James D. Ralston, MD, MPH

Biography

James Ralston MD, MPH, is an internal medicine physician and senior investigator in health services and health informatics. His research mission is improving the health and care of patients living with common ongoing illnesses. His current areas of emphasis include understanding and honoring the priorities of patients living with multiple chronic conditions.

Dr. Ralston’s research focuses on developing and evaluating communication technologies that foster continuous care and a closer connection between patients and primary care teams. His commitment to finding effective ways to redesign care spans all stages of research, from project development to complete translation of results into clinical practice.

Examples of Dr. Ralston’s research projects include:

The Valuing Important Things in Active Lives (VITAL) study to improve care for people with multiple chronic conditions including diabetes, heart disease, and arthritis. VITAL uses participatory design methods with patients and providers to design and evaluate interactive care plans.
The Seeing Priorities study to build and test a single, trusted tool for individuals with multiple chronic conditions that illuminates connections between personal values and chronic illness management. The tool helps visualize, track, and share what matters most for self-management and care.
Understanding and addressing differences in patient use of online health care services that could lead to care disparities.
Testing online care management of blood sugar control using an electronic health record shared with patients with type 2 diabetes. Control improved in patients receiving online care management in addition to usual care.
Validating and evaluating a clinical tool to identify patients with type 2 diabetes at risk of severe low blood sugar. This national collaboration uses Kaiser Permanente and Veterans Administration electronic health record data and machine learning methods.
Testing innovative engagement methods such as photos taken by study participants to document their values to ensure that patient priorities guide self-management plans and clinical care.
Working with primary care teams and clinics in rural and underserved areas to improve the care of their patients with chronic conditions.

Dr. Ralston is also a University of Washington affiliate professor in health services and biomedical informatics, where he serves on the committees of PhD and master’s degree students.

Research interests and experience

Health Informatics

eHealth; hypertension; diabetes
Chronic Illness Management

Health informatics; hypertension; diabetes; health behaviors; multiple chronic conditions
Behavior Change

Self-management support
Health Services & Economics

Health care disparities

Recent publications

Schuttner L, Theis M, Wong E, Staloff J, McQueen RB, Nelson K, Ralston JD, Coyle L, Hagan S, Schult T, Solt T, Ritchey K, Rosland AM Patient-Centered Prioritization of Health Care Processes for Multimorbidity 2025 Dec;8(12):e2549693. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.49693. Epub 2025-12-01. PubMed

Vasavada A, Palazzo L, Luce C, Sanchez M, Triplette M, Ralston JD, Carter-Bawa L, Green BB, Gao H, Li CI, Anderson ML, Su YR, Rogers K, Wernli KJ "It's coming whether we want it to or not": A qualitative exploration of older adults' comfort with and perceptions of technology and digital health 2025 Nov 19 doi: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8001649/v1. Epub 2025-11-19. PubMed

Green BB, Hansell LD, Hsu CW, Jones T, Luce C, Ralston JD, Munson SA, Davis B, Wright T, Anderson ML Evaluation of an Email Blood Pressure Measurement Outreach Program 2025 Oct 15 doi: 10.1093/ajh/hpaf206. Epub 2025-10-15. PubMed

Wernli KJ, Anderson ML, Palazzo L, Luce C, Bezman N, Chin M, Gao H, Ralston JD, Rogers K, Su YR, Triplette M, Carter-Bawa L, Vasavada A, Jordan M, West M, Boler S, Green BB Effectiveness of health communication intervention to improve knowledge on timeliness to return for annual lung cancer screening: The Larch Trial 2025 Sep 10 doi: 10.1016/j.chest.2025.07.4111. Epub 2025-09-10. PubMed

Ralston JD, Gleason KS, Bayliss EA, Estacio K, Healy L, Holden E, McCloskey J, Peterson I, Shulman L, Taylor-McPhail T, Uratsu CS, Grant RW Outreach Assessment for Social Health Needs in Patients with Multiple Chronic Conditions: Qualitative Study of Patient Experience 2025 Jun 25 doi: 10.1007/s11606-025-09650-z. Epub 2025-06-25. PubMed

Henrikson NB, Scrol A, Zepp JM, Anderson ML, Blasi PR, Ewing JJ, Grafton J, Ralston JD, Fullerton SM, Leppig KA Health system-led early consent and direct contact of at-risk relatives: Pilot study results 2025 Apr 3;28(1):150-162. doi: 10.1159/000545404. Epub 2025-04-03. PubMed

Li KH, Krakauer C, Nelson JC, Crane PK, Andre JB, Curl PK, Yuh E, Mossa-Basha M, Ralston JD, Mac Donald CL, Gray SL Cumulative anticholinergic exposure and white matter hyperintensity burden in community-dwelling older adults 2025 Apr;73(4):1115-1124. doi: 10.1111/jgs.19325. Epub 2024-12-19. PubMed

Schuttner L, Staloff J, Theis M, Ralston JD, Rosland AM, Nelson K, Coyle L, Hagan S, Schult T, Solt T, Ritchey K, Sayre G Perceived Connections Between Personal Values and Health in High-Risk Patients with Multimorbidity: A Qualitative Study 2025 Mar 4 doi: 10.1007/s11606-025-09448-z. Epub 2025-03-04. PubMed

Penfold RB, Idu AE, Coley RY, Cushing-Haugen KL, King D, Glass A, Phillips RC, Renz AD, Pabiniak CJ, Graham VF, Thompson EE, Ralston JD, Simon GE, Gonzalez ES, Myers KM, Beck A, Quintana LM, Runkle AJ, Rogers M, Foster DM, Clarke GN, Massimino S, Crawford PM, Cavese JA, Cordaro AR, Chavez LI, Kelleher KJ, Schwartz N, Jiner KR, Liu SB, Condrac S, Hilt RJ Safer and targeted use of antipsychotics in youth: an embedded, pragmatic randomized trial 2025 Mar;66(3):301-310. doi: 10.1111/jcpp.14059. Epub 2024-10-29. PubMed

Hoopes AJ, Cushing-Haugen K, Coley RY, Fuller S, Sucato GS, Mangione-Smith R, Ralston JD Teen Secure Messaging is Associated With Use of Sexual and Reproductive Health Services in One Health System 2025 Mar;76(3):455-462. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2024.10.016. Epub 2024-11-22. PubMed