Waltham – Less
than one year after his retirement, Dr. Richard Lopez, a longtime
physician executive and clinical leader at Atrius Health, was honored
with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Massachusetts
Medical Society (MMS), the statewide professional association for
physicians and medical students. The Lifetime Achievement Award is
presented to a member of MMS who has made lasting contributions to the
practice of medicine over a lifetime in health care
delivery, and who has made a significant impact to patient care,
education, administration and the goals of the Society.
"Dr. Lopez is
known for his humility, sense of humor and gentle disposition, but make
no mistake - Dr. Lopez is viewed as a true giant in our realm,” said MMS
President Dr. Alain Chaoui at the Society’s
awards ceremony on May 3, 2019. “Dr. Lopez has informed practices and
policies that help patients and physicians and has taken the time to
pass on his knowledge and his leadership skills to others. You can look
at the local health care landscape and see a
family tree of leaders who have been influenced by Dr. Lopez."
As part of his
36-year career with Atrius Health, Dr. Lopez served in several executive
leadership roles, including a six-year term as Chief Physician
Executive and Chief Medical Officer. From 2016 until
his retirement in July 2018, Dr. Lopez served as Senior Vice President
of Population Health and Chief Medical Officer for VNA Care, Atrius
Health’s home health and hospice subsidiary.
“Dr. Lopez’s
innovative leadership in transforming health care delivery combined with
the relationships he fostered with his patients across four decades
exemplifies what it means to compassionately serve
a community to enrich their lives,” said Steve Strongwater, MD
President and CEO of Atrius Health. “On behalf of our practice, I am
delighted to congratulate Rick on this well-deserved honor.”
Dr. Lopez joined
what is now Atrius Health’s Harvard Vanguard Medford practice in 1982
after completing his internal medicine training at St. Elizabeth's
Medical Center in Brighton and then serving two years
in the Public Health Service as a Senior Assistant Surgeon stationed in
a small rural clinic in Kenova, West Virginia. Within three years of
starting his primary care practice, Dr. Lopez became Chief of Internal
Medicine at Medford and then served as health
center director for Harvard Vanguard’s Medford and Somerville centers
for almost seven years.
In the late 1990s,
Dr. Lopez served as Associate Medical Director for the entire Harvard
Vanguard Medical Associates practice. Here, he helped launch many
valuable clinical programs including Atrius Health’s
anticoagulation, intensive home-based, and clinical pharmacy programs.
He was an early advocate and pioneer in the use of data analytics to
help improve the care of populations of patients. Dr. Lopez also served
as the senior physician executive accountable
for Atrius Health’s Epic electronic health record implementation which
garnered national recognition by winning the Nicholas E. Davies Award
for EHR implementation in fall of 2000.
“I’m am honored to
receive this award from the Massachusetts Medical Society and would
like to thank them for the recognition as well as all of their advocacy
on behalf of patients and physicians across
the Commonwealth,” said Dr. Lopez. “In addition, I am incredibly
grateful for my dedicated colleagues at Atrius Health, and most
importantly, the patients and families who entrusted me with their care
throughout a wonderful career.”
In addition to
continuously serving his patients as a primary care physician for 36
years in Medford, Dr. Lopez has also invested in teaching and mentoring
many future physician leaders at Atrius Health.
He has spoken
regionally and nationally about his work and has served on committees
for MMS, the Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association, Risk
Management Foundation, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
In 2008 he received Harvard Vanguard’s Lifetime Achievement Award and
in 2014, he was named as one of 25 national recipients of Becker’s
Hospital Review’s Healthcare Leadership Awards.
The
Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) is the statewide professional
association for physicians and medical students, supporting 25,000
members. We are dedicated to educating and advocating for the physicians
of Massachusetts and patients locally and nationally. A leadership
voice in health care, the MMS contributes physician and patient
perspectives to influence health-related legislation at the state and
federal levels, works in support of public health, provides
expert advice on physician practice management, and addresses issues of
physician well-being. Under the auspices of the NEJM Group, the MMS
extends our mission globally by advancing medical knowledge from
research to patient care through the New England Journal
of Medicine, NEJM Catalyst, and the NEJM Journal Watch family of
specialty publications, and through our education.
