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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.

The 5S-5M-5C schematic: transforming primary care inputs to outcomes in low-income and middle-income countries.
Authors: Authors: Bitton A, Veillard JH, Basu L, Ratcliffe HL, Schwarz D, Hirschhorn LR.
BMJ Glob Health
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Prevalence and factors associated with burnout among frontline primary health care providers in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review
Authors: Authors: Dugani S, Afari H, Hirschhorn LR, Ratcliffe H, Veillard J, Martin G, Lagomarsino G, Basu L, Bitton A
Gates Open Research
Better Measurement for Performance Improvement in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: The Primary Health Care Performance Initiative (PHCPI) Experience of Conceptual Framework Development and Indicator Selection.
Authors: Authors: Veillard J, Cowling K, Bitton A, Ratcliffe H, Kimball M, Barkley S, Mercereau L, Wong E, Taylor C, Hirschhorn LR, Wang H.
Milbank Q
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Content and Methods used to Train Tobacco Cessation Treatment Providers: An International Survey.
Authors: Authors: Kruse GR, Rigotti NA, Raw M, McNeill A, Murray R, Piné-Abata H, Bitton A, McEwen A.
J Smok Cessat
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Behavioral Health Integration into Primary Care: a Microsimulation of Financial Implications for Practices.
Authors: Authors: Basu S, Landon BE, Williams JW, Bitton A, Song Z, Phillips RS.
J Gen Intern Med
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Insurance Transitions and Changes in Physician and Emergency Department Utilization: An Observational Study.
Authors: Authors: Barnett ML, Song Z, Rose S, Bitton A, Chernew ME, Landon BE.
J Gen Intern Med
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High Levels Of Capitation Payments Needed To Shift Primary Care Toward Proactive Team And Nonvisit Care.
Authors: Authors: Basu S, Phillips RS, Song Z, Bitton A, Landon BE.
Health Aff (Millwood)
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Risk Stratification Methods and Provision of Care Management Services in Comprehensive Primary Care Initiative Practices.
Authors: Authors: Reddy A, Sessums L, Gupta R, Jin J, Day T, Finke B, Bitton A.
Ann Fam Med
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Behavioral Health and the Comprehensive Primary Care (CPC) Initiative: findings from the 2014 CPC behavioral health survey.
Authors: Authors: Zivin K, Miller BF, Finke B, Bitton A, Payne P, Stowe EC, Reddy A, Day TJ, Lapin P, Jin JL, Sessums LL.
BMC Health Serv Res
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Primary Care Collaboration to Improve Diagnosis and Screening for Colorectal Cancer.
Authors: Authors: Schiff GD, Bearden T, Hunt LS, Azzara J, Larmon J, Phillips RS, Singer S, Bennett B, Sugarman JR, Bitton A, Ellner A.
Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf
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