Starfield, Barbara

Barbara Starfield is an internationally recognized health services researcher who is known for her work in primary care. She has devoted much of her career to studying the role and impact of primary care on health systems and the health of populations. She is also a strong advocate for the greater use of primary care as a way to improve quality and lower healthcare costs. Many of her publications are seminal works in the field. Two of her best-known publications are Primary Care: Concepts, Evaluation, and Policy and Primary Care: Balancing Health Needs, Services, and Technology.

Born and raised in New York City, Starfield earned her bachelor's degree from Swarthmore College in 1954, her medical degree from the State University of New York (through the Health Sciences Center in Brooklyn) in 1959, and her master of public health degree from Johns Hopkins University in 1963.

Starfield has been at Johns Hopkins University for most of her career. From 1959 to 1963, she was a fellow in the pediatrics department at the university's medical school. From 1963 to 1966, she was an instructor in the pediatrics department and medical director of the pediatric medical care clinic. From 1966 to 1975, she was a professor in the department of medical care and hospitals at the university's School of Public Health. From 1975 to 1994, she was the head of the Division of Health Policy in the Department of Health Policy and Management. She is now University Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management and director of the Primary Care Policy Center at Johns Hopkins University.

Starfield is a prolific researcher and writer. She has authored or coauthored over 200 journal articles, 15 books and monographs, and 57 book chapters.

In recognition of her work, Starfield has received numerous awards and honors. She has been a member of the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine (IOM) since 1977. She received the Distinguished Investigator Award from the Association of Health Services Research in 1996 and the Baxter International Foundation Prize for Health Services Research from the Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA) in 2004. She was awarded the John G. Walsh Award for Lifetime Contributions to Family Medicine by the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), and she received an honorary doctoral degree from the University of Montreal in 2005. She received the Annual Award for Excellence and Innovation and Value Purchasing from the National Business Group on Health and the Avedis Donabedian Award for Quality Improvement from the American Public Health Association in 2007.

Starfield was the cofounder and first president of the International Society for Equity in Health, a scientific society devoted to equity in the distribution of health care services.