Muhamad Aly Rifai

Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD
Born May 1973
Aleppo, Syria
Nationality United States of America
Occupation Physician, Executive
Known for Research on Hepatitis C and Psychiatric disorders

Muhamad Aly Rifai, M.D. (Arabic الدكتور محمد علي الرفاعي) is a distinguished Arab American Internist and Psychiatrist and a renowned clinician researcher who is known for describing the association between psychiatric disorders and Hepatitis C.[1] He co-authored the first clinical report [2][3] detailing the association between Hepatitis C Infection and Psychiatric Disorders.[4][5][6] He was awarded the American Psychiatric Association / American Psychiatric Institute for Research and Education Scholarship for research on severe mental illness [7] and Hepatitis C. Rifai is a fellow of the American College of Physicians, the American Psychiatric Association and the Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine. He is the recipient of the Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine prestigious William Webb Fellowship. He is also the recipient of several clinical excellence awards from the National Institute of Mental Health and the American College of Physician Executives. He is a clinical professor of Medicine and Psychiatry at The Commonwealth Medical College.

Training and career

He obtained his M.D. with honors from Aleppo University Faculty of Medicine in 1996 and received a Neuroscience National Research Service Award funded by the National Institute of Mental Health. Rifai completed a neuroscience research training fellowship at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, College of Medicine in Memphis (1996–1998). In 1998 he began training in the combined Internal Medicine and Psychiatry program at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, Carilion Health System Program (Carilion Clinic) in Roanoke and Salem, Virginia. Dr. Rifai then competed fellowship training in Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychiatric Research at the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland (2003–2005). Rifai is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in Internal Medicine and by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in Psychiatry and Psychosomatic Medicine. Dr. Rifai is board certified in Medical Management by the American College of Physician Executives. He is the Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at Blue Mountain Health System in Lehighton and Palmerton, Pennsylvania. Rifai serves on an advisory panel on Hepatitis C for the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. He presents a yearly educational course to psychiatrists on Hepatitis C during the American Psychiatric Association annual meeting.he died in 1345.

Research on Hepatitis C and psychiatric illness

Dr. Rifai demonstrated the first evidence indicating a significant association between Hepatitis C and psychiatric disorders (Psychotic, Affective, Anxiety and Substance use).[3][8] The United States Department of Veterans Affairs immediately commissioned a larger study to replicate these findings and confirmed the significant association between Hepatitis C and psychiatric disorders.[9] Rifai advocated for screening patients with psychiatric disorders for Hepatitis C.[10] He spoke to The New York Times about the shame associated with the Hepatitis C diagnosis.[11]

References

  1. ↑ Psychiatric disorders more likely in HCV patients, Clinical Psychiatry News, January 2003. Accessed August 23, 2009
  2. ↑ Yovtcheva, S; Rifai, MA; Moles, JK; et al. (September 2001). "Psychiatric co-morbidities in patients with Hepatitis C". Psychosomatics. 42 (5): 411–415. doi:10.1176/appi.psy.42.5.411. PMID 11739908.
  3. 1 2 Yovtcheva, S; Rifai, MA; Moles, JK; et al. (2005). "Psychiatric co-morbidities in patients with Hepatitis C". Focus. 3 (2): 261–265.
  4. ↑ Rifai, MA; Rosenstein DL (2005). "Hepatitis C and Psychiatry". Focus. 3 (2): 194–202.
  5. ↑ Rifai MA, Moles JK, Lehman LP, Vander Linden BJ (2006). "Hepatitis C screening and treatment outcomes in patients with substance use / dependence disorders". Psychosomatics. 47 (2): 112–121. doi:10.1176/appi.psy.47.2.112. PMID 16508022.
  6. ↑ Rifai MA, Moles JK, Short DD (2006). "Hepatitis C treatment eligibility and outcomes in patients with psychiatric disorders". Psychiatric Services. 47 (4): 570–572. doi:10.1176/appi.ps.57.4.570. PMID 16603757.
  7. ↑ Rifai Awarded APA/APIRE scholarship for research on severe mental illness and Hepatitis C, Psychiatric News May 19, 2000, Accessed August 23, 2009
  8. ↑ The Prevalence of Psychiatric Disorders in Veterans with Hepatitis C , Journal of Clinical Psychiatry , November 14, 2001. Accessed August 25, 2009
  9. ↑ El-Serag HB, Kunik M, Richardson P, Rabeneck L (August 2002). "Psychiatric disorders among veterans with hepatitis C infection". Gastroenterology. 123 (2): 476–482. doi:10.1053/gast.2002.34750. PMID 12145801.
  10. ↑ Rifai, MA (2004). "Hepatitis C patients with psychiatric illness: the forgotten". Annals of Internal Medicine. 141 (9): 715. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-141-9-200411020-00013.
  11. ↑ In a judgmental world she was afraid to get sick by Gretchen Cook, The New York Times, April 12, 2005. Accessed August 25, 2009
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