About me
Amie Hsia, MD, is a board-certified vascular neurologist and medical director of the MedStar Washington Hospital Center Comprehensive Stroke Center, Professor of Neurology at Georgetown University Medical Center, principal investigator of the NIH Stroke Program at MedStar Washington, and co-principal investigator of the NIH-funded StrokeNet regional coordinating center - Stroke Capital Area Network for Research (SCANR).
Dr. Hsia received her undergraduate degree from Harvard University and her medical degree from Duke University. She completed her neurology residency at Stanford University, where she also served as chief resident. She remained at Stanford for her fellowship training in stroke and neurocritical care.
Born and raised in the D.C. metropolitan area, Dr. Hsia returned to Washington for the opportunity to provide advanced stroke care to area residents. Dr. Hsia serves as an advocate of the Greater Washington Region American Heart and Stroke Association to support governmental policies related to stroke care. She is a founding member and was the first physician chair of the D.C. Stroke Collaborative, working to improve the level of stroke care through collaboration among the D.C. hospitals and EMS. With the NIH Stroke Program, she works on developing and evaluating acute stroke treatments with advanced neuroimaging.
To extend efforts beyond the D.C. boundaries, she spearheaded the development of a stroke telemedicine network, to provide emergency expert stroke consultation for hospitals in the surrounding communities using this technology, and to expand patient access to the opportunity to participate in ongoing clinical trials of acute stroke therapies.
Research:
Area: Acute Stroke – Use of Multimodal MRI
Developing and evaluating the effects of acute stroke treatments using multimodal MRI to optimize patient selection, increase understanding of stroke pathophysiology, and predict and improve outcomes.
Area: Acute Stroke – Systems of Care
Improving stroke systems of care within individual hospitals and across a community/region. Advance science and disseminate knowledge in acute stroke care delivery.
Area: Acute Stroke – Racial Disparities in Stroke Care
Evaluating and reducing the barriers to acute stroke treatment in underserved urban communities.
Clinical areas of focus
- Cerebrovascular Accident (CVA)
- Cerebrovascular Disorders
- Hemorrhagic Stroke
- Ischemic Stroke
- Transient Ischaemic Attack (TIA)
Conditions and procedures
Conditions I treat
- Carotid Stenosis
- Cavernous Sinus Thrombosis
- Cerebral Arteritis
- Cerebral Atherosclerosis
- Cerebral Hemorrhage
- Cerebral Venous Sinus Thrombosis
- Cerebrovascular Accident (CVA)
- Cerebrovascular Disorders
- Cerebrovascular Insufficiency
- Dissection Carotid Artery
- Dissection Of Vertebral Artery
- Hemorrhagic Stroke
- Intracranial Arterial Occlusion
- Intracranial Artery Stenosis
- Intracranial Hemorrhage
- Ischemic Stroke
- Lacunar Stroke
- Moyamoya
- Transient Ischaemic Attack (TIA)
- Vertebral Artery Stenosis
- Vertebrobasilar Insufficiency
Insurance
MedStar Health accepts most major health insurance plans. If you are uncertain as to whether your individual health insurance plan is accepted at MedStar Health, please call your insurance company.
-
List of insurance plans we accept
- Kaiser Permanente Medicare Advantage Signature and Select (aka Senior Advantage)
- Blue Choice Advantage & Healthy Blue (HMO, POS)
- UnitedHealthcare and AARP Medicare Complete Plans/ UHC Group Medicare Advantage Plans HMO, POS, PPO
- United Healthcare Options (PPO) (includes Empire PPO, GEHA, Compass Rose)
- Kaiser Permanente Select
- Kaiser PermanenteSelect-Added Choice
- Kaiser Permanente Flexible Choice POS
- CFBCBS Federal Employee Program (Std/Basic PPO/Blue Focus)
- CFBCBS EPO
- Kaiser Virginia Premier
- Kaiser Permanente Signature-Added Choice
- UnitedHealthcare Medicare Adv/Special Needs Plans
- UHC Community Plan of MD
- Kaiser Permanente Signature
- Kaiser Permanente Medicare Plus (Medicare Supplemental Plan)
- Kaiser MD Medicaid MCO
- Medicare Fee for Service
- Private Health Care Systems (PHCS) (PPO)
- Aetna Innovations: HMO & EPO Plus
- Select HMO/HealthFund/Health Network
- Aetna HMO
- Open POS II
- Innovation Health: Open POS Plus
- Choice POS & Choice POS II
- Aetna Managed Choice Open Access (POS)
- Open EPO Plus
- Opoen HMO Option
- Open HMO
- Innovation Health: POS
- Aetna HMO-Open Access/Select OA/HealthFund/Health Network Option OA
- Innovation Health: Open Network Only Plus
