Dr. Danielle Lavallee is a patient-centered outcomes researcher whose work focuses on developing novel processes for collecting and reporting patient-reported data in a manner to support both clinical and patient decision-making. Dr. Lavallee is formally trained in Health Services Research with a specific focus in qualitative methods and patient-centered outcomes research. She holds a PharmD from the University of Kansas and a PhD in pharmaceutical health research services from the University of Maryland. In addition to her appointment in the Department of Surgery, Dr. Lavallee is the UW Medical Director for Patient Generated Health Data. Through ongoing work with the UW Medicine Office of the Chief Medical Officer and UW Medicine Accountable Care Network, her work aims to build on best practices to identify and scale patient-centered approaches strategically across the healthcare system to improve patient outcomes and healthcare quality.

Read below as Dr. Lavallee shares her experience as an AcademyHealth member...

I’ve known about AcademyHealth since I was in graduate school at the University of Maryland, Baltimore but it wasn’t until my current position at the University of Washington that realized the wonderful resource and community it entailed. I began attending AcademyHealth meetings as a result of my involvement with the EDM Forum. From the beginning, I was impressed by AcademyHealth’s focus on a broad range of topics and the real-world applicability of the membership’s research to solve some of the biggest challenges in health care.

There’s something refreshing about AcademyHealth’s commitment to academic rigor but also to moving evidence into action at the broader level – from public policy to health care delivery. You don’t feel like you’re sitting in this ivory tower, but you’re really on the front lines working to implement lasting and meaningful change. I appreciate the ability to be connected to broader issues and topics that are relevant in the field.

AcademyHealth has the ability to create communities by bringing together researchers who are tackling similar problems or issues but in different contexts. As a member, I’m able to be part of that community of people while finding ways to serve and give back to the field at the same time. Being a part of an organization committed to providing a learning environment for your colleagues means you play a part in ultimately moving the field forward.

Hear what other AcademyHealth members have to say. Check out our Member Stories page.