Kenneth Hung, MD, MS
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About
Titles
Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine (Digestive Diseases)
Associate Fellowship Program Director, Digestive Diseases; Gastroenterology Elective Director - YNHH, Digestive DiseasesBiography
Dr. Kenneth Hung is an gastroenterologist at Yale New Haven Hospital specializing in gastrointestinal issues among hospitalized patients. He completed his medical training at Baylor College of Medicine as a Rice/Baylor Medical Scholar. He completed his residency training at the University of Colorado and his gastroenterology fellowship at New York Presbyterian Hospital - Columbia University Medical Center. During his fellowship training, he completed a master's degree in patient-oriented research methods within the department of biostatistics at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. He is interested in quality improvement, clinical education, and gastrointestinal bleeding, quality measures, and Helicobacter pylori.
He is proficient in upper endoscopy, colonoscopy, and video capsule endoscopy and is active in national gastroenterology organizations.
Appointments
Digestive Diseases
Assistant ProfessorPrimary
Other Departments & Organizations
- Digestive Diseases
- Gastroenterology Hospitalist Program
- Internal Medicine
- Yale Medicine
Education & Training
- Clinical Postdoctoral Fellow
- New York Presbyterian Hospital - Columbia University Medical Center (2019)
- MS
- Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, Patient Oriented Research - Biostatistics (2019)
- Resident
- University of Colorado (2016)
- MD
- Baylor College of Medicine (2013)
- BS
- Rice University, Biochemistry and Cell Biology (2009)
- BA
- Rice University, Kinesiology - Sports Medicine Focus (2009)
Research
Overview
My initial research interest included optimizing donor and recipient matching in liver transplantation to improve post-transplant graft survival. I have published several manuscripts on outcomes of patients with cirrhosis and liver transplantation.
My most recent research interest involves measurement of quality of care and missed testing for Helicobacter pylori in patients hospitalized with bleeding peptic ulcer disease. H. pylori is a bacterium implicated in the development of gastric cancer and peptic ulcer disease. H. pylori testing and treatment are readily available and cost effective through a variety of modalities. H. pylori eradication significantly reduces the risk of recurrent bleeding from peptic ulcer disease. Despite strong evidence of the benefits of H. pylori testing and treatment, rates of H. pylori testing are low. I am studying the cascade of care among patients hospitalized with bleeding peptic ulcer disease to identify potential areas of intervention to increase H. pylori testing rates.
Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
Academic Achievements and Community Involvement
Clinical Care
Overview
Kenneth Hung, MD, MS, is a gastroenterologist hospitalist, which means he treats patients who are admitted to the hospital with acute gastrointestinal (GI) conditions.
“We are skilled at taking care of all inpatient issues. We see a wide variety of conditions, including actively bleeding blood vessels that need to be treated with injection, cautery, clipping, or sprays to stop bleeding,” Dr. Hung says. “We take care of patients with a variety of issues including constipation and other conditions that can be managed as an outpatient to more serious conditions that require care in the intensive care unit.”
Being hospitalized, Dr. Hung acknowledges, is understandably stressful for patients. “We have a team of people who are here to help patients,” he says. “And patients should be asking questions, too.”
An important part of his job, Dr. Hung says, is educating patients. “We counsel them on their disease condition, the risks and benefits of any procedure, and try to involve them as much as we can to help them determine what path they want to choose,” he says. “Because every procedure and medication have risks and potential benefits, we explain everything as thoroughly as we can, so that patients can make informed, personalized decisions.”
His research interests include quality improvement in GI bleeding, which can be caused by ulcers, certain medications, and Helicobacter pylori,a type of bacteria.
Clinical Specialties
Fact Sheets
Rectal Bleeding
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Contacts
Yale School of Medicine
Department of Medicine (Digestive Diseases), P.O. Box 208019
New Haven, CT 06520-8019
United States
Locations
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