About me
Helen D’Couto, MD, is board certified in internal medicine, pulmonary medicine, and critical care medicine. She sees patients in clinic for pulmonary conditions with a sub-specialty focus on interstitial lung disease and sarcoidosis. She also attends to patients admitted in the intensive care unit.
Dr. D’Couto is also a successful researcher with numerous peer reviewed publications and presentations at national and international conferences. Her research work is focused on leveraging her clinical expertise in sarcoidosis to conduct clinical research on sarcoidosis and health disparities in pulmonology and sarcoidosis. She also collaborates with researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on research to counter the propagation of bias and health disparities in the emerging era of artificial intelligence in healthcare. She also serves as site principal investigator for multi-center national clinical trials in pulmonary medicine.
Dr. D’Couto is active in advocating for patients. She serves as the head of the patient centered care committee for critical care at MedStar Health. She has also published several op eds advocating for patient-centered reforms in health policy. She is a recognized leader in pulmonary medicine and serves as the Vice President of the DC Chapter of the American Thoracic Society.
In addition, Dr. D’Couto is a respected educator and committed to training the next generation of physicians. She is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Georgetown School of Medicine where she teaches courses in pulmonary medicine. She serves as a core faculty member of the MedStar Georgetown Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Fellowship.
Clinical areas of focus
- Asthma
- Bronchiectasis
- Bronchoscopy
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
- Interstitial Lung Disease
- Interventional Bronchoscopy
- Lung Cancer Screening
- Lung Mass
- Mycobacterial Infection
- Pulmonary Fibrosis
- Pulmonary Hypertension
- Pulmonary Sarcoid
- Sleep Disorders
- Thoracentesis
- Thoracoscopy
Conditions and procedures
Conditions I treat
- Acute Bronchitis
- Airway Disorders
- Airway Obstruction
- Airway Scarring
- Allergic Aspergillosis
- Allergic Pneumonitis
- Allergic Wheezing
- Alpha 1 Antitrypsin Deficiency
- Asbestos Lung
- Aspiration Pneumonitis
- Asthma
- Asthmatic Bronchitis
- Atelectasis
- Autoimmune Pleuritis
- Bronchiectasis
- Bronchitis
- Bronchospasm
- Chronic Bronchitis
- Chronic Cough
- Chronic Lung Disease
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
- Chronic Respiratory Failure
- Cryptogenic Organizing Pneumonia
- Diaphragmatic Disorders
- Drug Induced Pulmonary Disease
- Dyspnea On Exertion
- Emphysema
- Empyema
- Exercise Intolerance
- Hemoptysis
- Hepatic Hydrothorax
- Hypercarbia
- Hypoventilation Syndrome
- Hypoxia
- Interstitial Lung Disease
- Laryngotracheitis
- Lung Abscess
- Lung Disease
- Lung Infiltrate
- Lung Mass
- Maternal Respiratory Disease
- Mycobacterial Infection
- Occupational Lung Injury
- Pertussis
- Pleural Diseases
- Pleural Effusion
- Pleural Thickening
- Pleural Tuberculosis
- Pleurisy
- Pleuritic Pain
- Pneumoconiosis
- Pneumonia
- Pneumonitis
- Post Infectious Cough
- Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension
- Pulmonary Bullae
- Pulmonary Complications Of Neurological Diseases
- Pulmonary Embolism
- Pulmonary Fibrosis
- Pulmonary Granuloma
- Pulmonary Hypertension
- Pulmonary Infections
- Pulmonary Nodule
- Pulmonary Sarcoid
- Radiation Pneumonitis
- Reactive Airway Disease
- Recurrent Lung Infections
- Restrictive Lung Disease
- Rheumatoid Lung
- Shortness Of Breath (SOB)
- Silicosis
- Sleep Disorders
- Smoker Cough
- Stridor
- Tobacco-Related Diseases
- Tracheal Mass
- Tracheal Stenosis
- Tracheobronchitis
- Tuberculosis
- Wheezing
Procedures I perform
- Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure
- Bronchoscopy
- Continuous Positive Airway Pressure
- Home Sleep Study
- Interventional Bronchoscopy
- Lung Cancer Screening
- Mechanical Ventilation
- Pulmonary And Cardiac Rehabilitation
- Pulmonary Clearance For Surgery
- Pulmonary Function Tests (PFT)
- Pulmonary Stent Placement
- Pulmonary Therapy
- Spirometry
- Thoracentesis
- Thoracoscopy
Practice locations
Distance from Change LocationEnter your Location
3800 Reservoir Road Northwest Pasquerilla HealthCare Center Ste 5 Washington, DC, 20007
202-444-8830Fax 877-286-1492
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.
