In this episode, we sat down with Dr. Suja Rajan following her groundbreaking presentation on the cost-effectiveness of mobile stroke units at the 2022 International Stroke Conference in New Orleans.
Dr. Rajan and co-researchers aimed to prove “if outcome improvements associated with MSUs justify [an] increase in costs, thereby making MSUs cost effective, or if the outcome improvements lead to follow-up cost reductions thereby making MSUs cost-saving.”
https://www.hmpgloballearningnetwork.com/site/neuro/conference-coverage/mobile-stroke-unit-utilization-cost-effective
This was the first study that provided an economic evaluation using 1-year follow-up data on the cost-effectiveness of MSUs.

Dr. Suja S. Rajan is a Health Economist and Econometrician, and is currently an Associate Professor at the School of Public Health, UT Health in Houston. Dr. Rajan’s research interests include women’s health, stroke and cancer health outcomes research, determining the effect of socio-economic determinants of health, identification and resolution of racial-ethnic, socio-economic and gender disparities, evaluating programs that address these disparities, and conducting cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit evaluations to establish the business case for medical interventions.


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About
StrokeBusters is a podcast series of recorded conversations on the topic of stroke and cerebrovascular disease. Based in the Texas Medical Center, the largest medical center in the world, we tap into our local network of astonishing leaders in healthcare and medicine to discuss the latest and most exciting news on stroke. Throughout this ten-episode series, we connect with UTHealth physicians and researchers, many of who are experts in their field, to discuss their practice, cutting-edge research, and medical care.
Who We Are
The Institute for Stroke and Cerebrovascular Disease, better known as the Stroke Institute, serves as a multi-disciplinary hub for research and best practices in stroke recovery, stroke prevention, services, population health, and vascular dementia. We are one of the most active research and clinical programs in the country, the first Comprehensive Stroke Center in the state, and launched the first Mobile Stroke Unit in the nation.
Our stroke program, founded by Dr. James Grotta in 1979, specializes in stroke epidemiology, clinical trial design, and basic science. We train the next generation of revolutionary academics and leaders in cerebrovascular disease through our NINDS-funded fellowship programs.
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For more information or if you have any questions, please contact us at info.uthiscd@gmail.com