Dr. Amar Desai, an Indian American doctor based in the Greater Los Angeles area of California, was recently named to the Becker’s Hospital Review “25 Healthcare Leaders Under 40” list. The leaders are selected through an editorial review process that included peer nominations. All leaders were under 40 years old at the time of their nomination earlier this year. This is the fourth year the annual list has been released.
“I am honored. This recognition is really about the distinctive individuals and teams I have had the privilege to work with,” Desai told the media. “We are at such a dynamic moment in healthcare and medicine right now, there is so much we are doing that will improve the health and well-being of our communities.”
Desai, 39, who was born and raised in Southern California to parents who immigrated to the United States from India, resides in Manhattan Beach, Calif., with his wife Priya and their three daughters. An associate professor of medicine at Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California and the CEO for the USC Care and Ambulatory Care Services, he has dedicated the better part of a decade to improving patient care.
Desai is currently responsible for the operations of all ambulatory satellites, which include hospital-based clinics, Keck School of Medicine department clinics, outpatient joint venture partnerships, community practices, the access center and billing operations.
“As I have progressed in my medical career, I have seen firsthand how patient care is influenced by public policy decisions, systems of care, and the business of medicine,” he said. “Over the past years, my roles have focused on driving health system change by building innovative care models that improve quality, make care more affordable, and transform the experience of being a patient.”
Desai spent time as an executive at Da Vita Healthcare Partners and an engagement manager at McKinsey and Company. At the latter firm, he was a member of the North American Provider/Payer Practice. He is board certified in internal medicine and nephrology, having completed his residency and fellowship at U.C. San Francisco.
Desai received his bachelor’s and medical degrees at Brown University and his master’s of public health at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He has held faculty appointments at the Stanford School of Medicine and the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
