About IPI
Our Vision
Improving the health of all Americans through information transparency
Our Mission
The Informed Patient Institute (IPI) is an independent non-profit organization that works to ensure the public availability and use of actionable information about health care quality, patient safety and affordability to improve quality and lower costs.
Our Staff
Carol Cronin – Executive Director
Carol founded the Informed Patient Institute in 2007. Prior to this, she worked as a consultant and advisor to non-profit organizations, foundations and government agencies including the California Endowment, AARP, and Atlantic Philanthropies. Carol was Director of the Center for Beneficiary Services at the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA – now CMS) where she was responsible for the launch of www.medicare.gov among other consumer oriented activities.Prior to CMS, she was Senior Vice President for Health Pages, a New York City–based consumer health information website and worked in leadership positions at the Washington (now National) Business Group on Health. She Chairs the Medical Board Roundtable - a project of the Patient Safety Action Network (https://www.patientsafetyaction.org/our-work/physician-oversight-and-accountability/) and is a public member of the Geriatrics Medicine Board at the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM). She is also on the Johns Hopkins Hospital Patient and Family Advisory Council and the hospital's patient safety committee. Carol has served on numerous other advisory committees and boards including the National Quality Forum, NCQA, the American Board of Medical Specialties, AAMC, the Joint Commission and the MD Health Services Cost Review Commission. She holds an A.B. degree from Smith College and two Masters degrees in Social Work and Gerontology from the University of Southern California.
Doris Peter, Phd. – Senior Advisor
Dr. Peter has more than 20 years of experience in communicating healthcare-related technical information to the public as well as to specialized audiences. She has extensive experience in public reporting of quality measures, consumer advocacy around health care quality and safety issues (comparative effectiveness of drugs and treatments, preventive services, and quality measurement of insurance plans, hospitals, and physicians) as well as in health policy and health care quality measurement. As the Director of Consumer Reports’ Health Ratings Center, she developed and implemented a strategic plan and directed the publishing of healthcare quality ratings. Dr. Peter has also represented consumers on quality and cost committees. As Associate Clinical Director, Quality Measurement Programs, Yale/YNHH Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation (CORE) and currently as a consultant, Dr. Peter’s work focuses on quality measurement development and re-evaluation projects for CMS.Dr. Peter received her undergraduate degree at Cornell University and her Ph.D. at the University of California, Los Angeles. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship at Rockefeller University.
Steve Squier – Chief Technology Officer
Steve has a BS in Communications from the University of Illinois and began his career in the stock options business on the CBOE floor in Chicago around 1976. A lifelong home computer programmer since early school days in Palo Alto, California, he also earned Computer Programming Certificates at the College of Du Page while starting his own business in web programming.
Our Funding
As a private, 501c(3) organization, IPI receives funding from foundations and tax-deductible donations from individuals. Our funders include:
- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (http://www.ahrq.gov/)
- California HealthCare Foundation (http://www.chcf.org/)
- Connecticut Patient Safety Center/Connecticut Coalition on Aging (http://www.ctcps.org/)
- Consumer Health Coalition (http://consumerhealthcoalition.org/)
- Fine Schneider Charitable Fund
- Health Foundation for Western & Central New York (http://www.hfwcny.org/)
- Maine Health Management Coalition
IPI also serves as a consultant to other organizations interested in providing health information to the public, such as AARP, Consumers Union , CMS/L&M Research (work on health insurance exchanges), the Swedish Health Authority and The Leapfrog Group.
Our Board of Directors
Joyce Dubow
Joyce retired from AARP as Senior Principal for health policy and strategy in AARP's Office of the Executive Vice President for Policy and Strategy. She had responsibility for a policy portfolio related to AARP's health care initiatives in health care quality, HIT, Medicare Advantage, and consumer decision making. During her tenure at AARP, Joyce served on several multi-stakeholder groups seeking to improve the quality and delivery of health care services, including the board of the National Quality Forum and NCQA’s Committee on Performance Measurement. She is currently a member of ABIM’s Geriatrics Medicine Board, NCQA’s Geriatric Measures Panel, and the Commission on Aging in Montgomery County, MD. She is a certified Master Gardner in Montgomery County, Maryland and volunteers in several programs that serve older adults. She holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Michigan and a Masters in Urban Planning from Hunter College of the University of the City of New York.
Jean Rexford
Jean started the Connecticut Center for Patient Safety in 2005 to promote patient safety, improve the quality of health care and protect patient rights. At the national level she is a member of the Workgroup on Board Education, Service and Training (BEST) at the Federation of State Medical Boards. At the state level, she is a member of the Connecticut Medical Examining Board and the Senior Commission in Redding, CT.
Martin Schneider
Marty is currently a Managing Partner at Fine Capital Partners in NYC. He previously was the Founder and President of Health Pages, a consumer website devoted to providing consumers with background, experience and quality information about health care providers. He serves as Board Chair of both the Peer Health Exchange and IDEO.org. He is also a Trustee of Population Services International (PSI). He received a BA from Amherst College, a MBA from The University of Chicago and a MSc from The London School of Economics.
Cary Sennett
Cary is a physician who has long been an advocate for informed patient decision–making. He recently served as President for Medical Education and Research at the Institute for Functional Medicine, the global leader in Functional Medicine. Prior to that, he served as President and CEO of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, as Vice President, Personalized Health Insights at WellPoint, and as President of IMPAQ International, a policy research firm in Columbia, MD. Dr. Sennett has held a number of leadership roles in healthcare, including senior positions at the Brookings Institution, NCQA, the American Board of Internal Medicine, and the American College of Cardiology, and served as Vice Chair of the AMA Physician Consortium for Performance Improvement. He is a Board Certified internist (MD, Yale; residency at Harvard's Brigham and Women's Hospital) and holds a PhD from MIT in health policy and management.
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