ACOG’s Dr. Barbara Levy Honored by Modern Healthcare

Washington, DC—The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) is pleased to announce that Modern Healthcare has selected Barbara S. Levy, MD, ACOG Vice President of Health Policy, as one of the 50 Most Influential Physician Executives and Leaders for 2015. This honor recognizes her for a career devoted to advocating for women and women’s health.

Modern Healthcare’s 50 Most Influential Physician Executives and Leaders identifies and recognizes physicians in the health care industry who exemplify leadership and impact. Chosen by their peers and an expert panel, these physicians are honored for their innovation, community service and executive authority.

“I am honored and humbled to be recognized by Modern Healthcare as a physician leader,” stated Dr. Levy. “As an obstetrician-gynecologist for 30 years, I have come to believe that caring for women means advocating for their access to quality care, and it means teaching America’s future women’s health care providers.

I look forward to my continued work with ACOG to expand our leadership role in promoting quality health care for women.”

“We congratulate Dr. Levy on this well-deserved achievement,” said ACOG Executive Vice President Hal C. Lawrence III, MD. “Dr. Levy’s commitment to women’s health, along with her breadth of expertise, are incredibly valuable to ACOG, our Fellows, and the women our specialty serves.”

Dr. Levy has been ACOG’s Vice President of Health Policy for nearly 3 years. She is from Washington state, where she was previously in private practice as well as the medical director of the Women’s Health and Breast Center and the medical director of women’s and children’s services for the Franciscan Health System in Tacoma. She has published or co-authored more than 65 studies and articles related to her primary research interests, including hysterectomy, endoscopic surgery, menopause and hormone therapy, osteoporosis, pelvic pain, surgical outcomes, and physician payment policy.

Dr. Levy is also the chair of the American Medical Association/Specialty Society Relative Value Scale Update Committee (RUC), which provides recommendations to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services regarding appropriate values for medical services.

“In my roles as both a member and the chair of the RUC, I have worked to be a voice in support of U.S. payment policy that protects and promotes the access to care that patients need,” said Dr. Levy. “This extends from well-woman care to prenatal care to later-in-life acute care. Women deserve quality medical services throughout their lifetimes.”

Along with being an ACOG Member since 1984, Dr. Levy is a member of many related medical organizations, including the American Society for Reproductive Medicine and the American Urogynecologic Society, and is a past president of the American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists. Dr. Levy has also been a consultant to and member of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Ob-Gyn Devices Panel.

Dr. Levy graduated magna cum laude with an undergraduate degree in psychology from Princeton University in NJ. She went on to obtain her medical degree from the University of California, San Diego, followed by an internship and residency in ob-gyn at the University of Oregon Health Sciences Center (now the Oregon Health & Sciences University) in Portland.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (The College), a 501(c)(3) organization, is the nation’s leading group of physicians providing health care for women. As a private, voluntary, nonprofit membership organization of approximately 58,000 members, The College strongly advocates for quality health care for women, maintains the highest standards of clinical practice and continuing education of its members, promotes patient education, and increases awareness among its members and the public of the changing issues facing women’s health care. The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), a 501(c)(6) organization, is its companion organization. www.acog.org