Dr. Keyhani is a primary care provider and UCSF investigator based in the San Francisco VA Health Care System. She is interested in improving health care delivery and also has an interest in clinical outcomes research. She is currently leading multiple VA and NIH funded cohort studies examining the health effects of cannabis.

She also has an active research program in health care quality and health policy. Her quality of care research to date has focused on examining the underuse and overuse of medical procedures, comparing receipt of appropriate therapy in different systems of care (e.g. Medicare versus Veterans Health Administration) and examining system factors that contribute to improved quality. Her policy research has largely focused on areas important to health care reform and factors that may contribute to inefficiency and the use of inappropriate care in the US health care system. She has surveyed physicians on their views towards national guidelines, comparative effectiveness research, defensive medicine and conflicts of interest in medicine.