The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) today announced it has appointed Bryan O. Buckley, DrPH, MPH as Director, Health Equity Initiatives. In this role, Dr. Buckley will lead the development and growth of NCQA's efforts to make health care more equitable and access for people across the country. 

Dr. Buckley is a health equity-focused and systems-oriented leader in health delivery system redesign, performance improvement, and change management. He brings fresh perspective in how NCQA conducts translation, research, analysis, evaluation, and assessment for measurement, promotion of standards, and quality improvement programs. His work at NCQA will be critical for several initiatives, including integrating diversity, inclusion, and equity in NCQA programs and evolving the organization's collaborations, contracts, grants, and research strategies with a focus on accelerating health equity. Dr. Buckley will also play a key role in developing partnerships with funding and research organizations, care delivery systems, managed care industry, communities, and other organizations to translate research knowledge and real-world evidence to inform development of products or programs.

"Equity underscores everything we do at NCQA, and we're taking a leading role in improving health care quality and equity by helping health care organizations remove obstacles, overcome disparities, and ensure everyone has access to care that truly improves patient outcomes," said NCQA Assistant Vice President, Research and Analysis Sarah Shih. "We are proud to have Dr. Buckley join us in these efforts. He has a proven record of empowering organizations to achieve equitable health care for their communities. His insight will be invaluable to NCQA as we accelerate our ongoing efforts to overcome inequities in the health care system and create positive change."

In addition to his role at NCQA, Dr. Buckley is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Georgetown University School of Medicine. Prior to joining NCQA, he was a Research Fellow with Medstar Health's Institute for Quality and Safety (MIQS), where he led and supported health care delivery research, education, and consulting related to community health, patient safety, and quality. Dr. Buckley also served as the Manager of Strategic Initiatives in the Executive Office of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts. Before his doctoral studies, he worked at the Michigan Health & Hospital Association, where he was responsible for the co-design and leadership of state-wide patient safety and quality improvement efforts.

Dr. Buckley is a Board Member of the American Public Health Association, American Heart Association Greater Washington Region, Food & Friends, and Founding Executive Board Member of the DrPH Coalition. In addition, he serves on the Advisory Board for the Michigan State University and Grand Valley State University MPH programs. He holds a Doctor of Public Health degree from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, a Masters of Public Health from Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, and a Bachelor of Science degree from Michigan State University. 

About NCQA

NCQA is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. NCQA Accredits and Certifies a wide range of health care organizations. It also Recognizes clinicians and practices in key areas of performance. NCQA's Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS®) is the most widely used performance measurement tool in health care. NCQA's website (ncqa.org) contains information to help consumers, employers and others make informed health care choices. NCQA can also be found at Twitter @ncqa, on Facebook at facebook.com/NCQA.org and on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/ncqa.

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