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
Gregory.E.Simon@kp.org
206-287-2979
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 early intervention for mental health conditions in children and youth.
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, 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. Now in its second five-year funding cycle, 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 are conducting 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 is an editor for the Cochrane Collaboration’s depression and anxiety review group, sits on the editorial board for General Hospital Psychiatry, and serves on the advisory board for the National Institutes of Health’s All of Us Program (formerly Precision Medicine Initiative). Earlier, he served on the editorial boards of Psychiatric Services and Psychological Medicine and chaired the scientific advisory board for the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance. Dr. Simon has practiced adult psychiatry in Kaiser Permanente Washington's Mental Health and Wellness Service since 1990 and is a research professor in psychiatry and behavioral sciences 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
Shaw JL, Beans JA, Noonan C, Smith JJ, Mosley M, Lillie KM, Avey JP, Ziebell R, Simon G. Validating a predictive algorithm for suicide risk with Alaska Native populations. Suicide Life Threat Behav. 2022 Aug;52(4):696-704. doi: 10.1111/sltb.12853. Epub 2022 Mar 15. PubMed
Yarborough BJH, Stumbo SP, Rosales AG, Ahmedani BK, Boggs JM, Daida YG, Negriff S, Rossom RC, Simon G, Perrin NA. Opioid-related variables did not improve suicide risk prediction models in samples with mental health diagnoses. J Affect Disord Rep. 2022 Apr;8:100346. doi: 10.1016/j.jadr.2022.100346. Epub 2022 Mar 30. PubMed
Simon GE, Shortreed SM, Rossom RC, Beck A, Clarke GN, Whiteside U, Richards JE, Penfold RB, Boggs JM, Smith J. Effect of offering care management or online dialectical behavior therapy skills training vs usual care on self-harm among adult outpatients with suicidal ideation: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA. 2022;327(7):630-638. doi: 10.1001/jama.2022.0423. PubMed
Richards JE, Boggs JM, Rowhani-Rahbar A, Kuo E, Betz ME, Bobb JF, Simon GE. Patient-reported firearm access prior to suicide death. JAMA Netw Open. 2022 Jan 4;5(1):e2142204. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.42204. PubMed
Rossom RC, Yarborough BJ, Boggs JM, Coleman KJ, Ahmedani BK, Lynch FL, Daida Y, Simon GE. Prediction of suicidal behavior using self-reported suicidal ideation among patients with bipolar disorder. J Affect Disord. 2021 Dec 1;295:410-415. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2021.08.060. Epub 2021 Aug 31. PubMed
Walker RL, Shortreed SM, Ziebell RA, Johnson E, Boggs JM, Lynch FL, Daida YG, Ahmedani BK, Rossom R, Coleman KJ, Simon GE. Evaluation of electronic health record-based suicide risk prediction models on contemporary data. Appl Clin Inform. 2021;12(4):778-787. doi: 10.1055/s-0041-1733908. Epub 2021 Aug 18. PubMed
Simon GE, Shortreed SM, DeBar LL. Zelen design clinical trials: why, when, and how. Trials. 2021;22(1):541. doi: 10.1186/s13063-021-05517-w. PubMed
Richards JE, Kuo E, Stewart C, Bobb JF, Mettert KD, Rowhani-Rahbar A, Betz ME, Parrish R, Whiteside U, Boggs JM, Simon GE. Self-reported access to firearms among patients receiving care for mental health and substance use. JAMA Health Forum. 2021 Aug 6;2(8):e211973. doi: 10.1001/jamahealthforum.2021.1973. eCollection 2021 Aug. PubMed
Boudreaux ED, Rundensteiner E, Liu F, Wang B, Larkin C, Agu E, Ghosh S, Semeter J, Simon G, Davis-Martin RE. Applying machine learning approaches to suicide prediction using healthcare data: overview and future directions. Front Psychiatry. 2021 Aug 3;12:707916. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.707916. eCollection 2021. PubMed
Penfold RB, Whiteside U, Johnson EE, Stewart CC, Oliver MM, Shortreed SM, Beck A, Coleman KJ, Rossom RC, Lawrence JM, Simon GE. Utility of item 9 of the patient health questionnaire in the prospective identification of adolescents at risk of suicide attempt. Suicide Life Threat Behav. 2021 Jul 31. doi: 10.1111/sltb.12751. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Research
Improving and advancing mental health care
KPWHRI researchers are contributing to better mental health care for people nationwide.
New findings
Simpler models to identify suicide risk perform similarly to more complex ones
Models that are easier to explain, use could have better uptake in health care settings.
Research
Asking about firearm access can normalize and support dialogue for patients
Findings provide roadmap for addressing barriers and improving suicide prevention.
recognition
Dr. Greg Simon wins national suicide prevention award
Kaiser Permanente physician-scientist will receive American Foundation for Suicide Prevention's Lifesavers Research Award.
KPWHRI In the Media
Understanding rise in youth emergency visits for mental health
Rise in suicide-related ED visits among youth raises larger questions around mental health care
STAT News, May 2, 2023
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