— Will play key role in producing information for and leading meetings of the California Technology Assessment Forum —

Boston, Mass., May 13, 2014 – The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) is expanding its clinical and health policy expertise with the addition of Jed Weissberg, MD as Senior Fellow. Dr. Weissberg joins ICER after a prominent, 30-year career at Kaiser Permanente, most recently as Senior Vice President, Hospitals, Quality and Care Delivery Excellence, and Medical Director, Medicare Advantage, Cost and Prescription Drug Plans. Dr. Weissberg will play a key role in one of ICER’s core programs, the California Technology Assessment Forum (CTAF), while providing input and guidance to ICER’s overall strategy.

“Dr. Weissberg is a national figure, widely admired for the integrity of his vision for using evidence to improve health care,” stated Steven D. Pearson, MD, MSc, President of ICER. “He will contribute to the success of ICER at many levels, and his extensive experience in evidence-based medicine and systems improvement will make him a supremely effective moderator of our CTAF meetings, where the ultimate goal is to engage with stakeholders and the public in figuring out how to interpret evidence and put it to good use across the health care system.”

After training in internal medicine at Boston City Hospital (now Boston Medical Center), Dr. Weissberg pursued a gastroenterology fellowship at Stanford, and an alcoholism and substance abuse fellowship at the Palo Alto VA hospital. After completing his fellowships, Dr. Weissberg started practice as a gastroenterologist at the Kaiser Permanente facility in Fremont, CA where he later became chief of the department and physician-in-chief of the entire medical center. His career at Kaiser also included time as the Associate Executive Director for Quality and Performance Improvement in the then newly-formed Permanente Federation where he served for ten years. Following that, Dr. Weissberg assumed the position of Senior Vice President for Hospitals, Quality and Care Delivery Excellence for Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals where he reported to both the COO and CEO. Dr. Weissberg is a graduate of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the University of Pennsylvania.

Karen K. Shore, PhD, Program Director for CTAF:
Earlier this year, ICER began its expansion in California with the addition of Karen K. Shore, PhD as Program Director for CTAF. Dr. Shore is responsible for the strategic execution of CTAF’s mission through report development, stakeholder engagement, and policy implementation. Most recently part of the health policy team at the University of California, Davis, Dr. Shore also served as the President and CEO of the Center for Health Improvement, where she led the California Health Policy Forum. Dr. Shore’s 25 years of health policy experience also includes time with American Institutes for Research’s Health Program; Reden & Anders; the Pacific Business Group on Health; and the Prospective Payment Assessment Commission in Washington, DC. She has a master’s degree in health services administration from the University of Michigan and a PhD in health services and policy analysis from UC Berkeley.

Both Drs. Weissberg and Shore are based in the San Francisco Bay area.

About CTAF
The purpose of the California Technology Assessment Forum (CTAF), a core program of ICER, is to produce objective evidence reports and hold public meetings to develop recommendations for how patients, clinicians, insurers, and policymakers can improve the quality and value of health care. For more information about CTAF, please visit www.ctaf.org.

About ICER
The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) is an independent non-profit health care research organization dedicated to improving the interpretation and application of evidence in the health care system. ICER directs two core programs: CTAF, and the New England Comparative Effectiveness Public Advisory Council (CEPAC). For more information about ICER, please visit ICER’s website, www.icer-review.org.

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