David Atkins, M.D., M.P.H., Acting Director of HSR&D
Dr. Atkins began serving as Acting Director of HSR&D in October 2012. Prior to that he served as Director of VA/HSR&D's Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (QUERI) for four years, where he led the QUERI program as it continues to successfully implement evidence-based innovations that help to improve the health and healthcare of Veterans. He has also served as Acting Deputy Director of HSR&D.
Before becoming Director of QUERI, Dr. Atkins spent more than a decade at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). In his last role at AHRQ, he was the Chief Medical Officer at the Center for Outcomes and Evidence, where he oversaw the scientific activities of AHRQ's Effective Healthcare Program and research on improving care of chronic disease. He also led AHRQ's efforts to advance standards for assessing strength of scientific evidence for new treatments, technologies and care practices. Prior to that, he was the Coordinator for Clinical Preventive Services at AHRQ's Center for Practice Technology Assessment. In that role, he directed an array of programs and research activities relating to clinical preventive services and health promotion, such as directing the work of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Board certified in Internal Medicine, Dr. Atkins also has a Masters of Public Health in Epidemiology. Prior to joining AHRQ, he split his time between the two by conducting epidemiologic research on cardiovascular disease prevention and providing primary care in the ambulatory setting.
In addition to several faculty appointments, Dr. Atkins has served on national committees that include the Armed Forces Epidemiology Board, American College of Preventive Medicine's Practice Guidelines Committee, and the American Cancer Society's Detection and Treatment Advisory Group and chaired the CDC Sexually Transmitted Disease Guidelines Committee. Dr. Atkins also is a member of the editorial board for the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, and he has authored nearly 40 articles and/or book chapters and given more than 50 presentations on topics such as improving cancer screening in the primary care setting, assessing outcomes of health promotion and disease prevention, and the science of practice guidelines.
Dr. Atkins' experience makes him uniquely qualified to guide the development of the new CREATE (Collaborative Research to Enhance and Advance Transformation and Excellence) initiative. CREATEs are a group of coordinated research projects conducted in a focused research area by collaborating investigators that coordinate with one or more VA partners. CREATEs will address high-priority issues for Veterans and the VA healthcare system, such as advancing patient-centered care for women Veterans, improving treatment for substance abuse, pain and PTSD, and improving use of health information technology.