National Coalition to Present Dr. Richard Baron with Prestigious Award for Excellence in Patient-Centered Care

Dr. Richard Baron

(WASHINGTON, DC) – Today the Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative (PCPCC) announced that Richard J. Baron, MD will receive the group’s prestigious Barbara Starfield Awardduring their Annual Fall Conference in October 2013. Dr. Baron is the newly appointed President & CEO of the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) and ABIM Foundation, after having served as the former Group Director, Seamless Care Models at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI). The first award was presented to Dr. Starfield posthumously in April 2012, and recognizes exceptional work toward advancing the medical home and person-focused care.

“We are thrilled to honor Dr. Baron’s exceptional primary care leadership and experience,” said PCPCC’s CEO, Marci Nielsen, PhD, MPH. “His impact in the primary care sector as a physician and public policy leader continue to influence innovations in care delivery and payment reform throughout the health care marketplace.”

The award, sponsored this year by WellPoint, Inc. was established in 2012 to honor the work of Dr. Barbara Starfield, whose distinguished career at Johns Hopkins University spanned over five decades, and included seminal research that highlighted the critical role of primary care in driving health system transformation. Dr. Starfield passed away in June 2011.

“I am deeply grateful to accept this award, and to honor Dr. Starfield’s legacy,” said Dr. Baron. “Her work to advance person-focused care remains with all of us as we continue on this challenging, yet rewarding journey toward a high-performing health system grounded in patient-centered primary care.“

“Congratulations to Dr. Baron for this tremendous honor, and our thanks to the PCPCC for being a national leader in advancing primary care and the patient-centered medical home,” said Dr. Sam Nussbaum, WellPoint's Chief Medical Officer. "The medical home and person-centered care are critical elements that will expedite our collective pursuit to create a value-driven health system, and we are grateful for this opportunity to sponsor such a prestigious award.”

Dr. Baron has practiced general internal medicine and geriatrics for over three decades. In 1989 he founded Greenhouse Internists in Philadelphia, and expanded it to a seven-physician practice serving more than 10,000 patients. Dr. Baron also served as Chief Medical Officer of Health Partners from 1988 to 1996. He is the past recipient of the Pennsylvania Laureate Award and was named a Master of the American College of Physicians in 2010.  Dr. Baron received his medical degree from Yale and is board certified in internal medicine and in geriatric medicine.

The award will be presented on Tuesday, October 15, 2013 from 8:30 – 9:00 AM at the PCPCC’s Annual Fall Conference in Bethesda, MD.