Duke health policy center created with $16.5 million donation

Duke University has created a new health policy center aimed at implementing health care reform ideas.

The center was formed with a $16.5 million gift from Duke medical school alumnus Robert J. Margolis and his wife, Lisa, through the Robert and Lisa Margolis Family Foundation. It will be called the Duke-Robert J. Margolis, MD, Center for Health Policy.

It will include study in areas of business, biomedical research, clinical care, public policy, global health and law, with a focus on efficient, accessible and quality health care. The goal is to take ideas from experts in these fields at Duke and translate them to real-world applications in the public and private sector.

The center’s inaugural director will be Dr. Mark McClellan, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and director of the Health Care Innovation and Value Initiatives. He’s also a former administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, a former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and senior director for health care policy at the White House.

The center will be based at Fuqua School of Business, with staff and offices in both Durham and at Duke’s center in Washington. Joining McClellan will be Gregory Daniel, a Brookings fellow and leader of its biomedical innovation portfolio, who will help direct the center’s Washington office.

Margolis, a 1971 graduate of the medical school, is the retired managing partner and CEO of HealthCare Partners, a physician-owned and operated medical group, independent physician association and management services organization.

This story was originally published October 19, 2015 at 3:34 PM with the headline "Duke health policy center created with $16.5 million donation."