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
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 reducing racial and ethnic disparities in mental health care.
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, originally 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. 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 have conducted 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 sits on the editorial board for the journal General Hospital Psychiatry, and co-chairs the National Academy of Medicine’s Forum on Drug Discovery, Development and Translation.. Dr. Simon has practiced adult psychiatry in Kaiser Permanente Washington's Mental Health and Wellness Service since 1990. He is also a professor in the department of Health Systems Science at the Bernard J Tyson Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine and an adjunct professor inPsychiatry and Behavioral Dciences 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, Shortreed SM, Rossom RC, Penfold RB, Sperl-Hillen JAM, O'Connor P. Principles and procedures for data and safety monitoring in pragmatic clinical trials. Trials. 2019 Dec 9;20(1):690. doi: 10.1186/s13063-019-3869-3. PubMed
Boggs JM, Lindrooth RC, Battaglia C, Beck A, Ritzwoller DP, Ahmedani BK, Rossom RC, Lynch FL, Lu CY, Waitzfelder BE, Owen-Smith AA, Simon GE, Anderson HD. Association between suicide death and concordance with benzodiazepine treatment guidelines for anxiety and sleep disorders. Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 2019 Nov 17;62:21-27. doi: 10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2019.11.005. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Coleman KJ, Yarborough BJ, Beck A, Lynch FL, Stewart C, Penfold RS, Hunkeler EM, Operskalski BH, Simon GE. Patterns of health care utilization before first episode psychosis in racial and ethnic groups. Ethn Dis. 2019 Oct 17;29(4):609-616. doi: 10.18865/ed.29.4.609. eCollection 2019 Fall. PubMed
Simon GE, Shortreed SM, Johnson E, Rossom RC, Lynch FL, Ziebell R, Penfold ARB. What health records data are required for accurate prediction of suicidal behavior? J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2019 Dec 1;26(12):1458-1465. doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocz136. PubMed
Ahmedani BK, Westphal J, Autio K, Elsiss F, Peterson EL, Beck A, Waitzfelder BE, Rossom RC, Owen-Smith AA, Lynch F, Lu CY, Frank C, Prabhakar D, Braciszewski JM, Miller-Matero LR, Yeh HH, Hu Y, Doshi R, Waring SC, Simon GE. Variation in patterns of health care before suicide: a population case-control study. Prev Med. 2019 Oct;127:105796. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2019.105796. Epub 2019 Aug 7. PubMed
Simon GE. Self-reported suicidal ideation as a predictor of suicidal behavior. Psychiatr Serv. 2019;70(7):637-638. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.70704. PubMed
Simon GE, Shortreed SM, Coley RY. Positive predictive values and potential success of suicide prediction models. JAMA Psychiatry. 2019 Jun 26. pii: 2737196. doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2019.1516. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Yeh HH, Westphal J, Hu Y, Peterson EL, Williams LK, Prabhakar D, Frank C, Autio K, Elsiss F, Simon GE, Beck A, Lynch FL, Rossom RC, Lu CY, Owen-Smith AA, Waitzfelder BE, Ahmedani BK. Diagnosed mental health conditions and risk of suicide mortality. Psychiatr Serv. 2019 Sep 1;70(9):750-757. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.201800346. Epub 2019 Jun 12. PubMed
Simon GE. Why the Nails Should Boss the Hammers. Psychiatr Serv. 2019 Aug 1;70(8):642-643. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.201900218. Epub 2019 May 29. PubMed
Stewart CC, Lu CY, Yoon TK, Coleman KJ, Crawford PM, Lakoma MD, Simon GE. Impact of ICD-10-CM transition on mental health diagnoses recording. eGEMS (Wash DC). 2019;7(1):14. doi: 10.5334/egems.281. PubMed
Research
Researchers have a proven prescription for reducing suicide rates
In a new multistate study, the Zero Suicide Model reduced suicide rates by 25%.
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.
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