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NGC/NQMC Expert Panel

NEW! The National Guideline Clearinghouse/National Quality Measures Clearinghouse (NGC/NQMC) Expert Panel is comprised of individuals with collective expertise in all aspects of evidence-based health, clinical practice guidelines, quality measurement and reporting, health care policy and administration, and health informatics. The Expert Panel provides feedback and guidance to NGC and NQMC on broad project areas.

Rhonda M. Anderson, R.N., DNSC(h), FAAN, FACHE

Ms. Anderson is currently the Pediatric Administrator for Cardon Children's Medical Center and Pediatric Service Line Administrator for Banner Health. She has served as the Chief Operating Officer of the Banner Desert Medical Center and Banner Children's Hospital at Banner Desert Medical Center for the past 4 years, as well as the Joint Commission Commissioner since 2000. She has chaired the Performance Measure Workgroup for 8 years. She has been involved as Member or Chair of State and National Patient Safety and Quality Committees and Performance Measurement Committees over the past 10 years. In addition to these roles, she is an adjunct faculty member in the School of Nursing at Grand Canyon University and WP Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. She sits on several boards and committees, and her published work is extensive. Ms. Anderson has given over 250 presentations on various topics in the field of nursing and healthcare and was awarded the 2005 Lifetime Achievement Award by the American Organization of Nurse Executives and the 2006 Lifetime Achievement Award by Nurse Week and March of Dimes. She currently is on 5 editorial boards of healthcare and nursing journals.

Kathryn L. Coltin, M.P.H.

Ms. Coltin currently serves as Director, External Quality Data Initiatives at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, and is an Independent Consultant in health care performance measurement, reporting and improvement. She has extensive experience in the design and development of performance measures for health plans and providers, among other areas. Ms. Coltin has served on several national advisory committees, and has had a long-standing interest in the application of information technology to quality measurement and improvement. She has consulted on numerous initiatives to measure and publicly report on performance, for which she has twice shared the Massachusetts Health Data Consortium's "Investing in Information" award. She holds an M.P.H. from Boston University, where she trained as a clinical epidemiologist. She completed all pre-doctoral course work in the Joint Program for Advanced Studies in Health Policy of Boston University and Brandeis University, under a fellowship from the Pew Memorial Trusts.

Dave Davis, M.D., CCFP, FCFP, FRCPC(hon)

Dr. Davis currently serves as Vice President, Continuing Health Care Education and Improvement, Association of American Medical Colleges as well as Adjunct Professor in the Departments of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation and Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto. He graduated from the University of Western Ontario in 1967, and over a 30 year period has been: chairman of an all-staff inter-professional CE program at Joseph Brant Hospital (Burlington, Ont.); director of CME and subsequently chair of CE at McMaster University's Faculty of Health Sciences; associate dean, CE, and founding director of the Knowledge Translation Program, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto; and chairman of Ontario's Guidelines Advisory Committee. Dr. Davis has also developed a comprehensive competency assessment program for the provincial licensing body, and helped launch a center for faculty development and a Mini-Med School at the University of Toronto. Emphasizing a systematic, outcomes-based focus on CME, he has acted as PI, Co-PI or investigator on numerous grants. This emphasis has seen the publication of over 100 peer-reviewed papers, dozens of abstracts, book chapters, and two major books on CME practices, and presentations on four continents. He has been chair or president of national or provincial Canadian organizations, two North American organizations (the Alliance for CME and the Society for Academic CME) and the Guidelines International Network.

George Isham, M.D., M.S.

Dr. Isham has served as Medical Director and Chief Health Officer of HealthPartners Inc. since 1992. He sits on the Board of Directors of the Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement, the HealthPartners Research Foundation, and the Alliance of Community Health Plans (formerly The HMO Group). He is also a member of several prominent professional societies including the National Quality Forum and the American Medical Association, and was appointed as a lifetime National Associate of the National Academies of Science in 2003. In addition to being an original member of the National Guideline Clearinghouse (NGC) Advisory Board from 1996 to 2003, he is a current member of the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). Dr. Isham began his graduate work at the University of Illinois, obtaining his M.D. in 1972, followed by his M.S. in Preventive Medicine/Administrative Medicine from the University of Wisconsin Madison in 1999. He completed his medical internship and his Internal Medicine Residency at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics. He has published numerous articles, trade press and edited materials, and has presented at nearly 100 invited lectures.

