Harkness Project Title: Implications of the new Medicaid on Health Care Disparities: The Example of Health Care Reform in Massachusetts

Placement: Harvard Medical School

Mentor: John Ayanian, Harvard Medical School 

Biography at time of Harkness Fellowship: Philip van der Wees, Ph.D., a 2011-12 Dutch Harkness Fellow in Health Care Policy and Practice, is manager of the Quality and Implementation Research Program, a joint program of Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center, the Royal Dutch Society for Physical Therapy, and Maastricht University. The Program systematically evaluates the implementation of clinical guidelines, and van der Wees currently leads two large projects to assess guideline implementation for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and low back pain. He was also recently appointed chair of the Guidelines International Network (G-I-N,), a collaboration of over 30 countries for setting international standards for guideline development and implementation. Previously he was manager of strategy and health policy at the Royal Dutch Society for Physical Therapy. Van der Wees has authored 18 peer-reviewed publications in journals such as Australian Journal of Physiotherapy, Lancet Neurology, and Journal of Evaluative Clinical Practice, and is co-author of the National Standards for Guideline Development and Implementation, published by the Dutch Council for Quality of Care. He holds a Ph.D. from Maastricht University.

Current Position: Manager at the Quality and Implementation Research Program.

Email: pjvdwees@xs4all.nl