- Aetna Elect Choice/ Open Access (POS)
- Innovation Health: POS Plus
- Aetna Managed Choice (POS)
- Innovation Health: PPO
- Aetna Open Choice (PPO)
- Innovation Health: Indemnity
- Aetna Traditional Choice (PPO)
- BlueChoice Open Access
- CFBCBS Blue Choice Opt Out Open Access
- HealthyBlue PPO
- CFBSBC Blue Preferred PPO
- Choice Fund PPO
- PPO and PPO Plus
- CIGNA EPO
- POS OA & OA Plus
- Network OA
- CIGNA HMO Open Access (OA)
- United Healthcare Choice
- Coventry Health Care National Network PPO
- CIGNA HMO & Network (HMO)
- Aetna Medicare Advantage HMO & PPO Plans
- Tricare for Life (Medicare Supplemental Plan)
- Coventry Health Care of Virginia
- United Student Resources
- FIRST HEALTH
- CFBCBS Blue Choice Opt Out Plus Open Access (POS)
- CFBCBS Maryland Point of Service Plan (MPOS)
- CFBCBS Maryland Indemnity or PPO
- Aetna Quality Point of Service (POS)
- CFBCBS BlueChoice HMO
- United Healthcare Select Plus (POS)
- CIGNA Indemnity
- United Healthcare Select HMO - EPO/NPP
- United Healthcare Choice Plus
- Aetna Worker's Compensation Network
- M.D. IPA Preferred (POS)
- Coventry of Delaware HMO/PPO
- Tricare Prime
- Mamsi Life & Health (Indem./PPO)
- CIGNA POS/Network POS
- Aetna Elect Choice/ EPO (Aetna Health Fund) Innovation Health: Network Only Plus
- Optimum Choice Preferred (POS) & OCI Direct (HMO)
- Great-West Healthcare POS/CIGNA
- CFBCBS (NCA) Indemnity
- MedStar Family Choice - Maryland Health Choice
- MedStar Select (MedStar Associates' Plan)
- M.D. IPA (HMO)
- First Health PPO
- Aetna Student Health Insurance
Videos
Education
Board Certification: American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Neurology
Board Certification: American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Vascular Neurology
Fellowship: Stamford Health (2004)
Residency: ValleyCare-Stanford Health Care (2002)
Residency: California Pacific Medical Center (1999)
Graduate: Duke University Fuqua School of Business (1998)
Awards
- NIH/NINDS Director’s Group Merit Award 2020 For a continued commitment to provide outstanding NIH/NINDS Stroke clinical care despite challenges of COVID-19 pandemic
- Castle Connolly Exceptional Women in Medicine: 2019, 2020
- District of Columbia Hospital Association Commitment to Excellence Award 2016 Presented to the MWHC Comprehensive Stroke Center team for demonstrating commitment to providing leadership and support for patients, staff, and the hospital
- MedStar Washington Hospital Center Board of Directors Program Excellence Award 2015 Presented to the Comprehensive Stroke Center; one of 3 MedStar Washington programs awarded
- American Heart Association/American Stroke Association – Greater Washington Region Advocate of the Year Award 2014, 2015
- Castle Connolly Regional Top Doctors (Neurology): 2013
- District of Columbia Hospital Association Patient Safety Award 2010
Hospital affiliations
News and publications
Scientific American (2016): Stroke Study Sparks Call for Revamping Emergency Care Plan
NIH: A SMARTer approach to stroke care
Neurology Journal Podcast: June 16, 2015 issue: SMART Study
MedStar Washington Hospital Center Named Region’s First Certified Comprehensive Stroke Center
WTOP (2012): Stroke: The other cardiovascular disease
Washington Post (2011): Study in D.C. hospitals reveals disparity in stroke treatment for blacks
Complete list of published work in My Bibliography:
Select publications:
- Prevalence of Imaging Targets in Patients with Minor Stroke Selected for IV tPA Treatment Using MRI: The Treatment of Minor Stroke with MRI Evaluation Study (TIMES) [Neurology]
- Temporally distinct myeloid cell responses mediate damage and repair after cerebrovascular injury [Nature Neuroscience]
- Rapid ADC evolution after early revascularization: A potential marker of secondary injury? [Stroke]
- Intravenous thrombolysis in unwitnessed stroke onset: MR WITNESS trial results [Annals of Neurology]
- Building Better Systems for Stroke: The Time Is Now [JAMA Neurology]
- Effects of Increasing IV tPA-treated stroke mimic rates at CT-based centers on clinical outcomes [Neurology]
- Screening with MRI for Accurate and Rapid Stroke Treatment: SMART [Neurology]
- Negative Diffusion Weighted Imaging after IV tPA is rare and unlikely to indicate averted infarction [Stroke]
- Racial Disparities in tissue plasminogen activator treatment rate for stroke. A population-based study [Stroke]
- Understanding Reasons for Delay in Seeking Acute Stroke Care in an Underserved Urban Population [Stroke]