Ron Z. Goetzel, PhD, MA

Appointed to Task Force: 2006

Ron Z. Goetzel, PhD, MA is a research professor in the Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, director of the Emory University Institute for Health and Productivity Studies (IHPS), and vice president of Consulting and Applied Research at Truven Health Analytics. At both Emory University and Thomson Reuters, Dr. Goetzel is responsible for leading innovative research projects and consulting services for healthcare purchaser, managed care, government, and pharmaceutical clients wishing to conduct cutting-edge research focused on the relationship between health and well-being, health care services, and work-related productivity. Dr. Goetzel is a nationally recognized and widely published expert in worksite health promotion, return-on-investment (ROI), data analysis, program evaluation, and outcomes research.

Over the past 25 years, Dr. Goetzel's work has focused on large-scale evaluations of employer-based health promotion, disease prevention, and disease management programs. Dr. Goetzel is principal investigator (PI) for Medicare's Senior Risk Reduction Demonstration (SRRD) and New Opportunities for Healthy Aging in Medicare (NOHAM) initiatives. Dr. Goetzel also serves as PI for the Federal Employee Worksite Health and Wellness Initiative administered by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Dr. Goetzel was PI for a project sponsored by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) focused on obesity prevention at the workplace. For the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Dr. Goetzel was PI for a New York City-based project supporting collaboration between the private and public sectors directed at employer health promotion programs. As PI for a study funded by the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (NACCD), Dr. Goetzel identified the characteristics of promising practices in workplace health and productivity management (HPM) programs. He is also working with the Department of Defense on two health promotion and resilience training demonstrations for the U.S. Army and Air Force.

Dr. Goetzel has led research efforts directed at employer health and productivity improvement initiatives at Applied Materials, Boeing, Chevron, Dow Chemical, Citibank, Johnson & Johnson, IBM, Procter & Gamble, Florida Power & Light, Duke University, General Electric Company, Ford Motor Company, Kaiser Permanente, American Specialty Health, Lockheed Martin Corporation, Motorola, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, PepsiCo, Prudential Financial, Vanderbilt University, University of Michigan, PPG, King County Washington, State of Delaware, Blue Cross Blue Shield Federal Employee Program (FEP), Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, and Highmark. Dr. Goetzel's pharmaceutical industry research with Aventis, Bristol Myers Squibb, GlaxoSmithKline, Schering-Plough, Pfizer, Astra Zeneca, Johnson & Johnson, and Eli Lilly has focused on establishing the health and productivity cost burden of certain health risks and illnesses.

Dr. Goetzel earned his doctorate in organizational and administrative studies and his MA in applied social psychology from New York University (NYU), and his BS degree in psychology from the City College of New York (CCNY).

Service on international/national research, practice or policy boards or committees

• President and CEO of The Health Project, which annually awards organizations the prestigious C. Everett Koop prize for demonstrable health improvement and cost savings from health promotion and disease prevention programs
• Scientific Advisor, National Business Group on Health, Institute for Health, Productivity and Human Capital
• Board member – Health Enhancement Research Organization (HERO)
• Facilitator of CMS Technical Expert Panels (TEPs) focused on Section 4108 (Incentives for Prevention of Chronic Diseases in Medicaid) of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
• Subject matter expert for the CDC and Partnership for Prevention: Annual Wellness Visits, Health Risk Assessments, and Personal Prevention Plan Guidance Document for CMS
• Convener -- CDC Health and Productivity Management (HPM) Benchmarking study
• Convener -- Partnership for Prevention/CDC Worksite Health Index (WHI) Study

National research or practice awards

• Recipient of the Woodward Lecture Award in recognition of leadership and vision in promoting and expanding preventive medicine and population health improvement – U.S. Navy Environmental Health Center, Department of Defense
• Recipient of the Award for Excellence and Innovation in Value Purchasing from the National Business Group on Health