The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recently announced the appointments of Michael J. Barry, MD, as Chair, and Michael Silverstein, MD, MPH, as Vice Chair. Wanda K. Nicholson, MD, MPH, MBA, will remain in her role as Vice Chair. Dr. Barry will assume the role of Chair from Carol M. Mangione, MD, MSPH, who will now serve as immediate Past Chair. The task force is an independent, volunteer panel of national experts in prevention and evidence-based medicine that works to improve the health of people nationwide by making evidence-based recommendations about clinical preventive services such as screenings, counseling services, and preventive medications.
Other Roles
“I would like to congratulate Dr. Barry on his appointment as Chair,” said Dr. Mangione. “His expertise in clinical quality improvement and decision analysis, as well as his dedication to helping patients make better health decisions, has greatly contributed to the work of the task force. I am confident he will lead the task force well in its important work in prevention and evidence-based medicine.”
Dr. Barry is Director of the Informed Medical Decisions Program in the Health Decision Sciences Center at Massachusetts General Hospital. He is also Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and a primary care clinician at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Dr. Silverstein, who served as a member of the task force from January 2016 through December 2020, will now return to the task force as Vice Chair. “We are honored to welcome Dr. Silverstein back to the task force as Vice Chair,” said Dr. Barry. “His clinical and research expertise in pediatrics and dedication to improving the delivery of mental health services to children and families will provide important perspectives to our work. As a leader in the methods of making evidence-based recommendations, I look forward to working with Dr. Silverstein to help prevent disease and prolong health.”
Dr. Silverstein is the George Hazard Crooker University Professor of Health Services, Policy, and Practice at the Brown University School of Public Health and Director of Brown University’s Hassenfeld Child Health Innovation Institute, which is charged with eliminating health inequities in pregnancy and childhood for Rhode Island families.
