About

Haesuk Park, Ph.D., is a professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy at the University of Florida College of Pharmacy. She received her Bachelor and Master degrees in Pharmacy from South Korea and earned her Ph.D. at The University of Texas at Austin, College of Pharmacy, Health Outcomes & Pharmacy Practice. Her research centers on economic and health outcomes studies of medications and pharmaceutical care services, as well as policy related to the use of pharmaceuticals. She is particularly passionate about investigating health policy questions affecting vulnerable populations, focusing on how policies influence access to care, the quality and cost of healthcare, and health outcomes. In recent years, her clinical research has concentrated on patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, an area of growing importance due to increasing disease burden and new treatment developments. She received a five-year NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) K01 award in 2018 to develop a research program in HCV and health policy for individuals with substance use disorders. Currently, she collaborates on an NIH/NHLBI R01 project evaluating the impact of pharmacist-led telehealth medication therapy management on health outcomes in adolescents and young adults with asthma. Her work has been recognized with awards such as the Best New Investigator Presentation Award at ISPOR, the Best Paper Award at the American Pharmacists Association Annual Meeting, and the 2015 University of Florida Excellence Award for Assistant Professors. Her research interests include pharmacoeconomics, health policy research, economic and health outcomes evaluation, and meta-analysis.

Research topics

• Medicine
• Internal medicine
• Oncology
• Pediatrics
• Immunology
• Psychiatry
• Cardiology
• Family medicine
• Intensive care medicine
• General surgery
• Surgery

Selected publications

• Health care costs associated with disease progression of untreated chronic hepatitis C in the United States

  Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy · 2026-05-21

  articleSenior author

  BACKGROUND: Despite effective direct-acting antiviral therapies, two-thirds of US patients with chronic hepatitis C remain untreated, leading to significant public health and economic challenges. However, data on the economic burden of untreated chronic hepatitis C in the direct-acting antiviral era remain limited. OBJECTIVE: To estimate health care costs related to disease progression among untreated, newly diagnosed adults with chronic hepatitis C in the United States. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective observational study using US national commercial insurance data from January 2013 to December 2023. The cohort included adults aged 18 years or older with newly diagnosed, treatment-naive, and untreated chronic hepatitis C. Patients were categorized by liver disease stage-specific periods (chronic hepatitis C, compensated cirrhosis, decompensated cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, and liver transplantation), defined by the earliest recorded diagnosis of each stage and censored at progression. Liver disease-related costs, defined as costs with a primary diagnosis corresponding to these stages, were estimated using a 2-part model to account for excess zero costs. All-cause costs were estimated using generalized linear models with a γ distribution. Costs were calculated per person per month in 2023 US dollars. RESULTS: < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: These findings highlight the critical importance of early treatment to reduce health care costs and improve clinical outcomes. Early screening and treatment can prevent progression to high-cost advanced liver disease.

  PublisherDOI

• Beta Blocker Use and Total Knee Arthroplasty Among United States Medicare Beneficiaries

  Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety · 2026-05-01

  article

  BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Preclinical evidence suggests beta blockers may reduce cartilage degradation and delay knee osteoarthritis (OA) progression. While beta blockers are widely used in patients with hypertension, their potential role in preventing total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is unclear. Therefore, we assessed the association between beta blocker use and TKA in knee OA patients with hypertension. METHODS: We conducted a nested case-control study using a nationally representative sample of Medicare beneficiaries with newly diagnosed knee OA and prevalent hypertension from 2011 to 2020. Beneficiaries who underwent TKA were defined as cases, while those without TKA were defined as controls. Cases and controls were matched at a 1:4 ratio based on pre-specified criteria using incident density sampling. We measured binary (exposed/unexposed) and cumulative exposure of beta blockers during 6 months before TKA using total standardized daily doses (TSDD) for each patient, categorized as unexposed (0), < 1-200, 201-400, 401-600, 601-900, > 900. Confounding was addressed using propensity score adjustment and stratification for the binary exposure and direct covariate adjustment for cumulative exposure in conditional logistic regression models. RESULTS: We included 30 338 beneficiaries with TKA and 106 145 matched controls. The mean age (SD) was 74.4 (5.5) years, and 67.1% were women in both groups. There was no significant association between beta blocker use and odds of TKA (adjusted OR [aOR] 1.01; 95% CI, 0.97-1.02) compared with unexposed individuals. Smilarly, no cumulative exposure category was associated with TKA risk (TSDD: < 1-200 [aOR, 1.01; 95% CI,0.97-1.04]; TSDD: 201-400 [aOR 1.00; 95% CI, 0.96-1.05]; TSDD: 401-600 [aOR, 1.02; 95% CI, 0.96-1.08]; TSDD: 601-900 [aOR 0.94; 95% CI, 0.87-1.00]; and, TSDD: > 900 [aOR 0.99; 95% CI, 0.91-1.08]), compared with the unexposed group. CONCLUSION: We found no evidence to support that beta blocker exposure reduces the likelihood of TKA.

