Harkness Project Title: Transforming services for high performing patient-centered care: the role of leadership and patient engagement

Mentors: Thomas Delbanco, M.D.; Dana Safran, Sc.D.

Placement: Beth Israel Hospital/Harvard Medical School

Biography at time of Harkness Fellowship: Karen Luxford, Ph.D., a 2008–09 Commonwealth Fund Harkness Fellow in Health Care Policy and Practice, is general manager of the Australian National Breast and Ovarian Cancer Centre (NBOCC), where she previously worked as program director and deputy director. At NBOCC, Luxford has overseen the development, implementation and evaluation of a number of large national programs and projects in a range of cancer care areas, including a recent large-scale program promoting multidisciplinary care for cancer patients. She is also editor of Clinical Update, a national evidence-based publication for clinicians treating women with breast cancer. Prior to joining NBOCC, she was publications manager at the National Centre for Classifications in Health at the University of Sydney, and a science writer for the NSW Health Department. Luxford's research interests include new models of care, promoting evidence-based best practice, and health services delivery, and her work has been published in government reports and in journals such as Cancer Causes and Control and the Medical Journal of Australia. She holds a Ph.D. in medical science from the University of Sydney.

Career Activity Since Fellowship

•  Director, Patient Based Care, Clinical Excellence Commission, 2010

Current Position: Director, Patient Based Care, Clinical Excellence Commission (Updated August 2010)

E-mail: karen.luxford@cec.health.nsw.gov.au

Harkness-Related Publications

Gauld R, Blank R, Burgers J, Cohen AB, Dobrow M, Ikegami N, Kwon S, Luxford K, Millett C, Wendt C., “The World Health Report 2008: Primary Healthcare: How wide is the gap between its agenda and implementation in 12 High-Income Health Systems?” Healthcare Policy. 7(3). 2012.

Luxford K, Safran D, Delbanco T. “Promoting patient-centered care: a qualitative study of facilitators and barriers in healthcare organizations with a reputation for improving the patient experience.” Int J for Qual in Health Care 2011 23(5).