Faculty Spotlight: Lisa Chew
Dr. Lisa Chew completed her internal medicine training at the University of Washington in 1996, followed by a year as chief resident. She was a research fellow in the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program, and an ambulatory care research fellow in the Health Services Research and Development program at the VA Puget Sound Healthcare System.
Chew is a nationally recognized physician-leader whose career focuses on improving the health of vulnerable populations. First and foremost, Chew has a steadfast commitment to patient-centered care, serving clinically as a physician in Harborview’s Adult Medicine Clinic and as an attending on the inpatient medicine service.
In 2005, she became the medical director for adult medicine, leading Harborview’s largest clinic for nearly a decade. She subsequently expanded her hospital leadership role by becoming HMC's medical director for quality improvement and then HMC associate medical director for ambulatory care. Chew’s leadership engaged many to the mission: she chaired multiple committees and initiatives. In particular, she founded of the Harborview Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Council, the first within UW Medicine, to collectively develop strategic priorities that could address health equity.
Throughout her career, Chew has undertaken impactful research and forged a host of innovative programs designed to improve care and access. She conducted ground-breaking research in health literacy--developing and validating a practical health literacy screening tool which has been translated in multiple languages and cited in nearly 4000 articles.
She led the development and dissemination of nationally-recognized models of care for vulnerable populations to include integrated team-based health delivery and use of e-consults. Her leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic brought together a remarkable collection of stakeholders to engage King County communities most challenged by the pandemic. The COVID Mobile Program brought education, prevention, and treatment to communities that too often have been underserved.
Chew’s efforts are well-recognized: she was the recipient of the prestigious University of Washington David Thorud Leadership Award, the highest leadership honor at the University of Washington. Her innovative pandemic programs to increase access to COVID-19 testing and vaccination was recognized by the prestigious Gage Award from America’s Essential Hospitals, a national organization comprised of over 300 safety net hospitals.
In 2023, Chew transitioned to become the Director of Clinical Innovations at the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) – an organization she’s been involved with in multiple capacities since 2016. The role provides the opportunity to make policy and program impacts on an even larger scale.