Helen Burstin, MD, MPH, MACP is the Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of the Council of Medical Specialty Societies (CMSS) which represents 45-member specialty societies with collective membership of almost 800,000 U.S. physician members. CMSS works to support and strengthen specialty societies and catalyzes improvement through convening, collaboration, collective voice and action. CMSS provides a proactive platform to assess and address emerging and critical issues across specialty societies that influence the future of healthcare and the patients we serve. Dr. Burstin formerly served as Chief Scientific Officer of The National Quality Forum (NQF). Prior to joining NQF, Dr. Burstin was the Director of the Center for Primary Care, Prevention, and Clinical Partnerships at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Prior to joining AHRQ, Dr. Burstin was Director of Quality Measurement at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Burstin is the author of more than 100 articles and book chapters on quality, safety and disparities. She currently serves on the boards of AcademyHealth and the Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine. Dr. Burstin is a graduate of the State University of New York at Upstate College of Medicine and the Harvard School of Public Health. She completed a residency in primary care internal medicine at Boston City Hospital and a fellowship in General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School. She is a Clinical Professor of Medicine at George Washington University School of Medicine and Professorial Lecturer in the Department of Health Policy at George Washington University School of Public Health.