Fitzhugh Mullan, MD

Fitzhugh S. M. Mullan is Murdock Head Professor of Medicine and Health Policy, a joint position in SPHHS and the SMHS. His primary appointment is in the Department of Health Policy.

• Phone: (202) 994-4312
• Fax: (202) 296-0025
• Email: fmullan@gwu.edu

From the challenges of meeting the needs of the uninsured in the District of Columbia's inner city, to the titanic struggle against HIV/AIDS in Africa, Professor Mullan's career has focused on community health, workforce issues, including the medical brain drain in Africa, and many other challenges in medical and public health policy. "Health equity at home and abroad is the principle that unifies my work," he says.

A pediatrician whose far-reaching career has included clinical, administrative and editorial responsibilities in both the public and the private sector, Dr. Mullan is also a cancer survivor and the Founding President of the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship. Cognizant of the importance of communicating with both lay and professional audiences, Dr. Mullan is a contributing editor to Health Affairs and a consulting editor of the journal's "Narrative Matters" section; a prolific book reviewer; and author of a number of general-interest books, including Vital Signs: A Young Doctor's Struggle with Cancer and Big Doctoring in America: Profiles in Primary Care. Prior to joining the School's faculty in 1996, Dr. Mullan directed the Bureau of Health Professions in the federal Health Resources and Services Administration, earning the rank of Assistant Surgeon General.

Dr. Mullan is Director of the Department's Hirsh Program in Medicine and Public Policy, which works to advance understanding of the influence of medicine and medical education on health care and public health.

Education

Bachelor of Arts (History), Harvard University, 1964
Doctor of Medicine, University of Chicago Medical School, 1968

Teaching

PubH 209.19-Health Workforce Policy
PubH 209.22- The Policy Narrative: Literature and the Making of Health Policy

Research

Dr. Mullan's research bridges U.S. and global issues. Currently, he is the Principal Investigator of the Medical Education Futures Study and The Sub-Saharan African Medical School Study.

Community Service

Professor Mullan is an attending physician at Children's National Medical Center and a staff pediatrician at the Upper Cardozo Community Health Center, both in Washington. He is vice-chair of the Board of Trustees at the National Museum of Health and Medicine Foundation and a member of the Institute of Medicine.

Departments

• Health Policy

Institutes & Centers

• Center for Health Policy Research
• Hirsh Program in Medicine and Health Policy

