Elizabeth McGlynn, PhD

Biography

Professor

Health Systems Science

National Academy of Medicine member Dr. Elizabeth McGlynn served as Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine’s Interim Senior Associate Dean for Research and Scholarship from 2018-2021 and is an internationally known expert on methods for evaluating the appropriateness and quality of healthcare delivery. She has conducted research on the quality and appropriateness of care delivered in the U.S. and in other countries. Dr. McGlynn has also led major initiatives to evaluate health reform options under consideration at the federal and state levels. Her current work focuses on answering questions from Kaiser Permanente leaders on a variety of topics including the safety of new medications for Hepatitis C, adherence to guideline-recommended care for thyroid nodules and diabetes medications, identifying opportunities to improve efficiency in care, and the effects of changes in alert systems on physician prescribing patterns.

Education and Training

Degrees: BA, magna cum laude, The Colorado College
MPP, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan
PhD, The Pardee RAND Graduate School

Professional Positions

Program Analyst: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, Department of Health and Human Services; 1979-1983

Associate Research Specialist: Department of Medicine, Division of Geriatrics, University of California Los Angeles; 1987-1989

Health Policy Analyst: RAND; 1988-1997

Director, Center for Research on Quality in Health Care: RAND; 1997-2006

Associate Director: RAND Health; 2001-2011

Distinguished Chair in Health Care Quality: RAND; 2003-2011

Executive Director, Center for Effectiveness and Safety Research: Kaiser Permanente; 2011-present

Vice President: Kaiser Permanente Research; 2016-present

Professor, Health Systems Science: Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine; 2017-present

Honors and Awards

American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation (Chair, 2016-2018): 2009-present

Institute of Medicine Board on Health Care Services: 2011-2017

Co-chair: National Quality Forum Measure Applications Partnership Coordinating Committee; 2011-2016

Distinguished Investigator Award: AcademyHealth; 2012

Committee on Core Metrics for Better Health at Lower Cost: Institute of Medicine; 2013-2014

Chair: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality National Advisory Council; 2015-2017

Editorial Board: Journal of the American Medical Association; 2017-present

Scholarly Activities

Peer-reviewed research manuscripts

Mangione-Smith R, Roth CP, Britto MT, Chen AY, McGalliard J, Boat TF, Adams JL, McGlynn EA. Development and testing of the Pediatric Respiratory Illness Measurement System (PRIMES) quality indicators. Hosp Pediatr. 2017 Mar;7(3):125–133. doi: 10.1542/hpeds.2016–0182.
McGlynn EA, Adams JL, Kerr EA. The quest to improve quality: measurement is necessary but not sufficient. JAMA Intern Med. 2016 Dec 1;176(12):1790–1791. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2016.6233.
McGlynn EA, McDonald KM, Cassel CK. Measurement is essential for improving diagnosis and reducing diagnostic error: a report from the Institute of Medicine. JAMA 2015 Dec 15;314(23):2501-2. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2015.13453. PMID 26571126
McGlynn EA, Kerr EA. Creating safe harbors for quality measurement innovation and improvement. JAMA 2016 Jan 12;315(2):129-30. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2015.16858. PMID: 26757459.
Corley DA, Feigelson HS, Lieu TA, McGlynn EA. Building data infrastructure to evaluate and improve quality: PCORnet. J Oncol Pract 2015 May;11(3):204-6. DOI: 10.12000/JOP.2014.00319. PMID: 25980016.
Austin JM, McGlynn EA, Pronovost PJ. Fostering transparency in outcomes, quality, safety, and costs. JAMA. 2016 Oct 25;316(16):1661–1662. doi: 10.1001/jama.2016.14039.
McGlynn EA, McClellan M. Strategies for assessing delivery system innovations. Health Aff (Millwood). 2017 Mar 1;36(3):408–416. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2016.1373.
Hussey PS, de Vries H, Romley J, Wang MC, Chen SS, Shekelle PG, McGlynn EA. A systematic review of health care efficiency measures. Health Services Research 2009 Jun, 44(3): 784-805.
Mangione-Smith R, DeCristofaro AH, Setodji CM, Keesey J, Klein DJ, Adams JL, Schuster MA, McGlynn EA. The quality of ambulatory care delivered to children in the United States. New England Journal of Medicine 2007 Oct 11, 357(15): 1515-23.
Asch SM, Kerr EA, Keesey J, Adams JL, Setodji CM, Malik S, McGlynn EA. Who is at greatest risk for receiving poor-quality health care? New England Journal of Medicine 2006 Mar 16, 354(11): 1147-56.
Kerr EA, McGlynn EA, Adams J, Keesey J, Asch SM. Profiling the quality of care in 12 communities: results from the CQI study. Health Affairs 2004, 23(3): 247-256.
McGlynn EA, Asch SM, Adams J, Keesey J, Hicks J, DeCristofaro A, Kerr EA. The quality of health care delivered to adults in the United States. New England Journal of Medicine 2003 Jun 26, 348(26): 2635-45.