Vincent E. Kerr, M.D.

As both President of Care Solutions and Chief Medical Officer for National Accounts, Dr. Kerr holds two leadership positions at UnitedHealthcare. As Chief Medical Officer, he is responsible for clinical policy matters internally and for external clinical policy matters for the large employer segment. In the capacity of President of Care Solutions, he leads the strategy for large employers to manage trends and improve the quality and efficiency of care, among other responsibilities. Positions held prior to joining UnitedHealthcare include Director of Healthcare Management, Ford Motor Company and Corporate Medical Director, GE Company. He obtained his B.A. in 1973 from Harvard College, followed by his M.D. from Yale University School of Medicine. He sits on many committees and boards and is currently on the Board of Directors of the American Benefits Council and the National Partnership for Women and Families. Dr. Kerr has also has served as Adjunct Attending Physician at Bridgeport Hospital since 1992.

Lisa A. Lang, M.P.P.

Lisa Lang is Assistant Director for Health Services Research Information of the National Library of Medicine (NLM) and Head of its National Information Center on Health Services Research and Health Care Technology. She is responsible for the NLM's activities to support the information needs of health services researchers and the public health workforce. She is also involved in NLM's health data standards development activities. Before joining the NLM, Ms. Lang worked in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, where she was at the forefront of the agency's implementation of the public-private collaboration to promote public reporting on hospital quality of care, as well as its efforts to identify hospital quality measures for value-based purchasing. Her prior experience includes more than a decade focusing on quality and consumer protection issues as a Senior Health Policy Analyst in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, Department of Health and Human Services, as well as a visiting fellowship at the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. She received a B.A. from Stanford University and a Masters in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.

Susan L. Norris, M.D., M.Sc., M.P.H.

Dr. Norris is an Associate Professor in the Department of Medical Informatics and Clinical Epidemiology at Oregon Health and Science University, where she leads a group performing systematic reviews and clinical practice guidelines for the American Urological Association. She also performs systematic reviews for the Drug Effectiveness Review Program for state Medicaid agencies and supports the American College of Chest Physicians' revision of their antithrombotic clinical guidelines. She led an international group which developed methods for the use of observational studies in reviews of comparative effectiveness of pharmaceutical agents and devices under AHRQ's Effective Health Care Program and led the 2008 review of the effectiveness of screening for type 2 diabetes for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Dr. Norris received her M.D. and M.Sc. in Experimental Surgery at the University of Alberta and her M.P.H. from the University of Washington. She practiced primary care medicine at Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound for nine years, and was involved in the development and implementation of evidence-based practice guidelines and processes. From 1999 to 2004, Dr. Norris worked at the CDC, leading a systematic review work group within the Division of Diabetes and publishing a number of widely-cited reviews and meta-analyses on the effectiveness of diabetes education and weight control interventions.

Douglas Owens, M.D., M.S.

Dr. Owens is a senior investigator at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System and a professor of medicine at Stanford University. In addition to being Director of the Stanford University-University of California San Francisco Evidence Based Practice Center, Dr. Owens also serves as the Director of the Postdoctoral Fellowship in Medical Informatics, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Palo Alto and Stanford University; and the Program on Clinical Decision Making and Guideline Development, Center for Primary Care and Outcomes Research. His research interests include methods for the development of clinical guidelines, analytic methods for medical decision making, technology assessment, and quantitative policy analysis. Dr. Owens chaired the Guideline Development Committee for American College of Physicians for four years and now serves as immediate past chair. After earning his B.S. from Stanford University, he obtained his M.D. from the University of California San Francisco and his M.S. from Stanford University. In addition to extensive publishing credits including articles, books, and abstracts, Dr. Owens has given over 100 invited lectures and presentations and has been the recipient of numerous grants and awards. In 2007 he was awarded the Under Secretary's Award for Outstanding Achievement in Health Services Research, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Gregory Pawlson, M.D., M.P.H.

