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
Gregory.E.Simon@kp.org
206-287-2979
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 early intervention for mental health conditions in children and youth.
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, 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. Now in its second five-year funding cycle, 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 are conducting 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 is an editor for the Cochrane Collaboration’s depression and anxiety review group, sits on the editorial board for General Hospital Psychiatry, and serves on the advisory board for the National Institutes of Health’s All of Us Program (formerly Precision Medicine Initiative). Earlier, he served on the editorial boards of Psychiatric Services and Psychological Medicine and chaired the scientific advisory board for the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance. Dr. Simon has practiced adult psychiatry in Kaiser Permanente Washington's Mental Health and Wellness Service since 1990 and is a research professor in psychiatry and behavioral sciences 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
Simon GE, Richards JE, Whiteside U. Reframing the key questions regarding screening for suicide risk. JAMA. 2023 Jun 20;329(23):2026-2027. doi: 10.1001/jama.2023.7241. PubMed
Loree AM, Hecht LM, Yeh HH, Gavrilova L, Furman K, Westphal J, Simon GE, Lynch FL, Beck A, Owen-Smith A, Rossom R, Daida YG, Lu CY, Boggs JM, Frank C, Waring S, Ahmedani BK. Factors associated with suicide mortality among reproductive age women: a case-control study. J Reprod Infant Psychol. 2023 Jun 13:1-12. doi: 10.1080/02646838.2023.2223636. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Sala-Hamrick KJ, Braciszewski JM, Yeh HH, Zelenak L, Westphal J, Beebani G, Frank C, Simon GE, Owen-Smith AA, Rossom RC, Lynch F, Lu CY, Waring SC, Harry ML, Beck A, Daida YG, Ahmedani BK. Diagnosed posttraumatic stress disorder and other trauma-associated stress disorders and risk for suicide mortality. Psychiatr Serv. 2023 Sep 1;74(9):936-942. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.202100244. Epub 2023 May 5. PubMed
Harry ML, Sanchez K, Ahmedani BK, Beck AL, Coleman KJ, Coley RY, Daida YG, Lynch FL, Rossom RC, Waring SC, Simon GE. Assessing the differential item functioning of PHQ-9 items for diverse racial and ethnic adults with mental health and/or substance use disorder diagnoses: A retrospective cohort study. J Affect Disord. 2023 Oct 1;338:402-413. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2023.04.091. Epub 2023 Apr 29. PubMed
Shortreed SM, Walker RL, Johnson E, Wellman R, Cruz M, Ziebell R, Coley RY, Yaseen ZS, Dharmarajan S, Penfold RB, Ahmedani BK, Rossom RC, Beck A, Boggs JM, Simon GE. Complex modeling with detailed temporal predictors does not improve health records-based suicide risk prediction. NPJ Digit Med. 2023;6(1):47. doi: 10.1038/s41746-023-00772-4. PubMed
Owen-Smith A, McDonald B, Sesay MM, Simon G, McCracken C. Depression treatment initiation among patients with versus without chronic pain. Psychosom Med. 2023 Apr 1;85(3):260-265. doi: 10.1097/PSY.0000000000001184. Epub 2023 Feb 26. PubMed
Hirschtritt ME, Howard CA, Simon GE. Fulfilling the goals of 988 through crisis stabilization care. Psychiatr Serv. 2023 Aug 1;74(8):889-891. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.20220503. Epub 2023 Jan 31. PubMed
Geissler KH, Ericson KM, Simon GE, Qian J, Zeber JE. Differences in insurance coverage for individuals with schizophrenia after implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. JAMA Psychiatry. 2023 Mar 1;80(3):278-279. doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2022.4628. PubMed
Braciszewski JM, Lanier A, Yeh HH, Sala-Hamrick K, Simon GE, Rossom RC, Lynch FL, Waring SC, Lu CY, Owen-Smith AA, Beck A, Daida YG, Maye M, Frank C, Hendriks M, Fabian N, Ahmedani BK. Health diagnoses and service utilization in the year before youth and young adult suicide. Psychiatr Serv. 2023 Jun 1;74(6):566-573. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.20220145. Epub 2022 Nov 9. PubMed
Richards JE, Kuo ES, Whiteside U, Shulman L, Betz ME, Parrish R, Boggs JM, Rowhani-Rahbar A, Simon GE. Patient and clinician perspectives of a standardized question about firearm access to support suicide prevention: a qualitative study. JAMA Health Forum. 2022 Nov 4;3(11):e224252. doi: 10.1001/jamahealthforum.2022.4252. 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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