Remembering David Meyers, M.D.
With admiration and fondness, AHRQ recognizes the legacy of former Deputy Director David Meyers, M.D., a family physician who for nearly 20 years helped lead Agency initiatives to ensure that Americans received the safest and most effective healthcare possible. Dr. Meyers died July 2, 2023, at his home in Takoma Park, MD.
Dr. Meyers maintained professional and personal relationships with researchers, clinicians, and policymakers at all levels of healthcare. In his work with leadership at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and with other Federal, State, and local partners, he prioritized making sure the best available scientific evidence is understood and used.
Dr. Meyers joined AHRQ in 2004 and served under four AHRQ directors. Appointed Deputy Director in February 2020, he has led many of AHRQ’s strategic planning activities and co-led the development of AHRQ’s National Nursing Home COVID-19 Action Network. Dr. Meyers served as AHRQ’s Acting Director from January 2021 to February 2022.
Before being appointed deputy director, he served as AHRQ’s first chief physician and directed EvidenceNOW, AHRQ’s initiative to help primary care practices improve the heart health of their patients through quality improvement support and implementation of new evidence. During his time at AHRQ, Dr. Meyers directed the Agency’s Center for Primary Care, Prevention, and Clinical Partnerships and established its Center for Evidence and Practice Improvement. He also directed the Agency’s Practice-Based Research Network initiatives and served as the Acting Scientific Director for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.
Dr. Meyers’ publications focused on the primary care workforce, quality improvement in primary care practice, use of clinical preventive services, and trust in the physician-patient relationship. (See selected publications at right.)
Before joining AHRQ in 2004, he practiced family medicine, including maternity care, in a community health center in southeast Washington, DC, and directed the Georgetown University Department of Family Medicine’s practice-based research network, CAPRICORN.
Dr. Meyers was a graduate of Duke University and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and completed his family medicine residency at Providence Hospital/Georgetown University. After residency, he completed fellowship training in primary care health policy and research in the Department of Family Medicine at Georgetown University. In 2019, he was elected a member of the National Academy of Medicine.
He is survived by his wife, Hannah Joyner, and his son, Abraham Joyner-Meyers.
Learn more about Dr. Meyers’ impact on AHRQ in an AHRQ Views blog post by Agency Director Robert Otto Valdez, M.D., M.H.S.A.
