Gary Bryant, MD, FACP, FACR
Associate Professor of Medicine, Associate Division Director for Clinical Affairs, Division of Rheumatic and Autoimmune Diseases, Vice Chair for Clinical Affairs, Department of Medicine, University of Minnesota Medical School, Executive Medical Director for Medicine Clinics, University of Minnesota Physicians, Minneapolis
Background: Dr. Bryant earned his medical degree from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln and spent the first 22 years of his career as a clinician, researcher, and educator at Gundersen Lutheran in LaCrosse, Wis. In addition to clinical investigations, including phase III trials for new therapies, he developed and supervised quality improvement and efficiency projects aimed at the care processes and appropriate prescribing. He joined the University of Minnesota in 2007 and continued his research on improving patient and physician satisfaction, access, and efficiency. He is a former member of the ACR board of directors, currently serves as chair of RheumPAC, and is the ACR’s delegate to the American Medical Association (AMA). He is the former chair of the Wisconsin Medical Society board of directors. In 2007, Dr. Bryant earned the Wisconsin Medical Society Distinguished Service Award.
Q: What moment(s) stands out the most in regards to your career in research?
A: I thoroughly enjoyed running a site with a very large enrollment in the phase III trials of an experimental Lyme disease vaccine. Although the vaccine did not do well commercially, the basic and translational research significantly added to our knowledge of Lyme disease.
Q: Where do you see quality improvement and patient safety impacting the U.S. healthcare system in the next five to 10 years?
A: The Affordable Care Act, at least as it stands now pending Supreme Court arguments, has ever-expanding accountability for providers, and systems to prove they are providing safe, effective, and efficient care. The system is moving from a pay-for-reporting to incremental pay-for-performance to be phased in by the end of this decade. The ACR has been visionary in its approach to assisting members meet these future requirements through its quality program, including the Rheumatology Clinical Registry.