Dr. Pawlson has served as Executive Vice President of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) since 2000. In this capacity he has oversight and responsibility for research and analysis, federal and state contracting, performance measure development and corporate/foundation relationships. Prior to joining NCQA, Dr. Pawlson held various roles at the George Washington University Medical Center, including Senior Associate Vice President for Health Affairs, Chairman of the Department of Health Care Sciences, and Director of the Institute for Health Policy, Outcomes and Human Values. He received his undergraduate degree from Penn State University, his M.D. from the University of Pittsburgh, and completed his internship/residency at Stanford University. He was then a staff associate of the National Institutes of Health, and later an Endocrine fellow and Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar at the University of Washington. During that time Dr. Pawlson earned his M.P.H. with a focus on health systems and management, and did several studies involving systems at Group Health Puget Sound.

Richard N. Shiffman, M.D., M.C.I.S.

Dr. Shiffman currently serves as both the Associate Director of the Yale Center for Medical Informatics and Professor of Pediatrics at Yale University School of Medicine. He has received significant research funding from both the NIH-National Library of Medicine and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. He has been awarded numerous honors, including the Byron E. Oberst Award from the American Academy of Pediatrics in 2006 for significant contributions to the use of clinical information technology in pediatrics. He is a member of many prominent groups, including the Guidelines International Network and several guideline development panels for the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Otolaryngology. After earning his B.A. and his M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, he obtained his M.C.I.S. from the University of Denver in 1991. His published writing is extensive and includes many original articles, National Committee Policy Statements, and Practice Guidelines.

Jeffery Thompson, M.D., M.P.H.

As Director of the Chief Medical Officer, Health and Recovery Services Administration for Washington State Medicaid since 2003, Dr. Thompson's focus is on the application of business and public health strategies that result in improved health outcomes, cost savings, improved risk management, productivity, and quality of care. Prior to joining Medicaid, he held various leadership roles including Director of Occupational Health Services at Moffett Naval Air Station; Corporate Medical Director for the Weyerhaeuser Company; and Medical Director/Director of Policy & Purchasing for the Health Care Authority. He earned his B.A. at San Jose State University, followed by his M.D. at the University of Nebraska, an M.P.H. at the University of Washington and Internal Medicine at Stanford. Dr. Thompson sits on the Board of Directors of the Northwest Association of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, and is the Medicaid Representative to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services HCPC Selection Committee, Quality Technical Advisory Group and Medicaid Medical Director Steering Committee.

Marita G. Titler, Ph.D., R.N., FAAN

Dr. Titler currently is the Associate Dean for Practice and Clinical Scholarship, and the Rhetaugh Dumas Endowed Chair at the University of Michigan, School of Nursing. An internationally recognized expert in health services research, translational science, and evidence-based practice, her research focuses on clinically based interventions that are translatable to nursing practice. This research emphasis spans more than 15 years and has resulted in an evidence-based practice model that is now widely used in the U.S. Dr. Titler is PI or Co-investigator on eight funded studies, including NIH, AHRQ and CDC. Dr. Titler also has an equally strong research program in health science research, particularly in "implementation science" which focuses on the organizational factors that contribute to successful application of what is known to be effective, or the ways in which knowledge is put into practice in complex systems. Because of this emphasis, she works with a broad base of interdisciplinary collaborators who hold expertise in general practice areas including public health, nursing, and the different subspecialties of medicine. Dr. Titler's program of research is at the forefront of nursing science, and her methods work to improve quality and safety and to reduce costs in nursing practice. Dr. Titler has given over 180 presentations; published numerous journals, books, and abstracts; and has been the series editor for nearly 50 evidence-based clinical practice guidelines. She is a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing and has received numerous awards, including the Sigma Theta Tau International Elizabeth McWilliams Miller Award for Excellence in Research and the Distinguished Service Award from Mount Mercy College.

