Dr. Rainu Kaushal, chair of the Department of Healthcare Policy and Research at Weill Cornell Medicine and physician-in-chief of health care policy and research at NewYork Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) for her outstanding achievements and exceptional service in medical sciences, health care and public health.

NAM members are elected by their peers for outstanding achievements in their fields and exceptional service, and membership is one of the highest possible honors in health and medicine. Kaushal is among 100 new members announced Oct. 21 at the academy’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C. 

“I’m incredibly honored to have been elected to the National Academy of Medicine, which is such an important institution for improving health and informing health care policy,” said Kaushal, also the Nanette Laitman Distinguished Professor of Healthcare Policy and Research and a professor of medicine and of pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine.  

For more than 25 years, Kaushal has made significant contributions to pediatric patient safety, health information technology, and value-based health care delivery. An information scientist and health services research, Kaushal’s work has influenced health care policies and the clinical research landscape in the United States.  

Kaushal’s research has established the importance of targeted measures in improving patient safety and the intricacies of health information exchange. Her seminal investigation illuminated that children are three times more likely than adults to be harmed by medication errors. She then led several key studies on interoperable health information technology, an important method of improving patient safety, that informed the national Meaningful Use Program at Health and Human Services.  

Kaushal has also created large-scale urban data liquidity by integrating trillions of health, biological, social and health care data points through the creation of a clinical data research network. Most recently, she has conducted pioneering research on value-based health care delivery, particularly focused on the role of social complexity. 

Kaushal earned her medical degree in 1994 from Harvard Medical School, and joined Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell in 2006. A committed educator, she has established four master’s programs, a doctoral program and a research fellowship with 200 students matriculating annually.  

An author of more than 200 papers in various scientific publications, Kaushal has spoken at numerous national and international meetings as an expert on patient safety, health care information technology and value-based care.  

Alyssa Sunkin-Strube is newsroom manager for Weill Cornell Medicine.