Grantee: Alex H. Krist

Alex H. Krist, MD, MPH

• Virginia Commonwealth University

Alex Krist, M.D., M.P.H., is a Professor of Family Medicine and Population Health at Virginia Commonwealth University and a practicing family physician at the Fairfax Family Practice Residency. Dr. Krist is the director of the Virginia Ambulatory Care Outcomes Research Network, which is a collection of more than 300 primary care practices in Virginia. He's passionate about engaging and activating patients in preventive care through information technology, practice transformation, and shared decision-making.

Dr. Krist's current project, "Implementing Personal Health Records to Promote Evidence-Based Cancer Screening," is testing the impact of delivering personally tailored preventive care materials to patients in eight states. The three research networks involved in the study primarily serve people from disadvantaged backgrounds. This work is helping practices rethink how they use technology to promote prevention, improve practice workflow, and align care with patient values.

Since 2014, Dr. Krist has been a member of the U.S Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). In his current role as the USPSTF Vice Chair, he has the opportunity to help interpret the science for preventive care and inform the USPSTF's recommendations. Dr. Krist says one of his most valued contributions to cancer control has been designing and fielding research that promotes evidence-based, patient-centered implementation of the USPSTF's recommendations.