Jonathan Sugarman, MD, MPH
President & CEO
Dr. Sugarman oversees the company’s expanding range of health care evaluation, management, consulting, research, and technical assistance programs.

Before his appointment to CEO in May 2000, Dr. Sugarman served for five years as Qualis Health’s corporate medical director. He directed assessment and outcomes research programs, and was responsible for leadership of the healthcare quality improvement program under Qualis Health’s Medicare contracts in Alaska, Idaho, and Washington. He led a variety of local and national studies and special projects, including the development of a national effort to inform the public about the quality of dialysis units. Additionally, he was instrumental in creating the Washington State Diabetes Collaborative—a statewide, team-based model to improve healthcare delivery systems for the chronically ill.

Dr. Sugarman is a graduate of Harvard College, the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and the University of Washington. He is board certified in family practice and in preventive medicine, and is clinical professor in the Departments of Family Medicine and Epidemiology at the University of Washington Schools of Medicine and Public Health and Community Medicine. He practices family medicine and serves on the faculty at the Seattle Indian Health Board family practice residency program, where he was the founding site director.

Before he joined Qualis Health in 1995, Dr. Sugarman served in a number of clinical, administrative, and research capacities with the Indian Health Service. Dr. Sugarman is past president of the American Health Quality Association and active in numerous medical societies, professional organizations, and advisory groups. He has authored more than 70 medical journal articles and textbook chapters. His published research has focused on chronic illnesses—particularly diabetes—among the American Indian and Medicare populations. A frequent speaker on healthcare quality and public health issues, he serves on the World Health Organization’s Observatory on Healthcare for Chronic Conditions “Network of Innovators.”

His honors include the Vision 2000 Award from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Improving Chronic Illness Care program, the Seattle Indian Health Board Talbot Award, the Portland Area Indian Health Service Director’s Award for Outstanding Performance, and the Indian Health Service Exceptional Service Award.