  PublisherDOI

• Cardiovascular risk in narcolepsy: Comparison of type 1 and type 2 in a real-world cohort

  Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine · 2026-04-27

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Association Between Different Analgesic Use and Hypertension Among Medicare Beneficiaries With Osteoarthritis

  Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · 2026-03-15

  article

  BACKGROUND: In older adults with osteoarthritis (OA) and hypertension (HTN), analgesic use may elevate blood pressure and cardiovascular risk. Whether comorbid HTN influences initial analgesic choice remains unclear; we examined initial analgesic use in Medicare beneficiaries with incident OA, comparing those with and without HTN. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using 2011-2022 nationally representative Medicare beneficiaries (≥ 65 years) with incident OA who initiated an analgesic within 30 days of diagnosis and had continuous enrollment for ≥ 365 days prior through ≥ 30 days post-index. Patients with baseline HTN were classified as OA + HTN; others as OA-only. We assessed overall analgesic trends using the Cochran-Armitage test and evaluated differences by HTN status using logistic regression with year as an interaction term. For stratified analyses by joint type, we applied weighted logistic regression. RESULTS: Among 179,033 beneficiaries (mean age 75 ± 7.3 years; 62.7% women; 80.7% White), 57.1% had baseline HTN. Overall, the most commonly initiated analgesic classes were intra-articular injections (30.3%), and oral NSAIDs only (28.2%). Notable changes from 2012 to 2022 were increase in topical NSAIDs use (3.1%-5.7%) and decrease in opioid combination use (25.4%-13.9%), with no significant trend differences by HTN status. In joint-specific analyses, OA + HTN versus OA-only showed no differences in odds of initiating oral opioids (OR: 0.97, 95% CI: 0.92-1.03), intra-articular injections (OR: 1.01, 95% CI: 0.96-1.07) or topical NSAIDs (OR: 0.88, 95% CI: 0.78-1.01) versus oral NSAIDs. CONCLUSION: Baseline HTN did not influence the choice of initial analgesic in incident OA patients. Safer, evidence-based alternatives are needed for older adults with comorbid HTN.

  PublisherDOI

• Genotype-Guided Antidepressant Prescribing for Patients With Depression

  JAMA Network Open · 2026-05-06

  articleOpen access

  Importance: The effectiveness of pharmacogenetics to guide prescribing of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) for depression remains unclear, despite the well-established association between SSRI pharmacokinetics and genetic variation. Objective: To determine whether pharmacogenetic-guided prescribing of SSRIs improves treatment response in patients with depression. Design, Setting, and Participants: The ADOPT PGx (A Depression and Opioid Pragmatic Trial in Pharmacogenetics) Depression pragmatic randomized clinical trial was conducted from August 10, 2021, through April 27, 2024, at primary care, psychiatry, or family medicine clinics at enrolling sites throughout the US. Patients were aged 8 years or older and had experienced depression for 3 months or longer. Intervention: Patients were randomized to genotype-guided SSRI prescribing (intervention group) or usual care (control group). Actionable drug metabolism phenotypes were defined as those for which pharmacogenetic clinical guidelines recommend alternative medication selection or dose adjustment. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was change in Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) depression T scores at 3 months among patients with the actionable phenotype. Secondary end points included adverse effect severity of SSRIs at 3 months and depression remission (measured with PROMIS depression scores and Patient Health Questionnaire-8 [PHQ-8] scores) at 6 months. Results: This study of 1460 patients included 1239 adults (84.9%) (mean [SD] age, 40.6 [16.7] years) and 221 children (15.1%) (mean [SD] age, 14.6 [1.8] years). Most patients were female (1096 [75.1%]). A total of 692 patients (47.4%) had an actionable phenotype; 351 (50.7%) were assigned to the intervention, and 341 (49.3%) were assigned to usual care. At baseline, 463 of the 692 patients (66.9%) reported having depressive symptoms for more than 2 years, 603 (87.1%) were receiving pharmacologic treatment, and 354 (51.2%) were receiving nonpharmacologic treatment. At 3 months, no significant differences were observed between the intervention and usual care groups in change in PROMIS depression T scores (mean [SD] change, -4.3 [8.4] vs -4.0 [8.1]; P = .68), medication adverse effect burden (mean [SD] change, 8.2 [4.3] vs 7.8 [4.5]; P = .37), or Patient Health Questionnaire-8 score change (mean [SD] change, -3.3 [5.2] vs -2.7 [4.8]; P = .13). However, at 6 months, the PROMIS depression T-score remission rate (score ≤16) was higher in the intervention group compared with the usual care group (153 of 317 patients [48.3%] vs 122 of 310 patients [39.4%]; P = .02). Conclusions and Relevance: In this randomized clinical trial, genotype-guided prescribing of SSRIs did not improve control of depression symptoms at 3 months compared with usual care but was associated with higher depression remission rates at 6 months. These findings suggest a possible longer-term clinical benefit and indicate that future studies should focus on the durability and long-term impact of genotype-guided prescribing in the management of depressive symptoms. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifiers: NCT04445792 (Master Protocol Research Program platform trial) and NCT05966155 (ADOPT PGx Depression trial).