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List of insurance plans we accept
- Cigna Alliance Medicare (HMO)
- Aetna Medicare Advantage HMO & PPO Plans
- Innovation Health: Open POS Plus
- Innovation Health: Open POS II
- Aetna Managed Choice Open Access (POS)
- Aetna Choice POS & Choice POS II
- Innovation Health: POS Plus
- Aetna Managed Choice (POS)
- Innovation Health: POS
- Aetna Open HMO/Open HMO Option/Open EPO Plus
- Aetna HMO-Open Access/Select OA
- Aetna HealthFund/Health Network Option OA
- Innovation Health: HMO & EPO Plus
- Aetna Select HMO/HealthFund/Health Network
- Aetna HMO
- Innovation Health: Open Network Only Plus
- Aetna Elect Choice/ Open Access (POS)
- Innovation Health: Network Only Plus
- Aetna Elect Choice/ EPO (Aetna Health Fund)
- Employee Health Plan (EHP)
- Cigna TotalCare (HMO D-SNP)
- Cigna Preferred Medicare
- Cigna Achieve Medicare (HMO C-SNP)
- Veterans Affairs Community Care Network (VA CCN)
- United Medicare Advantage DSNP District of Columbia
- United Student Resources
- United Select Plus (POS)
- United Select HMO - EPO/NPP
- United Options (PPO) (includes Empire PPO)
- United Golden Rule
- United GEHA (for all other states) Compass Rose
- D-SNP)
- I-SNP
- United Nursing Home Plan (C-SNP
- United Erickson Advantage Plans
- United Choice Plus
- United Choice
- United Mamsi Life & Health
- United Core Essential (HMO)
- United Navigate
- MedStar Family Choice DC Healthy Families
- MedStar Family Choice DC Healthcare Alliance
- United MD IPA Preferred (POS)
- United MD IPA (HMO)
- Kaiser Permanente Signature-Added Choice
- Kaiser Signature
- Kaiser HMO Plus and DHMO Plus Member
- Kaiser Select-Added Choice
- Kaiser Select
- Kaiser Medicare Plus
- Kaiser Medicare Advantage Signature and Select
- Kaiser Flexible Choice
- HumanaChoice PPO
- HumanaChoice Honor’s plan PPO
- Health Services for Children with Special Needs (HSCSN)
- Cigna True Choice Plus Medicare (PPO)
- Cigna True Choice Medicare (PPO)
- Cigna POS/Network POS
- Cigna Indemnity
- Cigna POS Open Access & Open Access Plus
- Cigna Network Open Access
- Cigna HMO Open Access
- Cigna PPO and PPO Plus
- Cigna EPO
- Cigna Choice Fund PPO
- Beech Street PPO
- Innovation Health: Indemnity
- Aetna Traditional Choice (PPO)
- Aetna Student Health Insurance
- Aetna Signature Administrator PPO/TPA
- Aetna Quality Point of Service (POS)
- Innovation Health: PPO
- Aetna Open Choice (PPO)
- Cigna HMO & Network (HMO)
- WellPoint Maryland - Maryland Health Choice
- WellPoint Maryland
- Virginia Premier
- Veterans Affairs Community Care Network
- UnitedHealthcare Individual Exchange Plans
- United Community Plan - Maryland Health Choice Program
- Uniformed Services Family Health Plan (USFHP)
- Private Health Care Systems (PHCS) (PPO)
- Priority Partners - Maryland Health Choice
- Police and Fire Clinic
- United Optimum Choice Preferred (POS) & OCI Direct (HMO)
- United Optimum Choice
- United Group Medicare Advantage Plans
- United AARP Medicare Complete
- Traditional Medicare Fee for Service
- Medicaid - Virginia
- Medicaid - Maryland
- Medicaid - District of Columbia
- Tricare for Life East
- Tricare Reserve Select
- Tricare East Select
- Tricare East Prime
- Maryland Point of Service Plan (MPOS)
- HealthyBlue PPO
- Federal Employee Program (Std/Basic PPO/Blue Focus)
- CareFirst NASCO
- CareFirst MedStar Select PPO
- CareFirst MedStar PPO
- CareFirst Maryland Indemnity or PPO
- CareFirst Group Medicare Advantage prescription drug benefit (PPO)
- CareFirst Group Medicare Advantage
- CareFirst BC/BS Advantage Core/Enhanced
- CareFirst Blue Card Program (Out-of-area BCBS plans)
- CareFirst Administrators
- CareFirst (NCA) Indemnity
- Carefirst BlueChoice Opt Out Plus Open Access (POS)
- Carefirst Healthy Blue (HMO/POS)
- Carefirst BlueChoice Opt Out Open Access
- Carefirst BlueChoice Open Access
- Carefirst BlueChoice HMO
- Carefirst EPO
- Carefirst Blue Preferred PPO
- First Health PPO
- MedStar Family Choice - Maryland Health Choice
- Coventry Health Care National Network PPO
- Coventry of Delaware HMO/PPO
- Coventry Health Care of Virginia
- Great-West Healthcare POS/CIGNA
Education
Board Certification: American Board of Internal Medicine, Internal Medicine
Board Certification: American Board of Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Disease
Fellowship: Massachusetts General Hospital (2023)
Residency: Massachusetts General Hospital (2020)
Medical School: Harvard Medical School (2017)