
Deanna R. Willis, MD, MBA
Professor of Family Medicine
Bio
Dr. Willis is a Professor of Family Medicine. She received her medical degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a Masters of Business Administration at Indiana University Kelley School of Business. Dr. Willis is Board Certified by the American Board of Family Practice, and she has completed the Institute for Healthcare Improvement year-long Improvement Advisor program, which prepares health care professionals to lead performance improvement efforts in complex healthcare environments.
Key Publications
*Daggy, J., Lawley, M., Willis, D., Thayer, D., Suelzer, C., Sands, L., Using No Show Modeling to improve Clinic Performance. Health Informatics Journal 16(4): 1-14, 2010. Cited by 54 articles as of Feb. 25, 2017.
*Willis, D.R., Bennet, I., Jones, B., Renshaw, S., Holley, M., Dankoski, M. Practice Based Learning and Improvement in Family Medicine Student Clerkships: A CERA Study. Family Medicine 46(6): 423-428, June 2014. PMID: 24911296. Cited by 2 articles as of Feb. 25, 2017.
Titles & Appointments
- Otis R. Bowen, M.D. Professor
By building quality initiatives, framework and strategy over the years, she has developed a practical approach to educating medical students, residents, and practicing physicians about performance improvement in their practices. As previous Statewide Competency Director for the Social and Community Context of Healthcare for all nine campuses of Indiana University School of Medicine, she directed the competency curriculum related to cultural competency and quality improvement. As a result of this expertise, she was appointed to and served on the national American Academy of Family Physicians Commission on Education. She has also served as the previous President of the Indiana Academy of Family Physicians, and the Chair of the Commission on Finance and Insurance for the American Academy of Family Physicians. She is recognized for her work in Quality Improvement nationally and internationally, with recent speaking and consulting engagements in the Middle East, China and Europe.
Dr. Willis served as Chief Medical Officer of Quality and Medical Management for Indiana University Medical Group-Primary Care from 2001-2012 where she facilitated achievement of Level 3 National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) Patient Centered Medical Home and Diabetes Recognition Program recognition for all of the commercial practices. From 2013-2016, she was Transformation Officer/Senior Medical Director of Quality Improvement for IU Health Physicians, where she led the Lean transformation of IUHP’s 200 physician practices and 6 value streams. Nationally, she co-chairs the American Medical Associations Physician Consortium for Performance Improvement’s (PCPI) Preventative Care Technical Expert Panel, serves on the National Committee for Quality Assurance’s (NCQA) Wellness and Geriatric Expert Work Group, and the National Board of Medical Examiners Computer Simulation Committee. Currently, she is medical director of the IU-Methodist Family Medicine Residency’s Family Medicine Center and Vice Chair of Research for the Department of Family Medicine.
Indiana Academy of Family Physicians
Society of Teachers of Family Medicine