  PublisherDOI

• Comparative Safety of Long-Acting Versus Short-Acting Erythropoiesis-Stimulating Agents (ESA): Disproportionality Analysis Using the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System

  Journal of Patient Safety · 2026-04-02

  article

  OBJECTIVES: Erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs), classified as long-acting or short-acting, is a primary treatment for anemia in chronic kidney disease and chemotherapy. Given ongoing safety concerns regarding cardiovascular events and potential immunogenic risks associated with PEGylation, this study aims to detect safety signals for long-acting versus short-acting ESAs. METHODS: We conducted disproportionality analyses using the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) database. All adverse event (AE) reports related to long-acting and short-acting ESA use from Q1 2018 to Q4 2022 were analyzed, including darbepoetin alfa and methoxy polyethylene glycol-epoetin beta as long-acting ESAs and epoetin alfa and epoetin beta as short-acting ESAs. Data were divided into 2 data sets: ESA as the primary suspect (PS) and ESA as either the PS or secondary suspect (SS). Proportional reporting ratios, reporting odds ratios, and 95% CIs for information components were calculated to identify safety signals. Sensitivity analyses included AE reports with unspecified ESA types to confirm signal consistency. RESULTS: A total of 5702 and 9772 reports for long-acting ESAs, 2487 and 3975 for short-acting ESAs, and 2 and 352 for ESAs with unspecified drug names that could not be classified as either long-acting or short-acting were identified in the PS and PS/SS data sets. In the PS-restricted primary analysis, 10 robust safety signals were identified for long-acting ESAs: back pain, chest pain, drug hypersensitivity, dyspnea, falls, hypotension, pruritus, urinary tract infection, urticaria, and vomiting. Notably, signals such as falls and hypotension were uniquely detected when isolating the PS role and failed to reach the signal threshold in the broader secondary analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Our analysis found disproportionately reported AEs for long-acting ESAs, particularly when ESAs were the PS, highlighting the importance of monitoring AEs not listed in the package label, such as falls. Furthermore, despite existing black box warnings regarding cardiovascular risks, our analysis found weak evidence for cardiovascular safety signals strictly attributable to long-acting ESAs. Further studies are needed to confirm the association between these signals and long-acting ESAs.

  PublisherDOI

• 1156 Risk of Metabolic Associated Fatty Liver Disease (MAFLD) in Patients with Narcolepsy: A Cohort Study

  SLEEP · 2025-05-01

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Abstract Introduction Metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is a major public health concern and is closely linked to cardiometabolic dysfunction. While prior research has investigated the relationship between narcolepsy and cardiovascular disease, no studies have examined whether narcolepsy increases the risk of MAFLD, despite the overlap in known risk factors. This study aimed to determine whether narcolepsy increases the risk of MAFLD. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study using the 2005-2021 MarketScan® Commercial and Medicare Supplemental databases. We included patients with &amp;gt;2 outpatient claims for new narcolepsy diagnoses identified using International Classification of Diseases – Clinical Modification diagnosis codes (narcolepsy group). A comparison cohort of patients without narcolepsy and hypersomnia (non-narcolepsy group) was matched in a 1:3 ratio using propensity score (PS) matching based on baseline demographics, comorbidities, and medication use. We excluded patients with any of the following conditions during the 1-year baseline period: cardiovascular disease, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, and MAFLD. After PS matching, we used Cox proportional hazard regression to compare risk of MAFLD between the two groups after. We also conducted subgroup analyses based on age, sex, presence of sleep apnea, and narcolepsy type. Results We identified 86,002 patients (22,293 with narcolepsy and 63,709 without; mean age 33.5 ± 14.0 years, 63.7% female). The incidence of MAFLD was 0.42 per 100 person-years in the narcolepsy group and 0.28 per 100 person-years in the non-narcolepsy group. After adjusting for time-fixed and time-varying covariates and relative to non-narcolepsy, narcolepsy was associated with a 48% higher risk of MAFLD (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 1.48; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.28-1.73). These findings remained consistent across all subgroup analyses. Conclusion Compared to well-matched patients without narcolepsy, patients with narcolepsy have a significantly elevated risk of being diagnosed with MAFLD. Support (if any) Sleep Research Society Foundation (23-FRA-001)

