Interview: Improving the efficiency and outcomes of medical care

Abstract

Alvin I Mushlin , MD, ScM, is Chair of the Department of Public Health at Weill Cornell Medical College and Public Health Physician-in-Chief of the New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City, USA. Dr Mushlin’s interests focus on outcomes research to improve clinical decision-making and policy formulation. His studies have sought to quantify the value and accuracy of diagnostic tests and procedures, to understand the efficacy and cost–effectiveness of medical interventions, and to measure the quality of medical care. He is a leader in the development of comparative effectiveness research methods and the use of economics in medical research and was one of the first to systematically evaluate the accuracy of MRI. He also led a landmark study in the evolution and adoption of cardiac defibrillators. Dr Mushlin was recently the Principal Investigator of the Weill Cornell Centers for Education and Research Therapeutics (CERT) grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to evaluate medical and orthopedic devices. He is the Weill Cornell Clinical and Translational Science Center’s representative on the NIH Comparative Effectiveness Research Key Function Committee. He holds an MD degree from Vanderbilt University (TN, USA), a ScM in Epidemiology and Medical Care (completed as a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar) from Johns Hopkins University (MD, USA) and completed his clinical training at The New York Hospital/Cornell Medical Center. Dr Mushlin is board certified in internal medicine and a Fellow of the American College of Physicians.