Gregory E. Simon, MD, MPH
“We bring a practical approach to mental health research, working to break down barriers between research and real-world health care.”
Gregory E. Simon, MD, MPH
Senior Investigator, Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute
Psychiatrist, Washington Permanente Medical Group
Professor, Department of Health Systems Science, Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine
Research Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington
Biography
Greg Simon, MD, MPH, is a psychiatrist and senior investigator well-known for his extensive research on practical approaches to improving mental health care. He seeks to develop and evaluate effective real-world strategies that support better mental health and wellness. Current areas of emphasis include identifying and assessing suicide risk, improving care for treatment-resistant depression, and reducing racial and ethnic disparities in mental health care.
Dr. Simon leads the Mental Health Research Network (MHRN), a consortium of research centers affiliated with 13 large health systems across the United States, including Kaiser Permanente Washington. This network, originally funded through a cooperative agreement with the National Institute of Mental Health, aims to improve the efficiency, relevance, and impact of mental health clinical and health services research. The MHRN is exploring a broad range of issues—including suicide prevention, improving heart health in people with serious mental illness, using electronic medical records to improve follow-up care for depression, and understanding the causes of racial and ethnic disparities in mental health care.
Dr. Simon and his MHRN colleagues have conducted several large studies across MHRN health systems, including:
- A pragmatic trial in four health systems examining the effect of systematic outreach programs to prevent suicide attempt among people at high risk.
- Using electronic health records from seven health systems to develop and validate machine learning models to identify people at high risk of suicidal behavior.
- A pragmatic trial in two health systems evaluating electronic health record tools to reduce risk of cardiovascular disease in people with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
- A rigorous evaluation of Zero Suicide care improvement programs in six health systems
- Developing measures to assess quality of care for depression in two health systems.
Dr. Simon sits on the editorial board for the journal General Hospital Psychiatry, and co-chairs the National Academy of Medicine’s Forum on Drug Discovery, Development and Translation.. Dr. Simon has practiced adult psychiatry in Kaiser Permanente Washington's Mental Health and Wellness Service since 1990. He is also a professor in the department of Health Systems Science at the Bernard J Tyson Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine and an adjunct professor inPsychiatry and Behavioral Dciences at the University of Washington.
Research interests and experience
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Mental Health
Depression; bipolar disorder; suicide prevention; self-management; treatment adherence
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Chronic Illness Management
Comorbidity of mental health conditions with obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and substance use disorders.
Recent publications
Richards JE, Shortreed SM, Simon GE, Penfold RB, Glass JE, Ziebell R, Williams EC. Association between patterns of alcohol use and short-term risk of suicide attempt among patients with and without reported suicidal ideation. J Addict Med. 2020 Mar 5. doi: 10.1097/ADM.0000000000000637. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Lynch FL, Peterson EL, Lu CY, Hu Y, Rossom RC, Waitzfelder BE, Owen-Smith AA, Hubley S, Prabhakar D, Keoki Williams L, Beck A, Simon GE, Ahmedani BK. Substance use disorders and risk of suicide in a general US population: a case control study. Addict Sci Clin Pract. 2020 Feb 21;15(1):14. doi: 10.1186/s13722-020-0181-1. PubMed
Owen-Smith A, Stewart C, Sesay MM, Strasser SM, Yarborough BJ, Ahmedani B, Miller-Matero LR, Waring SC, Haller IV, Waitzfelder BE, Sterling SA, Campbell CI, Hechter RC, Zeber JE, Copeland LA, Scherrer JF, Rossom R, Simon G. Chronic pain diagnoses and opioid dispensings among insured individuals with serious mental illness. BMC Psychiatry. 2020 Jan 31;20(1):40. doi: 10.1186/s12888-020-2456-1. PubMed
Simon GE, Yarborough BJ. Good news: artificial intelligence in psychiatry is actually neither. Psychiatr Serv. 2020 Jan 8:appips201900464. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.201900464. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Coley RY, Boggs JM, Beck A, Hartzler AL, Simon GE. Defining success in measurement-based care for depression: a comparison of common metrics. Psychiatr Serv. 2019 Dec 18:appips201900295. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.201900295. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Richards JE, Shortreed SM, Simon GE, Penfold RB, Glass JE, Ziebell R, Williams EC. Short-term risk of suicide attempt associated with patterns of patient-reported alcohol use determined by routine AUDIT-C among adults receiving mental healthcare. Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 2020 Jan-Feb;62:79-86. doi: 10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2019.12.002. Epub 2019 Dec 18. PubMed
Simon GE, Shortreed SM, Rossom RC, Penfold RB, Sperl-Hillen JAM, O'Connor P. Principles and procedures for data and safety monitoring in pragmatic clinical trials. Trials. 2019 Dec 9;20(1):690. doi: 10.1186/s13063-019-3869-3. PubMed
Boggs JM, Lindrooth RC, Battaglia C, Beck A, Ritzwoller DP, Ahmedani BK, Rossom RC, Lynch FL, Lu CY, Waitzfelder BE, Owen-Smith AA, Simon GE, Anderson HD. Association between suicide death and concordance with benzodiazepine treatment guidelines for anxiety and sleep disorders. Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 2019 Nov 17;62:21-27. doi: 10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2019.11.005. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Coleman KJ, Yarborough BJ, Beck A, Lynch FL, Stewart C, Penfold RS, Hunkeler EM, Operskalski BH, Simon GE. Patterns of health care utilization before first episode psychosis in racial and ethnic groups. Ethn Dis. 2019 Oct 17;29(4):609-616. doi: 10.18865/ed.29.4.609. eCollection 2019 Fall. PubMed
Simon GE, Shortreed SM, Johnson E, Rossom RC, Lynch FL, Ziebell R, Penfold ARB. What health records data are required for accurate prediction of suicidal behavior? J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2019 Dec 1;26(12):1458-1465. doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocz136. PubMed
Research
Suicide attempts decreased after adding suicide care to primary care
Safety planning and risk screening improved outcomes for adult patients.
Research
Can machine learning help treat depression more effectively?
A new grant funds modeling work to make personalized treatment possible.
Research
Understanding adoption of Lock to Live, a decision aid supporting suicide prevention
KPWHRI research finds ways to increase use of a firearm safety tool.
Research
A medication that can relieve symptoms of psychosis is underused
Study finds that many patients who might benefit from clozapine don’t receive it.
Research
Improving and advancing mental health care
KPWHRI researchers are contributing to better mental health care for people nationwide.
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