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Cardiovascular Safety of Anti-CGRP Monoclonal Antibodies in Older Adults or Adults With Disability With Migraine

  JAMA Neurology · 2025-01-06 · 14 citations

  articleOpen access

  Importance: Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) targeting calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) or its receptor (anti-CGRP mAbs) offer effective migraine-specific preventive treatment. However, concerns exist about their potential cardiovascular risks due to CGRP blockade. Objective: To compare the incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) between Medicare beneficiaries with migraine who initiated anti-CGRP-mAbs vs onabotulinumtoxinA in the US. Design, Setting, and Participants: This retrospective, sequential cohort study was conducted among a nationally representative population-based sample of Medicare claims from May 2018 through December 2020. Data analysis was performed from August to December 2023. This study included fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries aged 18 years or older with migraine who initiated either anti-CGRP mAbs or onabotulinumtoxinA. Beneficiaries who had a history of myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, cluster headache, malignant cancer, or hospice service within a 1-year baseline period prior to treatment initiation were excluded. To minimize channeling bias from new drug introductions and time-related bias due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 5 cohorts were established, representing sequential 6-month calendar intervals based on the initial prescription or date of index anti-CGRP mAbs or onabotulinumtoxinA use. Exposure: Anti-CGRP mAbs vs onabotulinumtoxinA. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was time to first MI or stroke. Secondary outcomes included hypertensive crisis, peripheral revascularization, and Raynaud phenomenon. The inverse probability of treatment-weighted Cox proportional hazards models were used to compare outcomes between the 2 treatment groups. Results: Among 266 848 eligible patients with migraine, 5153 patients initiated anti-CGRP mAbs (mean [SD] age, 57.8 [14.0] years; 4308 female patients [83.6%]) and 4000 patients initiated onabotulinumtoxinA (mean [SD] age, 61.9 [13.7] years; 3353 female patients [83.8%]). Use of anti-CGRP mAbs was not associated with an increased risk of composite CVD events (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 0.88; 95% CI, 0.44-1.77), hypertensive crisis (aHR, 0.46; 95% CI, 0.14-1.55), peripheral revascularization (aHR, 1.50; 95% CI, 0.48-4.73), or Raynaud phenomenon (aHR, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.45-1.24) compared with onabotulinumtoxinA. Subgroup analyses by age group and presence of established non-MI or stroke CVD showed similar findings. Conclusions and Relevance: In this cohort study, despite initial concerns regarding the cardiovascular effects of CGRP blockade, anti-CGRP mAbs were not associated with an increased risk of CVD compared with onabotulinumtoxinA among adult Medicare beneficiaries with migraine, who were predominantly older adults or individuals with disability. Future studies with longer follow-up periods and in other populations are needed to confirm these findings.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• 1123 Risk of Cardiometabolic Outcomes in Individuals with Type 1 and Type 2 Narcolepsy

