PHILADELPHIA, August 24, 2009 -- John Tooker, MD, MBA, FACP, Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of the American College of Physicians, was named to the list of the 100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare, an annual recognition of the women and men considered among the most influential throughout the industry, as chosen by readers of Modern Healthcare.
"This award is a testimony to the growing recognition of the importance of primary care, and the role that the American College of Physicians has played in healthcare access, delivery, workforce, and payment reform," said Dr. Tooker.
Modern Healthcare's 100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare program invites readers to nominate influential industry leaders. Those with the most nominations comprise the ballot. Readers are then invited to vote from that list, with the top 100 making the final list. From April 6 through May 8, Modern Healthcare received more than 25,700 nominations. From May 25 through June 26, nearly 52,000 readers cast more than a half-million votes for the nominees.
Dr. Tooker and the other winners are recognized in the August 24 issue of Modern Healthcare online.
Serving as ACP's EVP and CEO for more than seven years, Dr. Tooker represents ACP in a variety of national forums to ensure the views of internists and their patients are heard during this important time of healthcare reform in the U.S., Dr. Tooker has testified at congressional hearings and participated on many panels with legislators and other key policy makers with the goal to improve healthcare for patients. He is a frequent speaker on topics such as health information technology (HIT), the patient-centered medical home, provider reimbursement, and quality improvement (QI).
Dr. Tooker chairs the boards of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) and the National eHealth Collaborative (NeHC). He also serves on the boards of the National Quality Forum, the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology, and the Electronic Health Record Patient Safety Advisory Board. Dr. Tooker represents ACP as a founding member of the AQA, serves on the Quality Alliance Steering Committee (QASC), and is a member of the Center for Payment Reform.
After earning his medical degree at University of Colorado School of Medicine, Dr. Tooker completed an internal medicine residency at the Bellevue Hospital Center and the University of Colorado, and a pulmonary/critical care fellowship at the Maine Medical Center and the University of Washington. He is a graduate of the Fox School of Business at Temple University, and is an Adjunct Professor of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
The American College of Physicians (www.acponline.org) is the largest medical specialty organization and the second-largest physician group in the United States. ACP members include 129,000 internal medicine physicians (internists), related subspecialists, and medical students. Internists specialize in the prevention, detection, and treatment of illness in adults. Follow ACP on Twitter (www.twitter.com/acpinternists) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/acpinternists).