrollment and stratified into 2 groups based on the presence of CVD (yes/no) during baseline (12 months pre-index) using ICD-10 diagnosis codes from medical claims. Multivariable generalized linear models with negative binomial/Poisson distribution (HCRU) and gamma distribution (costs) estimated differences in all-cause per-patient-per-month (PPPM) HCRU and costs (adjusted to 2023 USD) between groups, adjusting for baseline characteristics. Results Of 22,402 PLWH identified, 4,917 (22%) had CVD. PLWH with vs. without CVD were older (mean age 61.45 vs. 52.86 years), more were women (22% vs. 18%) and Black (32% vs. 30%), and had higher mean Quan-Charlson Comorbidity Index scores (2.85 vs. 0.87) and baseline total costs ($5,574 vs. $3,442); all p < 0.001. Unadjusted all-cause PPPM HCRU and costs were significantly higher in PLWH with vs. without CVD (all p < 0.001; Table). In multivariable analyses, PLWH with vs. without CVD had significantly greater all-cause PPPM HCRU, total costs (9% higher), medical costs (67% higher), and inpatient costs (72.3% higher) (all p < 0.001; Table). Conclusion PLWH with CVD experience a greater HCRU and cost burden than those without CVD. Identifying modifiable CVD risk factors (e.g., hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus) along with providing individualized HIV care might mitigate increases in HCRU and costs while optimizing care for PLWH. Disclosures Sean P. Fleming, PhD, MSW, Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA: Employee|Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA: Stocks/Bonds (Public Company) Shweta Kamat, MS, PhD, Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA: Contracted research Girish Prajapati, M.B.B.S., MPH , Merck & Co., Inc.: Employee|Merck & Co., Inc.: Stocks/Bonds (Private Company) Viktor Chirikov, MS, PhD, Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA: Contracted research Wenying Quan, MS, Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA: Contracted research Mark Bounthavong, PharmD, PhD, Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA: Consultant|University of California, San Diego: Employment

  PublisherDOI

• Patient reach: A system-level patient coverage indicator for academic detailing programs

  Journal of the American Pharmacists Association · 2026-02-16

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Association of federal poverty level with healthcare expenditures among opioids users in the United States (2008–2019): a serial cross-sectional study

  International Journal for Equity in Health · 2025-02-24

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  BACKGROUND: Opioid users across federal poverty levels have varying healthcare consumption, which could influence public health policies to address the opioid crisis. To better understand this relationship, we evaluated the associations between federal poverty level (FPL) with healthcare costs and utilizations among adult opioid users in the United States (US). METHODS: A serial cross-sectional study using pooled data (2008-2019) from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) was used to evaluate the association between FPL with healthcare expenditures among a representative sample of the US adult population with > = 1 opioid prescription. FPL was defined as Poor/Near Poor-Income, Low-Income, Middle-Income, and High-Income. Healthcare expenditures included costs and resource utilization. Survey weights were applied to generate standard errors for the representative sample of the US population. Generalized linear models were constructed to evaluate the association between FPL and healthcare expenditures adjusting for confounders. FPL groups were stratified by insurance coverage, frequency of opioid prescriptions filled, and pain level to evaluate their impact on healthcare expenditures. RESULTS: Total weighted sample was 27,289,263 respondents; 21.6% in Poor/Near Poor-Income, 14.9% in Low-Income, 28.6% in Middle-Income, and 34.9% in High-Income groups. The average annual increase in total healthcare costs for the Poor/Near Poor-Income group was $451 (95% CI: $142-$761), $275 (95% CI: $48-$502) for the Low-Income group, $640 (95% CI: $447-$834) for the Middle-Income group, and $618 (95% CI: $360-$877) for the High-Income group. Between-group comparisons yielded significant increases in average annual total healthcare costs for Middle- and High-Income groups versus Low-Income group; significant increases in average annual emergency room costs between Middle- versus Low-Income groups, and significant increases in average annual inpatient costs between Middle-Income versus Poor/Near Poor- and Low-Income groups. Stratified analyses yielded several significant increases in average annual costs and expenditures. However, no differences were reported for respondents who were uninsured across FPL groups. CONCLUSIONS: Respondents across FPL groups consumed healthcare at various rates, particularly when stratified by insurance coverage, frequency of opioid prescriptions filled, and pain level. FPL plays an important role in healthcare consumption, but further research is needed to understand these mechanisms and their impact on the opioid crisis.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Outcomes of a hybrid heart failure clinic model on optimization of guideline-directed medical therapy

