Newswise — COLUMBIA, Mo. ― In keeping with its mission of improving the health of all people, especially Missourians, University of Missouri Health Care has named Michael LeFevre, MD, medical director of population health.
In this new role, LeFevre — who currently serves as a family medicine physician with MU Health Care, vice chair of the Department of Family and Community Medicine and Future of Family Medicine professor at the MU School of Medicine — will lead MU Health Care initiatives to improve the health of entire populations of Missourians, improve care for individuals within those populations and lower costs of health care.
“Traditionally, medicine has focused on health at the individual level by treating people when they become sick,” said Mitch Wasden, EdD, chief executive officer and chief operating officer of MU Health Care. “Population health seeks to improve the health of patients not only on an individual basis, but as a group of people. As both a family medicine physician and a national health care leader, Dr. LeFevre’s vision will be of tremendous value as we seek to advance the health of all people.”
LeFevre serves as director of clinical services for the MU Department of Family and Community Medicine and maintains an active family medicine practice. Additionally, he is the immediate past chair of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an independent volunteer panel of experts in prevention and primary care that works to improve the health of all Americans by making evidence-based recommendations on clinical preventive services.
“At MU, we want to help those with chronic diseases, as well as those who are at risk of developing such diseases, adopt healthy behaviors, effectively manage their chronic diseases and maximize their health,” LeFevre said. “I have a passion for helping people who feel well continue to feel well. I’m honored and excited to help improve the lives of patients on a larger scale.”
LeFevre has been a member of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force since January 2005 and was chair of the Task Force from March 2014 to March 2015. He has served on several key national committees, task forces and panels, including appointments with the Institute of Medicine’s Committee on Gulf War and Health: Solvents Panel, and the American Academy of Physicians’ Commission on Clinical Policies and Research. He has served on the Eighth Joint National Conference on Prevention, Detection and Treatment of Hypertension.
Among his many honors, LeFevre was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies in 2011. He also received the MU School of Medicine Medical Alumni Association’s 2013 Citation of Merit and Faculty Alumni Award. His research and clinical interests include family medicine, evidence-based medicine, information technology in clinical care, clinical practice guidelines and preventive services.
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