Dr. Liebschutz is a primary care doctor who also practices addiction medicine, having cared for hundreds of patients with substance use disorder. Her clinical practice has focused on underserved populations. She is particularly interested in caring for patients who have experienced the triad of trauma, pain and substance use. She also enjoys employing her Spanish language skills with immigrants from Spanish speaking countries. Outside of work, she enjoys plants and spending time with her family and dog.
- BA, Yale University, East Asian Studies (China), 1983
- MD, Harvard Medical School, 1991
- MPH, Boston University School of Public Health, Epidemiology and Biostatistics, 1998
- Residency Program in Internal Medicine, Boston City Hospital, 1994
- Preventive Medicine Residency, Boston University Medical Center, 1998
- General Medicine Fellowship Program, Boston University Medical Center, 1998
- Faculty Fellow, Prevention and Other Drug Abuse Faculty Development Program, Boston University Medical Center, 2001
Education & Training
Liebschutz J, Saitz R, Brower V, Keane TM, Lloyd-Travaglini C, Averbuch T, Samet JH. PTSD in Urban Primary Care: High Prevalence and Low Physician Recognition. Journal of General Internal Medicine. 2007; 22(6): 719-726.
Borzecki AM, Bridgers DK, Liebschutz JM, Kader B, Kazis LE, Berlowitz DR. Racial differences in the prevalence of atrial fibrillation among males. Journal of the National Medical Association. 2008; 100(2): 237-245.
Meltzer EC, Rybin D, Saitz R, Samet JH, Schwartz SL, Butler SF, Liebschutz JM. Identifying prescription opioid use disorder in primary care: diagnostic characteristics of the Current Opioid Misuse Measure (COMM). Pain. 2011; 152(2): 397-402.
Liebschutz JM, Saitz R, Weiss RD, Averbuch T, Schwartz SL, Meltzer EC, Claggett-Borne E, Cabral H, Samet JH. Clinical factors associated with prescription drug use disorder in urban primary care patients with chronic pain. Journal of Pain. 2010; 11(11): 1047-1055.
Liebschutz JM, Crooks D, Herman D, Anderson B, Tsui J, Meshesha LZ, Dossabhoy S, Stein M. Buprenorphine Treatment for Hospitalized, Opioid-Dependent Patients: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Internal Medicine. 2014; 174(8): 1369-1376.
Liebschutz J, Battaglia T, Finley E, Averbuch T. Disclosing intimate partner violence to health care clinicians - what a difference the setting makes: a qualitative study. BMC Public Health. 2008; 8: 229.
Kartha A, Brower V, Saitz R, Samet JH, Keane TM, Liebschutz J. The impact of trauma exposure and post-traumatic stress disorder on healthcare utilization among primary care patients. Medical Care. 2008; 46(4): 388-393.
Fogarty CT, Fredman L, Heeren TC, Liebschutz J. Synergistic effects of child abuse and intimate partner violence on depressive symptoms in women. Preventive Medicine. 2008; 46(5): 463-469.
LaRochelle MR, Liebschutz JM, Zhang F, Ross-Degnan D, Wharam JF. Opioid Prescribing After Nonfatal Overdose and Association With Repeated Overdose: A Cohort Study. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2016; 164(1): 1-9.
Paranjape A, Rask K, Liebschutz J. Utility of STaT for the identification of recent intimate partner violence. Journal of the National Medical Association. 2006; 98(10): 1663-1669.
Dr. Liebschutz’s research is focused on developing interventions to combat the current crisis in opioid use disorders. More broadly her research focuses on substance use, violence, and mental health within the practice of general medical care. Earlier in her career, she studied violence and its health impacts—knowledge that she uses in her current work on substance abuse disorders. Dr. Liebschutz has conducted numerous observation and intervention studies, including research on opioid prescribing for chronic pain in primary care. She has also directed randomized trials to study the treatment of opioid and injection drug use disorders in hospitalized patients. Dr. Liebschutz has a sustained history of funding, including current R01 funding to study “Implementing opioid risk reduction strategies into primary care practice.”
Her research has been supported by the NIH’s National Institute on Drug Abuse, Health Resources and Services Administration, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the American Cancer Society, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and the Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research. She has been a frequent speaker at national and international conferences held by, among others, the Society of General Internal Medicine, the American College of Physicians, the College on Problems of Drug Dependency, and the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network. Her topics have ranged from intimate partner violence and chronic pain management to work-life integration.
Title: Developing an intervention to address opioid stigma in cancer survivors: formative work
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding Agency: National Agency for Drug Abuse
Grant Number: UG1 DA049436
Start Year: 2020
End Year: 2021
Title: Appalachian Node
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding Agency: National Agency for Drug Abuse
Grant Number: UG1
Start Year: 2019
End Year: 2024
Title: NorthStar Node of the Clinical Trials Network
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding Agency: Hennepin County Medical Center/ National Agency for Drug Abuse
Grant Number: R01 DA040316
Start Year: 2019
End Year: 2019
Title: PDM System User Training
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding Agency: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania/ Center for Disease Control
Start Year: 2019
End Year: 2019
Title: Subthreshold Opioid Use Disorder Prevention (STOP) Trial
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding Agency: McClean Hospital/ National Institute of Health
Grant Number: UG1 UG1DA015831
Start Year: 2019
End Year: 2019
Title: University of Pittsburgh Collaboration in Addiction Training Scholars (PittCATS) Program
Role: Co-Investigator
Funding Agency: National Agency for Drug Abuse
Grant Number: K12 DA050607
Start Year: 2020
End Year: 2025
Title: Consensus-based algorithms to address opioid misuse behaviors among individuals prescribed long-term opioid therapy: developing implementation strategies and pilot testing
Role: Co-Investigator
Funding Agency: National Agency for Drug Abuse
Grant Number: R34 DA050004
Start Year: 2020
End Year: 2023
Title: CDC PDMP OD2A Predictive Analytics Project
Role: Co-Investigator
Funding Agency: PA Department of Health / Center for Disease Control
Grant Number: RES
Start Year: 2020
End Year: 2022
Title: Implementing Prediction Models to Improve Opioid Risk
Role: Co-Investigator
Funding Agency: Richard King Mellon Foundation
Grant Number: RES 9909
Start Year: 2020
End Year: 2022
Title: Evaluation of the Efficacy and Mechanism of a Novel Intervention for Chronic Pain Tailored to People Living with HIV
Role: Co-Investigator
Funding Agency: National Institute of Mental Health
Grant Number: R01 MH115754
Start Year: 2018
End Year: 2023