  JAPhA Practice Innovations · 2025-06-05 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  <h2>Abstract</h2><h3>Background</h3> Achieving rapid titration of guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) for patients with heart failure may be challenging due to limited clinical resources. <h3>Objective</h3> This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a hybrid clinic model led by pharmacists in optimizing GDMT. <h3>Methods</h3> A single-center, retrospective analysis compared patients with an ejection fraction < 50% seen in a hybrid clinic model that included multidisciplinary in-person visits and pharmacist-led telehealth appointments (hybrid) to an in-person model that included only a cardiology provider (historical). The primary end point was the number of GDMT medications prescribed per patient. An exploratory end point included a modified optimal medical therapy score (mOMT). Outcomes were analyzed using a linear mixed-effects model adjusting for baseline characteristics. <h3>Results</h3> Patients in the hybrid cohort (n = 52) increased from 2.5 to 3.1 GDMT at 3 months compared to 2.5 to 2.8 in the historical cohort (n = 46). There was a significantly greater increase in the average number of GDMT at each time interval in the hybrid cohort compared to the historical cohort (difference in changes per interval=+0.13; 95% CI: 0.05, 0.21). More patients were on quadruple therapy at the last study visit (48.1% vs 26.1%, <i>P</i> = 0.025), and the increase in mOMT was significantly higher in the hybrid cohort (difference in changes=+0.036; 95% CI: 0.015, 0.056). <h3>Conclusions</h3> The hybrid model involving pharmacists was associated with greater initiation of GDMT compared to in-person care without a pharmacist. This study confirms the valuable role of pharmacists in optimizing therapy for patients with heart failure.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• &lt;b&gt;Evaluation of a Pharmacist-Led Diabetes Management and Education Clinic on Glycemic Outcomes in Patients With Cancer&lt;/b&gt;

  2025-10-30

  preprintOpen access

  &lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;In the United States, &gt;2 million people are projected to be diagnosed with cancer in 2025, and ~20% of these patients will have a diabetes diagnosis (1–3). Hyperglycemia and cancer have a bidirectional relationship, and managing blood glucose in patients with cancer is complex because hyperglycemia may result from the underlying cancer or from anticancer or supportive care therapies that are administered intermittently (2). Hyperglycemia can worsen survival and increase risks of cancer recurrence, infection, hospitalization, toxicity, and morbidity (2). Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) recipients are especially vulnerable because of insulin resistance and the use of immunosuppressants such as calcineurin inhibitors and corticosteroids for the prophylaxis and treatment of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) (4,5). Additionally, 20–60% of patients with cancer experience treatment-induced hyperglycemia from agents such as immune checkpoint inhibitors, mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitors, phosphoinositide 3‐kinase inhibitors, and epidermal growth factor inhibitors (2).&lt;/p&gt;

  PublisherDOI

• Enhancing Naloxone Distribution for Opioid Users in the USA: A Cost-Utility Analysis of Academic Detailing to Clinicians

  Applied Health Economics and Health Policy · 2025-07-20 · 1 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  BACKGROUND: Opioid overdose remains a leading cause of mortality in the USA. Although distributing naloxone to laypersons for use during witnessed opioid overdoses has been shown to effectively reduce overdose deaths, clinician awareness of naloxone prescribing remains low. Academic detailing (AD) has been reported to be an effective strategy to increase naloxone distribution to individuals at risk of opioid-related overdose/death. OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the cost effectiveness of an academic detailing program aimed at promoting naloxone prescribing for adults at risk of opioid-related overdose compared to no intervention (non-AD program). METHODS: A Markov model with an integrated decision tree was developed to estimate the costs and outcomes associated with the AD program over a lifetime horizon from the US payer perspective. Model robustness was tested using sensitivity and scenario analyses. RESULTS: The results indicated that the AD program incurred a total direct cost of US$6280 and achieved 16.52 quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). In comparison, the non-AD program incurred a total direct cost of US$5971 and achieved 15.92 QALYs. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio for the AD program was US$514 per QALY gained with an incremental net monetary benefit of US$29,739. Sensitivity and scenario analyses confirmed the robustness of these findings, which suggest that AD is a cost-effective strategy for improving survival and quality of life in individuals at risk of opioid overdose. CONCLUSIONS: For decision makers seeking to address the opioid crisis, implementing an academic detailing program represents a cost-effective option at a willingness-to-pay threshold of US$50,000 per QALY gained.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Melissa L.D. Christopher

  Positive Resource Center

  46 shared

• Candis M. Morello

  36 shared

• Rashid Kazerooni

  27 shared

• Keith Humphreys

  Stanford University

  21 shared

• Julianne Himstreet

  20 shared

• Jonathan H. Watanabe

  University of California, Irvine

  20 shared

• Aryana Sepassi

  University of California, Irvine

  20 shared

• Donald Hsu

  19 shared

Education

• Doctor of Philosophy / Health Economics, School of Pharmacy

  University of Washington

  2018

• Master in Public Health, Rollins School of Public Health

  Emory University School of Public Health

  2013

• Doctor of Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy

  Western University of Health Sciences

  2004

• Bachelor of Science, Biological Sciences

  University of California Irvine

  1999

Awards & honors

• Best Paper Award (2018) Vancouver Health Economics Methodolo…
• U.S. Under Secretary of Health Pharmacy Practice Innovation…
• American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Best Practice…
• Alumni Achievement Award (2016) 20th Anniversary Gala Celebr…
• AHRQ T32 Fellowship (2013-2015) Agency for Healthcare Resear…