VCU news

By Eric Peters

Alex Krist, M.D., associate professor of family medicine and population health at Virginia Commonwealth University, today was appointed to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an independent group of national experts supported by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Department of Health and Human Services.

Krist will serve a four-year term on the 16-member task force, which makes preventive care recommendations based on peer-reviewed research intended to help primary care clinicians and patients across the country decide together whether a preventive service is right for the patient’s needs.

In addition, the task force each year submits a report to Congress that identifies critical evidence gaps in research related to clinical preventive services and recommends priority areas that deserve further examination.

His experience in family medicine and his dedication to prevention and evidence-based medicine will be a valuable asset to the task force, health care professionals, patients and the nation.

“We are proud to congratulate Dr. Krist on this prestigious appointment,” said Jerome Strauss III, M.D., Ph.D., dean of the VCU School of Medicine. “His experience in family medicine and his dedication to prevention and evidence-based medicine will be a valuable asset to the task force, health care professionals, patients and the nation.”

"Dr. Krist is a perfect fit for the task force,” said Anton Kuzel, M.D., chairman of the Department of Family Medicine and Population Health, VCU School of Medicine. “He has a real gift for compiling and analyzing evidence on complex issues, and for communicating in a way that both scientists and  non-scientists can readily understand."

Krist is an active clinician and teacher at the VCU Fairfax Family Practice residency program. He is director of community-engaged research at the VCU Center for Clinical and Translational Research and co-director of the Virginia Ambulatory Care Outcomes Research Network. His research focuses on implementation of preventive recommendations, patient-centered care, shared decision-making, cancer screening, and health information technology.

“On behalf of my fellow task force members, I am pleased to welcome Dr. Krist,” said Albert Siu, M.D., task force vice chair. “His expertise in the areas of clinical implementation of recommendations and shared decision-making will be an important addition.”

Task force members, appointed by the director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, come from the fields of preventive medicine and primary care, including internal medicine, family medicine, pediatrics, behavioral health, obstetrics and gynecology and nursing.