Community Activities

• Staff Pediatrician, Upper Cardozo Community Health Center

Publications

• Plight of the Surgeon General.
  Mullan, Fitzhugh. "Plight of the Surgeon General." Science. October 12, 2007, Volume 318.
• Health Equity and Political Economy: A Conversation with Paul Farmer.
  Mullan, Fitzhugh. "Health Equity and Political Economy: A Conversation with Paul Farmer." Health Affairs. July/August 2007. Volume 26.
• Non-physician clinicians in 47 sub-Saharan African countries.
  Mullan, Fitzhugh, Frehywot, Seble, "Non-physician clinicians in 47 sub-Saharan African countries." Lancet. June 14, 2007, DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(07)60785-5.
• Responding to the Global HIV/AIDS Crisis: A Peace Corps for Health.
  Mullan, Fitzhugh, "Responding to the Global HIV/AIDS Crisis: A Peace Corps for Health." Journal of the American Medical Association. February 21, 2007, Volume 297, 744-746.
• Doctors and Soccer Players-African Professional on the Move.
  Mullan, Fitzhugh. "Doctors and Soccer Players-African Professional on the Move." New England Journal of Medicine. February 1, 2007, Volume 365, 5 pp.440-442.
• International Medical Graduates in Family Medicine in the United State of America: An Exploration of Professional Characteristics and Attitudes.
  Morris, Amanda, Phillips, Robert, Fryer, George, Green, Larry and Mullan, Fitzhugh. "International Medical Graduates in Family Medicine in the United State of America: An Exploration of Professional Characteristics and Attitudes." Human Resources for Health, 2006, Volume 4,17.
• Doctors for the World: Indian Physician Emigration.
  Mullan, Fitzhugh "Doctors for the World: Indian Physician Emigration." Health Affairs, March/April 2006; 25(2): 380-393.
• The Metrics of the Physician Brain Drain
  Mullan, Fitzhugh, "The Metrics of the Physician Brain Drain" The New England Journal of Medicine, October 27, 2005, Vol. 353:1810-1818.
• Healers abroad: Americans responding to the human resource crisis in HIV/AIDS.
  Mullan F, Panosian C, Cuff P, editors. Healers abroad: Americans responding to the human resource crisis in HIV/AIDS. Washington, DC: National Academy Press; 2005.
• Affirmative action - Cuban style.
  Mullan F. Affirmative action - Cuban style. N Engl J Med 2004;351:2680-2.
• Medicine in the family.
  Mullan F. Medicine in the family. Ann Intern Med 2004;141:818-19.
• Wrestling with variation: an interview with Jack Wennberg.
  Mullan F. Wrestling with variation: an interview with Jack Wennberg. Health Aff (Millwood) 2004; Suppl Web Exclusives: Oct 7. Available from: URL: http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/reprint/hlthaff.var.73v1?
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• Clinton, tobacco, and children: an interview with C. Everett Koop.
  Mullan F. Reagan, Clinton, tobacco, and children: an interview with C. Everett Koop. Health Aff (Millwood) 2004;23(5):180-7.
• Geographic retrofitting: a method of community definition in community oriented primary care practices.
  Mullan F, Phillips RL, Kinman E. Geographic retrofitting: a method of community definition in community oriented primary care practices. Fam Med 2004;36(6):440-6.
• My dad was not a prepaid group practice patient.
  Mullan F. My dad was not a prepaid group practice patient. Health Aff (Millwood) 2004;Suppl Web Exclusives:W4-70-2. Available from: URL: http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/reprint/hlthaff.w4.70v1.pdf
• Twenty-seven fingers without a palm is not a hand: a conversation with Elias Zerhouni.
  Mullan F. Twenty-seven fingers without a palm is not a hand: a conversation with Elias Zerhouni. Health Aff (Millwood) 2004; Suppl Web Exclusives: Jan. Available from: URL: http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/reprint/hlthaff.w4.1v1.pdf
• The yellow baby. A young, uninsured patient falls through the cracks of our medical system.
  Mullan F. The yellow baby. A young, uninsured patient falls through the cracks of our medical system. Health Aff (Millwood) 2003;22(6):234-8.
• The future of medical education: a call for action.
  Mullan F. The future of medical education: a call for action. Health Aff (Millwood) 2003;22(4):88-90.
• Big doctoring in America: profiles in primary care.
  Mullan, F. Big doctoring in America: profiles in primary care. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press/Milbank Memorial Fund; 2002.
• David Satcher takes stock.
  Mullan F, Satcher D. David Satcher takes stock. Health Aff (Millwood) 2002;21(6):154-61.
• Community oriented primary care: new relevance in a changing world.
  Mullan F, Epstein L. Community oriented primary care: new relevance in a changing world. Am J Public Health 2002;92(11):1748-55.
• Time-capsule thinking: the health care workforce, past and future.
  Mullan F. Time-capsule thinking: the health care workforce, past and future. Health Aff (Millwood) 2002;21(5):112-22.
• Purple is the color of the future.
  Mullan F. Purple is the color of the future. Health Aff (Millwood) 2002;21(3):215-20.
• Some thoughts on the white-follows-green law.
  Mullan F. Some thoughts on the white-follows-green law. Health Aff (Millwood) 2002;21(1):158-9.
• Tin-cup medicine.
  Mullan F. Tin-cup medicine. Health Aff (Millwood) 2001;20(6):216-21.
• A founder of quality assessment encounters a troubled system firsthand.
  Mullan F. A founder of quality assessment encounters a troubled system firsthand. Health Aff (Millwood) 2001;20(1):137-41.
• A senator's quest to beat cancer.
  Mullan F, Mack C. A senator's quest to beat cancer. Health Aff (Millwood) 2000;19(4): 134-8.
• The case for more U.S medical students.
  Mullan F. The case for more U.S medical students. New Engl J Med 2000;343(3):213-17.
• Don Quixote, Machiavelli and Robin Hood: public health practice, past and present.
  Mullan F. Don Quixote, Machiavelli and Robin Hood: public health practice, past and present. Am J Public Health 2000;90(5):702-6.
• Looking back, looking forward: straight talk about U.S. medicine.
  Mullan F, Lundberg G. Looking back, looking forward: straight talk about U.S. medicine. Health Aff (Millwood) 2000;19(1):117-23.