AHCPR Names First Child and Adolescent Health Scholar

Press Release Date: January 14, 1999

The Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) today announced the selection of Joseph W. Thompson, M.D., M.P.H., as AHCPR's first Child and Adolescent Health Scholar. Dr. Thompson will conduct and publish research on the quality of child and adolescent health services and will work on the Child Health Quality Measurement Initiative.

Dr. Thompson's appointment at AHCPR will last one year, during which he will continue to serve as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Previously, he served as Assistant Vice President of Collaborative Research and New Measures Development at the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) where he conducted assessments of HEDIS results for Medicaid, Medicare, and commercial populations. He also led NCQA's research support for consumer report card initiatives and quality measure development panels in pediatrics and in asthma. He also has served previously within the Department of Health and Human Services, including as Chief, Clinical Affairs and Fifth Luther Terry Fellow in Prevention Medicine in the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion and as Program Director of the Put Prevention Into Practice project in the Office of Assistant Secretary for Health.

"Dr. Thompson's experience as a pediatrician and his work at NCQA give him invaluable expertise in developing and implementing measures of the quality of care provided to children and young adults," said Dr. Lisa Simpson, AHCPR Deputy Administrator. "We are very pleased that Dr. Thompson will be contributing to our child health program as our first Child and Adolescent Health Scholar."

Dr. Thompson received his B.A. from Hendrix College. He completed his Master of Public Health at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and earned his Doctor of Medicine from University of Arkansas School of Medicine. Dr. Thompson has published numerous articles. AHCPR's Child and Adolescent Health Scholar appointment was made in partnership with the Ambulatory Pediatric Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Association of Medical School Pediatric Department Chairs, and the Society for Adolescent Medicine. The partners helped search for and select the candidate.

"The Child and Adolescent Health Scholar Program adds to the number of productive partnerships between the Federal Government and the American Academy of Pediatrics," said Lewis H. Margolis, M.D., MPH, Associate Professor, Maternal and Child Health, University of North Carolina, School of Public Health. "The sponsorship of a scholar by AHCPR will enhance interactions between the research and practice communities, leading to improved quality of care for children, a goal which we all share."

"The Ambulatory Pediatric Association (APA) is very pleased to collaborate with the AHCPR in the appointment of the first child and adolescent health scholar," said James M. Perrin, M.D., APA Immediate Past President. Dr. Thompson will develop and maintain close relationships with each of the sponsoring organizations. "We are thrilled by the selection of Dr. Thompson and we look forward to the information he will generate in 1999 in health care for adolescents," said Martin M. Fisher, M.D., President of the Society for Adolescent Medicine. "AMSPDC is pleased to be a sponsoring organization in Dr. Thompson's designation as the first AHCPR scholar," said Elizabeth McAnarney, M.D., President-elect, AMSPDC.

For more information on AHCPR studies and research, visit the agency's Web site at http://www.ahrq.gov/research/

Editor's Note: AHCPR will announce the next round of applications to be a child health and adolescent scholar at the end of January 1999. Applications will be due at the end of March 1999. The announcement will be found on the Child Health page on the AHCPR Web site. Dr. Thompson will serve in an advisory capacity for the selection of future AHCPR Child Health Scholars.

For additional information, please contact AHCPR Public Affairs: Nancy Comfort, (301) 427-1866 (NComfort@ahrq.gov); Salina Prasad, (301) 427-1864 (SPrasad@ahrq.gov).

Internet Citation:

AHCPR Names First Child and Adolescent Health Scholar. Press release, January 14, 1999. Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/news/press/pr1999/scholar.htm