Paul Wallace, Leader in Health System Improvement, Named AcademyHealth Senior Scholar in Residence

Paul Wallace, Leader in Health System Improvement, Named AcademyHealth Senior Scholar in Residence

Washington, D.C. (3/22/16)—AcademyHealth announced today that Paul Wallace, M.D., will join the organization as senior scholar in residence beginning April 1.

Wallace is a national leader in population health research and the use of evidence to improve health care. During his tenure at AcademyHealth, he will explore issues at the intersection of learning health systems and health services and policy research (HSR), including opportunities and implications for researchers, ways HSR can inform delivery system policy and practice, and approaches to linking data science and HSR.

“This is a dynamic and important time in the evolution of how we think about and pursue improved health,” said Wallace. “AcademyHealth and its members are uniquely poised to offer meaningful guidance to health delivery system leaders. I’m pleased to have this opportunity to learn further from and contribute with my health services and policy research colleagues.”

As Senior Scholar, Wallace will also apply his expertise as an advisor to AcademyHealth’s growing portfolio of health data initiatives, including ongoing support for the EDM Forum program, electronic journal eGEMs and the organization’s two flagship meetings for health data science and evidence, Concordium and the Health Datapalooza.

“Paul has long been a valued member and respected leader in the field. He was also an early advocate for the use of electronic health data for health care improvement and delivery system transformation,” said AcademyHealth President and CEO, Dr. Lisa Simpson. “After serving in a number of leadership roles at AcademyHealth, including as Chair of our Board of Directors, we are thrilled to welcome Paul to the staff as a senior scholar and look forward to working with him to expand upon these issues for the benefit of the field.”

Wallace was most recently chief medical officer and senior vice president for clinical translation at OptumLabs, an organization designed to develop and sustain a community of research and learning partners to work collaboratively on some of the most critical problems in health care. Before joining OptumLabs, he was a senior vice president and director of the center for comparative effectiveness research at the Washington DC based Lewin Group, where he and his colleagues led policy and business development to manage, promote, and support the use of comparative effectiveness research to inform decisions that help achieve the most effective patient outcomes, health care policies, and deployment of health care resources. An oncologist, Dr. Wallace previously spent 22 years as a medical director and clinician with Kaiser Permanente.

About the AcademyHealth Senior Scholars Program

The Senior Scholar in Residence Program provides an opportunity for AcademyHealth members to experience first-hand the role that health services research can play in informing national policy issues. The program provides an opportunity for the Senior Scholars to deepen their understanding of how health services research informs national policy; brings new and innovative thinking and research to national policy discussions; and increases interactions between AcademyHealth members and staff in order to increase their mutual understanding of key health issues and to help them better serve the field.

To learn more about the AcademyHealth Senior Scholars in Residence Program, visit www.academyhealth.org/scholars.

About AcademyHealth

AcademyHealth is a leading national organization serving the fields of health services and policy research and the professionals who produce and use this important work. Together with our members, we offer programs and services that support the development and use of rigorous, relevant and timely evidence to increase the quality, accessibility, and value of health care, to reduce disparities, and to improve health. A trusted broker of information, AcademyHealth brings stakeholders together to address the current and future needs of an evolving health system, inform health policy, and translate evidence into action.