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Joshua Liao, M.D.

Joshua Liao, M.D.

Titles and Appointments

Professor & Division Chief

Endowed Title
Walter Family Distinguished Chair in Internal Medicine in Honor of Albert D. Roberts, M.D.
School
Medical School
Department
Internal Medicine | Public Health

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For more information on the doctor and patient care, please visit the clinical profile.

  • Biography

    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, and Director of Research Methods in the UT Southwestern Clinical and Translational Science Program.

    Dr. Liao earned bachelor's degrees magna cum laude in English literature, biochemistry and cell biology from Rice University. He obtained his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine, where he was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha and the Gold Humanism Honor Societies. He completed internal medicine residency training at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, where he was a clinical fellow at Harvard Medical School and completed the Management and Leadership Track. He holds a master's degree in health policy research from the University of Pennsylvania, 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 Chair for Health Systems in the Department of Medicine and Enterprise Medical Director of Payment Strategy at the University of Washington, with an appointment in the Department of Health Systems and Population Health within the School of Public Health.

    In Washington, 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 the state. In that work, Dr. Liao conducted evaluations, analysis, and briefings to inform decision-makers on health care issues, including primary care delivery and telemedicine. He is confident that payment and care delivery policy and programs can be harnessed to improve outcomes and combat health inequities.

    A national leader in health systems, policy, and care delivery, Dr. Liao has provided recommendations on these topics to the US Congress through service on the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, and to the Secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services through service on the Physician-Focused Payment Model Technical Advisory Committee. He is the first person in history to be appointed to both expert groups. 

    Dr. Liao has served 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 participated on national advisories for the American College of Physicians, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Medical Association's RVU Update Committee, and advised state policymakers on payment and delivery policy issues.

    An accomplished scholar, 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 has served as PI on grants totaling over $15 million.

  • Education
    Medical School
    Baylor College of Medicine (2012)
    Clinical Fellowship
    Harvard Medical School (2015), Internal Medicine
    Residency
    Brigham and Women's Hospital (2015), Internal Medicine
    Other Post Graduate Training
    University of Pennsylvania (2017)
  • Research Interest
    • Health Care Access
    • Health Care Delivery and Payment
    • Health Care Disparities
  • Publications
    Associations Between Transportation Barriers in the Context of Other Social Needs and Cancer Screening Adherence
    Morenz AM, Coronado GD, Zhou L, Valenzuela C, Liao JM AJPM Focus 2025 Oct 4
    Cost-related barriers to medication use among diverse participants with obesity-associated asthma
    Xie L, Kim J, Almandoz JP, Afolabi F, Martinez Fernandez T, Gelfand A, Liao JM, Messiah SE Journal of managed care & specialty pharmacy 2025 Sep 31 937-948
    Radiology Innovation Amid Potential Research Funding Cuts
    Liao JM, Jaffery JB, Kang SK, Sanelli PC, Lee CI Journal of the American College of Radiology 2025 Sep 22 1095-1097
    Modernizing Risk Adjustment in Health Care: A Position Paper of the American College of Physicians
    Author Collaboration MP, Outland BE, Liao JM, Goldman JM, Schultz AF, Fox W Annals of internal medicine 2025 Aug 178 1157-1159
    Protocol for a pragmatic trial to enhance quality safety, and patient experience in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (EQuiP-COPD)
    Donovan LM, Feemster LC, Collins MP, Gleason EE, Josey K, Duan KI, Plumley R, Coggeshall S, Wai TH, Petrova V, Trenaman L, Atwood M, Ballance P, Baldomero AK, Gillen F, Gunter J, Isaac J, Kara H, Kizer KW, Lambert AA, Liao JM, Lindenauer PK, Llamas W, Martinez N, McDowell J, McFarland MS, McGrath A, Melzer AC, Mog AC, Rommes J, Slatore CG, Strychalski ML, Tanner NT, Yarbrough WC, Au DH Contemporary Clinical Trials 2025 Aug 155
    Factors Associated with Use of Telemedicine Among American Indian and Alaska Native Medicaid Beneficiaries
    Wong ES, Morenz AM, Hsu A, Deen JF, Lin JY, Liao JM, Reddy A Journal of general internal medicine 2025 Aug 40 2795-2798
    Savings Associated With Bundled Payments for Outpatient Spine Surgery Among Medicare Beneficiaries
    Kilaru AS, Ng GY, Wang E, Huang E, Crowley AP, Zhu J, Liao JM, Ibrahim S, Shirk T, Cousins DS, Malhotra NR, Navathe AS JAMA Health Forum 2025 Jul 6 e251907
    Physician and Hospital Performance in Medicare's Updated Bundled-Payment Model for Joint Replacement
    Crowley AP, Kilaru AS, Huang QE, Wang E, Zhu J, Arora A, Shirk T, Cousins DS, Linn KA, Ibrahim SA, Liao JM, Navathe AS JAMA Health Forum 2025 Jul 6 e251930
    Variation, Overlap, and Stability in Defining Safety Net Hospitals
    Chatterjee P, Liao JM, Amagai K, Zhao Y, Shirk T, Navathe AS JAMA Network Open 2025 Jul 8 e2523923
    The Impact of Employment Status, Income, and Occupation on the Association Between Workplace Benefits and Health-Related Work Absences
    Stimpson JP, Billig J, Gurley T, Liao JM American Journal of Industrial Medicine 2025 Jul 68 598-606
  • Honors & Awards
    • 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
  • Professional Associations/Affiliations
    • AcademyHealth
    • American College of Physicians
    • Society of General Internal Medicine