American Medical Group Association has named John Kennedy, MD, its new chief medical officer. He also takes the reins as president of the AMGA Foundation, which helps members improve their population health management efforts through the sharing of quantitative data across integrated delivery systems.

Kennedy comes to AMGA from Danville, Pennsylvania-based Geisinger, where he served as division director of endocrinology. In that role, he led the clinical, research and quality program development and led the health system's Diabetes Care Transformation Committee in the creation of a new system strategy.

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Before Geisinger, he served as managing partner at Hamilton, N.J.-based Diabetes & Endocrinology Associates, where he transitioned the hospital-owned group into a four-physician specialty private practice.

Since 2014, Kennedy served as a national advisor for AMGA's Together 2 Goal diabetes campaign, which is supported by AMGA Foundation; he also serves as chair of Health Transformation Alliance's Diabetes Clinical Advisory Committee for Geisinger spinoff xG, where he develops diabetes quality care standards for the HTA provider network.

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"At Geisinger we saw firsthand the benefits of participating in AMGA's Together 2 Goal campaign," said Kennedy in a statement. "We implemented a strategy that resulted in quality care improvements for more than 35,000 patients with diabetes. Now working with AMGA, I believe I can bring my experience to positively impact patient care at the national level.” 

AMGA CEO Jerry Penso, MD, said Kennedy "brings a passion for quality patient care that has been a driving force throughout his career. John's diverse experience in both small and large group practice settings, his clinical and administrative leadership, and his guidance on AMGA's national Together 2 Goal campaign ideally position him to engage and inspire AMGA members."

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