  SLEEP · 2025-05-01

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Introduction Narcolepsy, a chronic neurological sleep disorder, has two subtypes: type 1 (NT1), characterized by cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) orexin deficiency, and type 2 (NT2), characterized by normal CSF orexin levels. Both subtypes share symptoms, such as excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) and fragmented nocturnal sleep, but cataplexy is specific to NT1. Given orexin’s role in autonomic regulation, NT1 is linked to cardiometabolic risks. However, data on cardiometabolic outcomes is limited for both subtypes. Therefore, we assessed the risks of diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia in patients with NT1 and NT2 compared to individuals without narcolepsy. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study using 2005-2021 MarketScan® Commercial and Medicare Supplemental databases. Patients newly diagnosed with narcolepsy (NT1 or NT2) with &amp;gt;2 outpatient claims were identified using International Classification of Diseases – Clinical Modification diagnosis codes (NT1 or NT2 group). A comparison cohort without narcolepsy and hypersomnia (non-narcolepsy group) was matched using propensity score (PS) matching (1:3 ratio) based on baseline demographics, comorbidities, and medication use. We excluded patients with any diagnosis of cardiovascular disease, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, and metabolic-associated fatty liver disease during 1-year baseline period. After PS-matching, we used time-dependent Cox regression to compare risks of diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia between NT1 and non-narcolepsy groups and NT2 and non-narcolepsy groups. Models accounted for baseline use of wake-promoting agents, oxybate, stimulants, and time-varying stimulant use during follow-up period. Results The final cohort included 86,002 patients (18,309 with NT1, 3,760 with NT2, and 63,709 without narcolepsy). The adjusted model shows that NT1 was associated with higher risks for diabetes (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 2.21; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.59-3.07), hypertension (aHR 1.43; 95% CI 1.18-1.73), and hyperlipidemia (aHR 1.74; 95% CI 1.48-2.04), compared to those without narcolepsy. Similarly, NT2 was associated with higher risks of diabetes (aHR 1.44; 95% CI 1.24-1.66), hypertension (aHR 1.39; 95% CI 1.29-1.51), and hyperlipidemia (aHR 1.43; 95% CI 1.33-1.53), compared to those without narcolepsy. Conclusion Using large U.S. claims data, patients with NT1 or NT2 showed increased risks for diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia compared to those without narcolepsy. EDS and sleep fragmentation may drive these risks. Support (if any) Sleep Research Society Foundation (23-FRA-001)

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Care Continuum in Outpatient Settings: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

  AJPM Focus · 2025-09-01 · 1 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  <h2>Abstract</h2><h3>Introduction</h3> <b>:</b> Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a prescription medication that prevents human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and transmission in those at-risk for HIV infection. We examined engagement in the oral PrEP care continuum among HIV-negative individuals at-risk for HIV in outpatient settings in the United States (US) following participation in a PrEP-related intervention, to identify key gaps in the continuum where current interventions are least effective. <h3>Methods</h3> <b>:</b> This systematic review and meta-analysis included US studies published from January 2012 through August 2022 reporting at least two of seven PrEP care continuum steps from identification of HIV-negative, at-risk PrEP-eligible persons to PrEP initiation. The final two steps, PrEP adherence and retention, of the continuum's nine steps were not analyzed due to the substantial heterogeneity in how the included studies measured these steps and the limited sample sizes across the studies. Random-effects meta-analyses, which describe the distribution of effects across studies, were performed to estimate pooled proportions of each step, and subgroup analyses were conducted based on population characteristics (e.g., individuals with sexually transmitted infection [STI], men who have sex with men [MSM]) and study settings (i.e., emergency department [ED], ambulatory care, healthcare system, and other). <h3>Results</h3> <b>:</b> We included 2,510 articles in title and abstract review, 296 were retrieved for full text review, and 34 studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the meta-analysis. The 34 studies were comprised of 71,162 individuals eligible for PrEP. Among them, 66% had increased HIV risk awareness, 55% had enhanced PrEP awareness, 49% had facilitated PrEP access, 42% were linked to PrEP care, 40% were prescribed PrEP, and 34% initiated PrEP use. Subgroup analysis indicated that individuals identified in ED settings versus all other settings and individuals with STIs versus MSM had lower PrEP initiation rates. <h3>Discussion</h3> <b>:</b> There was a progressive decline in the proportion of individuals engaged in PrEP care continuum. These findings suggest that comprehensive efforts are needed across all settings to increase perceived susceptibility to HIV among high-risk individuals and to capitalize on the opportunity of sexually transmitted infections care and emergency department visits to engage patients in the PrEP care continuum.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• Medicaid Prior Authorization Policies for Chronic Hepatitis C Treatment in Vulnerable Populations

  NIH · $648k · 2018–2023

Frequent coauthors

• Wei‐Hsuan Lo‐Ciganic

  University of Pittsburgh

  99 shared

• Debbie L. Wilson

  University of Florida

  65 shared

• Linda Henry

  Center for Outcomes Research in Liver Diseases

  49 shared

• Scott Martin Vouri

  Center for Drug Evaluation and Research

  38 shared

• Almut G. Winterstein

  Center for Drug Evaluation and Research

  34 shared

• Steven M. Smith

  University of Florida

  32 shared

• Hyun Jin Song

  University of Florida

  32 shared

• Eric Dietrich

  University of Florida

  31 shared

Education

• B.S., Pharmacy

  South Korea

• M.S., Pharmacy

  South Korea

• Ph.D., Health Outcomes & Pharmacy Practice

  The University of Texas at Austin, College of Pharmacy

Awards & honors

• Best New Investigator Presentation Award at the Internationa…
• Best Paper Award in the Economic, Social & Administrative Sc…
• 2015 University of Florida Excellence Award for Assistant Pr…
• NIH/NIDA K01 Award (2018)