Image of Asaf Bitton

Asaf Bitton, M.D.

Associate Professor of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital
Associate Professor of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School
Associate Professor of Health Care Policy in the Department of Health Policy and Management, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

As a practicing primary care physician and health systems innovator, my work centers on improving the measurement and delivery of primary care nationally and globally. I have a particular focus on the implementation and evaluation of new team-based models of primary care delivery, and their associated payment structures. In the past, I studied the epidemiology and control of non-communicable diseases in low and middle income countries, with a focus on global tobacco control.

In addition to my appointments at the Division of General Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital and the Department of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School, I direct the work at Ariadne Labs for the Primary Health Care Performance Initiative (www.phcperformanceinitiative.org). This joint effort with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Bank, the World Health Organization, along with Results for Development, aims to measure in both traditional and novel ways primary care functions and performance within low and middle income partner countries, with the goal of understanding variation in performance and tailoring improvement initiatives to address performance gaps.

I also serve as a Senior Advisor to the Comprehensive Primary Care initiative at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation. This national multi-payer initiative launched in 2012 combines payment reform and practice redesign to transform 474 primary care practices in 8 states over 4 years with the overarching goal of improving quality of care, patient experience, and reducing costs.

I practice primary care medicine and am the Assistant Medical Director at the Brigham and Women’s Advanced Primary Care Associates, South Huntington, a patient-centered medical home practice in Jamaica Plain, MA.

Is primary care ready for a potential new public health emergency in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, now subsided?
Authors: Authors: Etz RS, Solid CA, Gonzalez MM, Reves SR, Britton E, Green LA, Bitton A, Bechtel C, Stange KC.
Fam Pract
View full abstract on Pubmed
Measuring Graduate Medical Education Outcomes to Honor the Social Contract.
Authors: Authors: Phillips RL, George BC, Holmboe ES, Bazemore AW, Westfall JM, Bitton A.
Acad Med
View full abstract on Pubmed
Health facility management and primary health care performance in Uganda.
Authors: Authors: Kim JH, Bell GA, Bitton A, Desai EV, Hirschhorn LR, Makumbi F, Nabiwemba E, Ratcliffe HL, Wabwire-Mangen F, Kibira SPS, Schwarz D.
BMC Health Serv Res
View full abstract on Pubmed
Trends in Outpatient Care for Medicare Beneficiaries and Implications for Primary Care, 2000 to 2019.
Authors: Authors: Barnett ML, Bitton A, Souza J, Landon BE.
Ann Intern Med
View full abstract on Pubmed
Predictors of patient-reported quality of care in low- and middle-income countries: a four-country survey of person-centered care.
Authors: Authors: Kim JH, Bell GA, Ratcliffe HL, Moncada L, Lipsitz S, Hirschhorn LR, Bitton A, Schwarz D.
Int J Qual Health Care
View full abstract on Pubmed
Molecular cancer screening: in search of evidence.
Authors: Authors: Raoof S, Kennedy CJ, Wallach DA, Bitton A, Green RC.
Nat Med
View full abstract on Pubmed
Strengthening data collection and use for quality improvement in primary care: the case of Costa Rica.
Authors: Authors: Pesec M, Spigel L, Molina Granados JM, Bitton A, Hirschhorn LR, Jiménez Brizuela JA, Pignone M, Sáenz MDR, Schwarz D, Villegas Del Carpio O, Wilson IB, Zamora Méndez E, Ratcliffe HL.
Health Policy Plan
View full abstract on Pubmed
Estimated Effect on Life Expectancy of Alleviating Primary Care Shortages in the United States.
Authors: Authors: Basu S, Phillips RS, Berkowitz SA, Landon BE, Bitton A, Phillips RL.
Ann Intern Med
View full abstract on Pubmed
Redeployment of Health Care Workers in the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study of Health System Leaders' Strategies.
Authors: Authors: Panda N, Sinyard RD, Henrich N, Cauley CE, Hannenberg AA, Sonnay Y, Bitton A, Brindle M, Molina G.
J Patient Saf
View full abstract on Pubmed
Implications of Changes in Medicare Payment and Documentation for Primary Care Spending and Time Use.
Authors: Authors: Basu S, Song Z, Phillips RS, Bitton A, Landon BE.
J Gen Intern Med
View full abstract on Pubmed