Hilde and Bill Birnbaum Endowed Lecture on Benefiting Patients Through Health Research
The annual Birnbaum Endowed Lecture was established in 2000 to honor Group Health founders Hilde and Bill Birnbaum's long-term commitment to Group Health and their passion for using research to improve patient care.
In addition to the lecture, the event features the presentation of the annual Birnbaum Award, an honor that goes to a Group Health work team that has made extraordinary contributions to successful research at Group Health. Each year, Group Health Research Institute (GHRI) staff members nominate teams for this award. Winners are selected by GHRI scientific investigators.
2012 Birnbaum Lecture
Monday, 30 April 2012
Speaker: Donald M. Berwick, MD, MPP
Senior fellow at the Center for American Progress
Former administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
This year's speaker was Donald M. Berwick, MD, MPP, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. He discussed why professions must lead in health care reform. As the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), he led programs that provide health care to nearly one in three Americans. As president and chief executive officer of the Institute for Health Improvement until 2010, Dr. Berwick’s work included collaboration with Group Health Research Institute's MacColl Center for Health Care Innovation to improve chronic illness care nationwide.
Dr. Berwick is widely recognized as a passionate and insightful advocate for positive change in health care. Time magazine called him “the nation's leading proponent of patient-centered care.” Read about his contributions to—and departure from—CMS in the journal Health Affairs.
This year, Group Health's Birnbaum Lecture welcomed attendees from the HMO Research Network's (HMORN) annual conference. All who attended the lecture were also invited to attend an HMORN panel discussion afterward on learning health care systems as models for innovation. The panel featured leaders from three top health plans and their research institutions.
Past lectures and awards
2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005
2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2000
2011
"Paradise lost, Paradise deferred? The role of integrated health plans in today’s changing health care system."
Speaker: Robert G. Evans, PhD
Professor of Economics, Centre for Health Services and Policy Research, University of British Columbia
- Transcript of 2011 lecture (PDF, 251KB)
- View the 2011 lecture (1 hour)
Award:
- Group Health Oncology and Hematology Chief
Dr. Eric Chen
2010
"Building Quality Care: A New Outlook for Humanity."
Speaker: Brent James, MD, MStat
Chief Quality Officer and Executive Director, Institute for Health Care Delivery Research, Intermountain Healthcare
- View the 2010 lecture slide presentation
(birnbaum_2010_lecture_slides_james.pdf, 871KB)
- View the 2010 lecture (49 minutes)
2009
"Prospects for National Health Care Reform."
Speaker: Mollyann Brodie, PhD
Vice President and Director of Public Opinion and Survey Research, Kaiser Family Foundation
- View the 2009 lecture slide presentation
(birnbaum_2009_lecture_slides_brodie.pdf, 667KB)
- View the 2009 lecture (41 minutes)
Award: Group Health Clinical Pharmacists
2008
"Hope or Hype: The
Conflict Between
Science and Profit in
Health Care."
Speaker: Richard Deyo, MD, MPH
Kaiser Permanente Professor of Evidence-based Family Medicine,
Oregon Health and Science University
- View the 2008 lecture slide presentation
(birnbaum_2008_lecture_slides_deyo.pdf, 138KB)
- View the 2008 lecture (38 minutes)
- View the 2008 Panel Discussion (26 minutes)
Award:
- Medical Home team at the Group Health Factoria Medical Center
- Hugh Straley, MD
2007
"Aligning the Forces of Health Care for Quality and Fairness for All."
Speaker: Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, MD
President of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
- Read a transcript of the lecture [ PDF 62KB ]
- Listen to audio of the lecture [ 50 minutes, MP3 46MB, WMA 23MB ]
Award: Group Health Cooperative's Northgate Medical Center Team #2
2006
"With So Many Problems, Why Worry About Global Health?"
Speaker: William "Bill" H. Foege, MD, MPH
Senior Fellow at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Former Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Award: Group Health's Breast Cancer Screening Program
2005
"Achieving a High-Performance Health System."
Speaker: Karen Davis, PhD
President of The Commonwealth Fund
Award: Group Health's Physical Therapy Department
2004
"Transforming Health Care for Preventive Care Services: 30 Years of Learning/Projections for the Future."
Speaker: Robert "Tommy" Thompson, MD
Director Emeritus, Group Health Permanente Department of Preventive Care; Senior Investigator, Group Health Center for Health Studies
Award: Group Health's Central and Eastside Gastroenterology (GI) Teams
2003
"The Center for Health Studies: Leading by Example."
Speaker: Eric Larson, MD, MPH
Director, Group Health Center for Health Studies
Award: Group Health's Information Systems Division
2002
"Closing the Quality Chasm: The Transformation of Chronic-Illness Care Nationwide."
Speaker: Ed Wagner, MD, MPH
Director, MacColl Institute; Senior Investigator, Center for Health Studies
Award: Group Health's Breast Cancer Screening Program nurses
2000
"Patients as Partners: Empowering Patients to Improve Health Outcomes."
Speaker: David Sobel, MD, MPH
Director of Patient Education and Health Promotion, Kaiser Permanente Northern California