Dr. Joan Neuner joins GIM as associate chief for research

Health services research expert Joan Neuner, MD, MPH, joined the Division of General Internal Medicine as associate chief–research on July 1, 2025.

Dr. Neuner comes to the department from the Medical College of Wisconsin, where she led federally funded research to improve women’s health and long-term medication adherence.

She’s also collaborated with investigators from our department and across the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health on projects to improve health care delivery and reduce health disparities statewide.

In her new role, Dr. Neuner will expand the division’s health services research capacity through collaboration and recruitment.

Learn more in the Q&A below.

What research are you most proud of, and why?

I'm most proud of my work on improving medication decision-making and ultimately patients’ adherence to medications. Poor medication adherence is a widespread, “wicked” problem that leads to many hospitalizations and deaths.

For example. I’ve investigated how patients with osteoporosis and their providers can have very different thresholds for fracture risk, and thereby very different perceptions of when osteoporosis medication treatments are “worth it.” I also showed that decision support—education and communication provided through an electronic health record portal—can improve medication decision-making. 

I also led a study with a resident demonstrating that a Medicare subsidy to eliminate drug co-pays significantly improved medication adherence among low-income breast cancer patients—even surpassing the rates of higher-income groups.

Tell us about your collaborations with UW researchers.

One of my most active collaborations has been with Jennifer Weiss, MD, MS (associate professor, Gastroenterology and Hepatology) and Maureen Smith, MD, MPH, PhD (professor emerita, Population Health Sciences and Family Medicine and Community Health and the founding director of the University of Wisconsin Health Innovation Program). 

We co-led a statewide project where we worked with the Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality (WCHQ) and multiple health systems to improve chronic disease care while also addressing disparities. 

Our report identified pandemic-related declines in colorectal cancer screening, particularly in urban underserved areas, but also narrowing disparities post-pandemic in glycemic control among Hispanic/Latino patients with diabetes. We also helped WCHQ support those health systems as they better integrate equity into quality improvement efforts.

I plan to bring developments in health services research to UW so we can do innovative work. I’ll also be recruiting to build our capacity.

Dr. Neuner

Dr. Betsy Trowbridge sees you as “the face of health services research” in the division. What does that mean to you?

What an honor! I did my graduate medical training at Harvard with amazing faculty who pretty much invented health services research, so I'm standing on the shoulders of giants!

For years, health services researchers have talked about “giving the right care to the right patient at the right time.” Now we're beginning to understand what gets in the way of that.

I plan to bring developments in health services research to UW so we can do innovative work. I’ll also be recruiting from inside and outside the institution to build our capacity.

What specific research do you plan to develop?

I'm passionate about the generalist-to-specialty interface. We can smooth friction points—for patients and ourselves—with communication and structural changes.

In one project, we coached primary care physicians to streamline initial care and referrals for non-surgical incontinence care. We are currently analyzing a statewide study that included several UW clinics, but we believe we helped patients get the right services (in this case, pelvic floor exercise training) earlier. 

I also plan to integrate clinical informatics and implementation science expertise to help us further identify and address system-level inefficiencies.

Reach out to me! I thrive on collaboration and welcome anyone who wants to do research on ways to better deliver care.

Dr. Neuner

What other goals do you have for this role?

I really want to foster collaborations across disciplines. My own career took off when I engaged on multi-PI research that blended content and methodological expertise.

It will take time for me to learn about all of the pockets of knowledge here at UW, but my first step is to draw on the ones I know in primary care—and leverage those across the department and the School.

What is the most important thing people should know about you?

Reach out to me! I thrive on collaboration, welcome anyone who wants to do research on ways to better deliver care, and can help you get training. 

I also know how to right-size that effort for a busy clinician, and am pragmatic. Primary care has a lot of challenges, but it’s so important and we can do amazing work!