Bio: Robbie Foy, a 2006-07 Harkness/Health Foundation Fellow in Health Care Policy, is a general practitioner and clinical senior lecturer in primary care at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. After completing training in general practice and public health medicine (MRCGP, MFPHM), he undertook a Medical Research Council/Scottish Executive Health Department training fellowship in health services research while linked to the Scottish Program for Clinical Effectiveness in Reproductive Health. His research focuses on understanding and closing the gap between best evidence and routine practice. He is associate editor of the BioMed Central journal Implementation Science, chair of the scientific committee of the U.K. Society for Behavioral Medicine and has been a visiting fellow at the Norwegian Health Services Research Centre. Foy obtained his medical degree and Ph.D. from the University of Edinburgh and his master's in public health and epidemiology from the University of Manchester.
Placement: RAND Corporation
Mentors: Lisa Rubenstein, M.D., M.S.P.H.; Brian Mittman, Ph.D.
Project: Mapping Quality Improvement: A Comparative Study of Health Care Organizations
Description: Foy’s overall objective was to develop a multi-level framework for health care quality improvement – coordinated across all levels of the health system – and also to document the extent and intensity of quality improvement efforts in the U.S. and U.K. He studied two U.S. health systems (Veterans Health Administration and HealthPartners of Minnesota), where he conducted interviews with a range of stakeholders, supplemented by a literature review and document analysis. He particularly focused on efforts to improve care for clinical depression.