Jed Weissberg, M.D.

Dr. Weissberg currently serves as Senior Vice President, Quality and Care Delivery Excellence, for the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals, Inc. In this capacity, he leads the National Quality and Service Department and Clinical Systems Support Team, and serves as a member of the National Leadership Team and the Kaiser Permanente Partnership Group (KPPG). Dr. Weissberg is accountable to the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals (KFHP/H) Board of Directors for clinical quality and hospital performance. Prior to beginning this role, he served as the Associate Executive Director of Quality and Performance Improvement for The Permanente Federation since 1998. In addition to his primary role at Kaiser Permanente, he serves as chair of the Care Management Institute Board and the Interregional New Technologies Committee, as well as co-chair of the Kaiser Permanente National Quality Committee. Dr. Weissberg is a member of several societies including the American Gastroenterological Association, the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease, and the California Medical Association. In addition to sitting on the Board of Directors of Archimedes, Inc., Dr. Weissberg has been a member of the Medical Director Committee of the Alliance of Community Health Plans (ACHP) and the Medical Advisory Panel of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association's Technology Evaluation Center (TEC) since 2000. After graduating cum laude with a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania in 1973, he obtained his M.D. from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York in 1977. His postgraduate training included a medical internship and a junior and senior residency at Boston City Hospital and GI and Substance Abuse fellowships at Stanford and the Palo Alto VA Hospital. Dr. Weissberg has published numerous papers and abstracts on various topics in the health care field.

Josie Williams, M.D., M.M.M.

In addition to serving as Co-Director, Rural and Community Health Institute, and Institute for Healthcare Evaluation; Quality, Patient Safety Initiatives, Texas A&M University System Health Science Center, Dr. Williams is also an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and Family and Community Medicine in the Texas A&M University System. After obtaining her R.N. and B.S., Dr. Williams continued to earn her M.D. at the University of Texas Medical School and her Masters of Medical Management at the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. She is a member of numerous professional organizations, including the American Gastroenterology Association and the American Society of Internal Medicine/American College of Physicians. She sits on the Board of Trustees of the Physician Consortium for Performance Improvement and the American College of Medical Quality, on the Board of Commissioners for the Joint Commission, and on the Board of Directors of the Coalition for Physician Enhancement. Moreover, Dr. Williams is the Immediate Past President of the Texas Medical Association. Dr. Williams has received many honors, including the Texas A&M University Distinguished Alumnus Award and the Texas Medical Association-Medical Student Section C. Frank Webber, M.D. Award in 2002. In addition to sitting on the Editorial Board of the American Journal of Medical Quality and the Journal of Patient Safety, she has spoken at numerous invited presentations and authored many published articles and abstracts.

Modena Wilson, M.D., M.P.H.

Dr. Wilson joined the American Medical Association as Senior Vice President for Professional Standards in September 2004. Her responsibilities at AMA include oversight of its activities in medical ethics, medical education, science, public health, quality, and patient safety. She directed the Department of Committees and Sections at the American Academy of Pediatrics for the five years that preceded her tenure at AMA. In a 20-year academic career, she attained the rank of Professor of Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where she also directed the Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine and the General Academic Pediatrics Fellowship Program, co-directed the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program, and held a joint appointment in the School of Public Health's Department of Health Policy and Management. Dr. Wilson graduated summa cum laude from McPherson College, earned her M.S. in Biology from Wichita State University, and her M.D. at the University of Kansas. She completed her pediatric residency at the University of Wisconsin Hospitals in Madison. She received her M.P.H. from Johns Hopkins University and was a member of the inaugural class of the U.S. Public Health Service's Primary Care Policy Fellowship. Her national activities have included service on the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and the Advisory Council of the National Injury Prevention Center. She previously served as Associate Editor of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine and co-directed the Interdisciplinary Generalist Clerkship and the Genetics in Primary Care projects. She has been a member of the American Board of Pediatrics and a Past-President of the Ambulatory Pediatric Association (now the Academic Pediatric Association).

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