Medical Expertise

Hepatology
Transplant Hepatology
Gastroenterology
Upper Endoscopy and Colonoscopy

Hospital Affiliation

University Hospital, Newark

INSURANCE PARTICIPATION

Insurance Participation: with Provider Number (where applicable)
The information below is subject to change and should not be relied upon until after it is verified with the insurance company. In addition, psychiatric providers should be contacted directly for information on their participation with managed care and insurance companies.

Aetna, Inc.

AmeriGroup

AmeriHealth of NJ

America's Choice Provider Network (ACPN)

Amerivantage Dual Coordination

Clover Health Plans

Devon Health Services/ULLICO

Horizon BCBS Managed Care

Horizon NJ Health

Horizon NJ Total Care(HNJH)

Horizon PPO Network

Medicaid

Medicare

MultiPlan

Prime Health Services, Inc.

Qual Care HMO

Qual Care PPO

Three Rivers Provider Network

UHC Comm/Oxford

United Healthcare Community Plan (formerly AmeriChoice of NJ, Inc.)

WellCare Health Plans

Languages

Arabic

Overview

Dr. Tafesh joined the faculty of Rutgers New Jersey Medical School as an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology in 2020. He practices as a Transplant Hepatologist at University Hospital. He also serves as the Assistant Program Director of the Hepatology Fellowship. Dr. Tafesh received his medical degree from Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar in 2013, graduating with academic honors. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine and fellowship in Gastroenterology at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medicine, where he served as a chief fellow. Additionally, he completed a one-year fellowship in Adult Transplant Hepatology at the Columbia and Weill Cornell campuses of New York Presbyterian Hospital. During his Gastroenterology fellowship, Dr. Tafesh obtained a Masters in Health Policy and Economics from Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences.

Dr. Tafesh is board certified in Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology and Transplant Hepatology. He has received multiple awards and honors including induction into the Gold Humanism Honor Society. His research and publications focus on health services and outcomes in the fields of hepatology and liver transplantation.

Education

MD, 2013, Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar

Licensure & Certification

Medical Licensure
New Jersey

Languages

Arabic

Relevant Publications

Rosenblatt R, Shen N, Tafesh Z et al. The North American Consortium for the Study of End- Stage Liver Disease-Acute-on-Chronic Liver Failure Score Accurately Predicts Survival: An External Validation Using a National Cohort. Liver Transpl, 26: 187-195, 2020.

Hajifathalian K, Tafesh Z et al. Use of a vacuum sponge to expedite healing of a large peripancreatic collection. Endoscopy, 52(1): E1-E2, 2020.

Rosenblatt, R, Tafesh, Z et al. Shen, Nicole; Cohen-Mekelburg, Shirley; Kumar, Sonal; Lucero,Catherine; Brown Jr., Robert; Verna, Elizabeth; Fortune, Brett; Jesudian, Arun. Early paracentesis in high-risk hospitalized patients: Time for a new quality indicator. Am J Gastroenterol, 114: 1863-1869, 2019.

Tafesh, Z, Coleman, M et al. Severe Hepatotoxicity due to Ibrutinib with a Review of Published Cases. Case Reports in Gastroenterology, 13: 357-363, 2019.

Tafesh, Z, Brown Jr. R. Management of Virologic Failure in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis B Treated with Nucleos(t)ide Analogues. Current Hepatology Reports, 18: 363-369, 2019.

Rosenblatt, R, Cohen-Mekelburg, S, Shen, N, Tafesh, Z et al. Cirrhosis as a Comorbidity in Conditions Subject to the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program. American Journal of Gastroenterology, 114: 1488-1495, 2019.

Cohen-Mekelburg S, Rosenblatt R, Mathews S, Namn Y, Tafesh Z, Wan D, Crawford C. To Scope or Not to Scope? The Safety of Upper Endoscopy in the Setting of Pulmonary Embolism. Am J Gastroenterol. 2019. 113(1): 165-168.

Cohen-Mekelburg S, Tafesh Z, Coburn E, Weg R, Malik N, Webb C, Hammad H, Scherl E, Bosworth B. Testing and Treating Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth Reduces Symptoms in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Dig Dis Sci. 2018. 63(9): 2439-2444.

Rosenblatt R, Tafesh Z, Halazun K. Role of inflammatory markers as hepatocellular cancer selection tool in the setting of liver transplantation. Translational Gastroenterology and Hepatology. 2017. 21; 2:95.

Tafesh Z, and Elizabeth C. Verna. Managing nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in patients living with HIV. Current opinion in infectious diseases. 2017. 30.1: 12-20