Healthwise Announces Appointment of Michael Barry, M.D., to U.S. Preventive Services Task Force

BOISE, ID--(Marketwired - February 13, 2017) - Healthwise, the world's leading provider of health information, technology and services, today announced the appointment of Michael Barry, M.D., to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force). He was appointed to serve a four-year term beginning in January 2017.

The Task Force is an independent, volunteer panel of national experts in prevention and evidence-based medicine that works to improve the health of all Americans by making evidence-based recommendations about clinical preventive services such as screenings, counseling services, and preventive medicines.

As a new Task Force member, Dr. Barry brings a wide range of expertise that will help the Task Force continue its commitment to evidence-based preventive care. Dr. Barry is a practicing clinician with expertise in primary care, prevention, and evidence-based medicine.

"On behalf of my fellow Task Force members, I am pleased to welcome Dr. Barry to the Task Force," said chair Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, Ph.D., M.D., M.A.S. "He brings important and distinct clinical and research expertise that will greatly enhance the work of the Task Force. We look forward to working with him to fulfill our mission of improving clinical preventive care for all Americans."

Dr. Barry is the chief science officer at Healthwise, where he is responsible for ensuring clinical accuracy in decision support solutions and the effectiveness in helping people make better health decisions. He is also president of the Informed Medical Decisions Foundation, a division of Healthwise, where he oversees its research and advocacy efforts. He continues to practice primary care and serves as medical director of the John D. Stoeckle Center for Primary Care Innovation at Massachusetts General Hospital. He is also a professor of medicine, part time, at Harvard Medical School and a Master of the American College of Physicians.

"Dr. Barry continues our strong tradition of advocating for evidence-based health education to ensure patients and clinicians have the best information possible when making health decisions," said Healthwise CEO Bob Kyte. "His role with the Task Force ensures we continue to make every moment in care matter and help fulfill our nonprofit mission of helping people make better health decisions."

Dr. Barry holds an M.D. from the University of Connecticut Health Center and completed his residency at Strong Memorial Hospital and his fellowship at Harvard Medical School. His areas of expertise include the evaluation and treatment of prostate diseases; health status measurement; clinical quality improvement; and the use of decision aids to facilitate patients' participation in making decisions about their own health care.

About Healthwise
Healthwise is a nonprofit organization with a mission to help people make better health decisions. People have turned to Healthwise information nearly 2 billion times to learn how to do more for themselves, ask for the care they need, and say "no" to the care they don't need. Healthwise partners with hospitals, electronic medical record (EMR) providers, health plans, care management companies, and health websites to provide up-to-date, evidence-based information to the people they serve. www.healthwise.org. 1.800.706.9646.

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