Tribute to John M. Eisenberg

Abstract

This issue is dedicated as a tribute to John M. Eisenberg, M.D., M.B.A., in recognition of his lifelong achievements in health services research. We have selected six articles, described below, which represent areas where John made significant contributions, either as a researcher and administrator or as a champion and mentor. In addition, on behalf of the entire Editorial Board of HSR, our publisher, and the leadership at AcademyHealth, we would like to announce the establishment of an award for excellence in health services research, designed to recognize exceptional articles from HSR which advance our understanding in an area championed by John. Selection of these awards will be announced periodically in HSR, beginning in 2004. We also gratefully acknowledge support for the publication of this tribute provided by a grant from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in Princeton, NJ, and funding by W.K. Kellogg Foundation in Battle Creek, MI. John Meyer Eisenberg was born in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1946 and died from a brain tumor on March 10, 2002. From 1997 until shortly before his death, John served as Director for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ; formerly called the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). He also served as the Senior Advisor to the Secretary of HHS on Quality; cochaired the Department's Data Council; chaired the Federal Quality Interagency Coordination Task Force; and served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health and as Acting Assistant Secretary for Health. Although this partial list of his titles illustrate the breadth and importance of his many contributions to the nation's health care system, it fails to capture the charisma, enthusiasm, and strengths with which he tackled these roles and policy areas. He was a champion of policy-relevant research in order to increase the “value” of health care services by improving its appropriateness, safety, and effectiveness while also monitoring and improving its accessibility to all. In taking on these challenges, he managed to engage researchers, clinicians, and policymakers alike in his vision for excellence in research to improve the nation's health care. He recognized that such efforts required continuous encouragement and mentoring of those who would undertake them. He was a magna cum laude graduate of Princeton University (1968) and the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis (1972). He was also a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar, earning a Master of Business Administration degree with distinction at the Wharton School. A clinician and researcher from the beginning of his career, John held many key positions in academic and clinical medicine and was widely recognized as a leader in both medicine and health services research. His positions included Chair, Physician Payment Review Commission; President, Association for Health Services Research (now AcademyHealth); President, Society for General Internal Medicine; and Vice President, Society for Medical Decision Making. He was also a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and published over 250 articles and book chapters on topics such as physicians' practices, test use and efficacy, medical education, and clinical economics, as well as writing a seminal book that influenced how many of us view medical decision making: Doctors' Decisions and the Cost of Medical Care (Eisenberg 1986). John dedicated his career to ensuring that health care is based on a strong foundation of research. He challenged the field to address topics important to policymakers—both inside the clinic and inside the “Beltway”—with research that was methodologically sound, grounded in the “real world” and accessible to a broad audience. The first six articles in this issue were selected as a tribute to his contributions in these arenas: