PCORI Names Selby Executive Director

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), established by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to conduct comparative clinical effectiveness research, has named Joe V. Selby, MD, M.P.H., as its first executive director. Selby joins PCORI from Kaiser Permanente, Northern California, where he directed the organization's research division. He was elected to membership in the Institute of Medicine in 2009 and was a member of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality study section for Health Care Quality and Effectiveness from 1999 to 2003. As executive director, Selby will implement programs authorized by the PCORI Board of Governors, which met earlier this week in New York City. Key leaders endorse the appointment. Sean Tunis, MD, M.Sc., president and CEO of the Center for Medical Technology Policy, deems it “difficult to imagine a better choice” than Selby for the position given his “tremendous track record as a researcher”, critical role in the building of a thriving research organization at Kaiser Permanente in Northern California “that has long experience with conducting studies that are both scientifically robust as well as relevant to decision-making by patients and clinicians within and beyond the Kaiser health system.” Mark B. McClellan, MD, Ph.D., director of the Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform at the Brookings Institution, corroborated Tunis’ comments. “Dr. Selby has an outstanding track record in developing evidence that patients need to get better, safer care,” he asserts. “He has broad experience in practically-relevant, real-world research on the effectiveness of medical treatments. He can build consensus in working with diverse stakeholders on complex research issues. His appointment is a big step for the PCORI.”