WALTHAM – Dr. Barbara S. Spivak, a Newton resident, has been elected as the 141st president of the Massachusetts Medical Society, the statewide professional association of physicians and medical students at the organization’s annual meeting. Her one-year
term will conclude in May of 2024.
Spivak has been an internist at Mount Auburn Medical Associates for more than 35 years. She started at the Mount Auburn Cambridge Independent Practice Association (MACIPA) in 1997 and has served as its president and chairperson since that time. She
is an instructor at Harvard Medical School.
A member of the Massachusetts Medical Society since 2001, she has served the organization in several capacities, including as chair and as an advisor on the Committee for Quality of Medical Practice, as a member of the Committee on Strategic Planning,
as a member of the Task Force on Physician Burnout, as well as a member of the Task Force to Review MMS Policies on Health Insurance Coverage.
Spivak is a past recipient of the Massachusetts Medical Society Special Award for Excellence in Medical Service and was named the Community Clinician of the Year (CCYA) by the Middlesex District Medical Society in 2020.
A strong advocate for population health management, quality improvement, care management, and using data to inform strategies, Spivak is an active participant in the Massachusetts Health Quality Partnership (MHQP), representing MACIPA on the physician
council, on the board, and served as its vice-chair. She also serves as a member of the state’s Quality Alliance Task Force.
She is a long-standing member of the American Medical Association (AMA) Integrated Physician Practice Council. She participates on several Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Technical Panels, evaluating and developing outpatient quality
metrics to be used for payment. She has been involved with both AMA- and CMS-sponsored committees looking at alternative payment models, trying to identify creative solutions for the current health care crisis.
She is a graduate of Tufts University and earned her MD from the Tufts University School of Medicine.
The Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) is the statewide professional association for physicians and medical students, supporting 25,000 members. We are dedicated to educating and advocating for the physicians of Massachusetts and patients locally and nationally. A leadership voice in health care, the MMS contributes physician and patient perspectives to influence health-related legislation at the state and federal levels, works in support of public health, provides expert advice on physician practice management, and addresses issues of physician well-being. Under the auspices of the NEJM Group, the MMS extends our mission globally by advancing medical knowledge from research to patient care through the New England Journal of Medicine, NEJM Catalyst, and the NEJM Journal Watch family of specialty publications, and through our education products for health care professionals: NEJM Knowledge+, NEJM Resident 360, and our accredited and comprehensive continuing medical education programs.
