Joshua Liao, M.D.

Joshua Liao, M.D., M.Sc., is a Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center and Chief of the William T. and Gay F. Solomon Division of General Internal Medicine where he holds the Walter Family Distinguished Chair in Internal Medicine in Honor of Albert D. Roberts, M.D. Dr. Liao also serves as Director of the Program on Policy Evaluation and Learning, where his work focuses on improving health care payment and delivery through policy and practice change.

I’m confident that payment and care delivery policy and programs can be harnessed to improve outcomes and combat health inequities.

Dr. Liao holds a bachelor's degree in English literature from Rice University in Houston, where he also earned a bachelor's degree in biochemistry and cell biology, which he recieved magna cum laude. He obtained his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine and completed internal medicine residency training at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, where he was a clinical fellow at Harvard Medical School. He also holds a master's degree in health policy research from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, where he remains an adjunct senior fellow in the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics in the Wharton School.

Prior to joining the UT Southwestern faculty in 2024, Dr. Liao served as Associate Professor and Associate Chair for Health Systems in the Department of Medicine at the University of Washington, with a secondary appointment in the Department of Health Systems and Population Health within the University’s School of Public Health.

Dr. Liao has provided recommendations about payment models to the Secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services through his service on the Physician-Focused Payment Model Technical Advisory Committee, served on national committees for the American College of Physicians, participated in a payment advisory group for the American Academy of Family Physicians, and worked with state Medicaid programs on payment and delivery policy issues. Previously, he served as an advisor to the American Medical Association's RVU Update Committee.

Dr. Liao founded a nationally recognized policy evaluation unit that became the formal evaluation partner for the Washington Health Care Authority, the largest purchaser of health care services in that state. In that work, Dr. Liao conducted evaluations and analysis to inform decision-makers on health care issues, including primary care delivery and telemedicine.

Dr. Liao also serves as an expert on funding and accountability issues as part of the National Academy of Medicine’s Commission on Investment Imperatives for a Healthy Nation. He has served on national committees for the American College of Physicians, participated in a payment advisory group for the American Academy of Family Physicians, and worked with a number of state Medicaid programs on payment and delivery policy issues.

Dr. Liao has published over 330 articles, including more than 210 in peer-reviewed publications, and has given more than 80 national and international presentations related to his clinical work, policy proposals, and practice transformation. With continuous funding from the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Liao is currently the Principal Investigator or joint PI on grants totaling nearly $11 million.

Medical School

Baylor College of Medicine (2012)

Residency

Brigham and Women's Hospital (2015), Internal Medicine

Clinical Fellowship

Harvard Medical School (2015), Internal Medicine

Other Post Graduate Training

University of Pennsylvania (2017)

• Health Care Access
• Health Care Delivery and Payment
• Health Care Disparities

JACR Health Policy Expert Panel: Health Equity and Out-of-Pocket Payments for Imaging Studies

Liao JM, Anzai Y, Sadigh G, Fendrick AM, Lee CI Journal of the American College of Radiology 2024 Apr 21 688-690

Association of Electronic Self-Scheduling and Screening Mammogram Completion

Waddell KJ, Goel K, Park SH, Linn KA, Navathe AS, Liao JM, McDonald C, Reitz C, Moore J, Hyland S, Mehta SJ American Journal of Preventive Medicine 2024 Mar 66 399-407

Area-Level Socioeconomic Disadvantage and Health Care Spending A Systematic Review

Morenz AM, Liao JM, Au DH, Hayes SA JAMA Network Open 2024 Feb 7 E2356121

JACR Health Policy Expert Panel: Generative Artificial Intelligence

Lee CI, Chen JH, Kohli MD, Smith AD, Liao JM Journal of the American College of Radiology 2024

Differential Hospital Participation in Bundled Payments in Communities with Higher Shares of Marginalized Populations

Crowley AP, Neville S, Sun C, Huang QE, Cousins D, Shirk T, Zhu J, Kilaru A, Liao JM, Navathe AS Journal of general internal medicine 2024

Use of New Audio-Only Telemedicine Claim Modifiers

Morenz AM, Staloff J, Liao JM, Wong ES JAMA Network Open 2023 Dec 6

Moving the Needle Toward True Value-Based Care: An Expert Panel Discussion

Gin NE, Baron RJ, Greiner A, Liao JM The Permanente journal 2023 Dec 27 1-11

Using peer comparisons to address low-value care: Lessons for a persistent challenge

Joo JH, Liao JM Healthcare 2023 Dec 11

Author Correction: Meta-summaries effective for improving awareness and understanding of COVID-19 vaccine safety research (Scientific Reports, (2022), 12, 1, (19987), 10.1038/s41598-022-24607-6)

Williams S, Lee J, Halperin BA, Liao JM, Hsieh G, Reinecke K Scientific reports 2023 Dec 13

Hospital Performance Under Alternative Readmission Measures Incorporating Observation Stays

Sabbatini AK, Parrish C, Liao JM, Wright B, Basu A, Kreuter W, Joynt-Maddox KE Medical Care 2023 Nov 61 779-786

• Best Health Equity Oral Abstract Finalist
  Society of General Internal Medicine (2021)
• Exceptional Reviewer
  Journal of the American College of Radiology (2020)
• Scholarship for the National Forum on Quality Improvement in Health Care
  Partners Healthcare, Center of Expertise in Quality and Patient Safety (2013)
• Foundation for Creative Achievement Award in Primary Care Diagnostics
  Brigham & Women's Hospital (2012)
• Gold Humanism Honor Society
  (2012)
• James K. Alexander Research Symposium Winner
  Baylor College of Medicine, 2nd place (2012)
• L. Randol Barker Award
  Johns Hopkins University (2012)
• Musher Prize for Excellence in Infectious Diseases
  Baylor College of Medicine (2012)
• Young Physicians Award
  National Patient Safety Foundation (2012)
• Chinese American Medical Society Merit Scholarship
  (2011)
• Dr. Benjamin & Dr. Margerie Mo Merit Scholarship
  Chinese American Doctors Association of Houston (2011)
• NATMA Foundation Merit Scholarship
  North American Taiwanese Medical Association (2011)
• Dr. & Mrs. David M. Mumford Health Professions Leadership Award
  Rice University (2008)
• Rice University Research Symposium Winner
  (2005)
• National Scholars Award
  American College of Medical Quality (2010)
• Phi Beta Kappa
  2008

• AcademyHealth
• American College of Physicians
• Society of General Internal Medicine