Kentucky 45th in the
Nation for Healthcare

Source The Commonwealth Fund

Kevin Kavanagh, MD, MS - Resume

Kevin T. Kavanagh, MD, MS completed a residency in Otolaryngology (Ear, Nose and Throat) in 1983 at the University of Iowa. He earned a Master’s Degree in 1983 and in 1983 was awarded a State Recognition Award from the Lions Clubs of Iowa for his work with the hearing impaired. He was board certified in Otolaryngology in 1983.
From 1983 to 1992, Dr Kavanagh was on the faculty at the University of Tennessee, Memphis.

He also served as consultant at St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. In addition, he developed a tristate program funded by Maternal and Child Health for Pediatric Indigent Care Clinics in Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi (MCJ-473808). The Grant also produced an early version of electronic medical records and organized yearly multi-state conferences on healthcare for the poor and uninsured.

Dr Kavanagh has also served on a Federal Maternal and Child Health Grant Review Board and has also consulted for NASA regarding medical databases. He has published over 40 papers in peer review journals and has served as the Software Review and Computer Applications Editor for The Annals of Otology, Rhinology and Laryngology.
Dr Kavanagh has also written over 20 Op-Ed in major State Newspapers on Healthcare Policy. http://www.healthwatchusa.org/HWUSA-Publications/HW-USA-editorials.htm  

In 1992, Dr Kavanagh entered private practice in Somerset, KY. Somerset, is located in Southeastern Kentucky in the Appalachian region. He has been active in tobacco cessation and community education. One of his projects was the encouragement of restaurants in Somerset, KY to go smoke free during the “Great American Smoke Out.” This project had a 70% participation rate in Somerset, KY. Dr Kavanagh was awarded a State Recognition Award by the American Cancer Society in 1997 for his tobacco advocacy. In 2002, Dr Kavanagh launched a tobacco education website which is receiving over 10,000 user visits per month.

Other activities include the publishing of an extensive patient and physician medical website “ENT USA” and the development of the first online accredited CME course for Ear, Nose and Throat Physicians. The CME course was developed in conjunction with the University of Kentucky. In 2008, Dr Kavanagh launched the online website “World Articles in Ear, Nose and Throat”, an online ENT Journal which combines manuscripts with demonstration videos, creating a true multimedia teaching environment for presentation of clinical and research articles. www.waent.org

Dr Kavanagh founded Health Watch USA (HW USA) to promote transparency and patient advocacy www.healthwatchusa.org. HW USA received certification as a “Community Leader” for healthcare transparency by the US Dept of Health and Human Services – Aug. 22, 2007. In 2010, Health Watch USA became a member of the National Quality Forum.  HW USA, organizes and hosts a yearly educational conference on healthcare transparency and patient advocacy. Keynote speakers have included former US Surgeon General, Dr Joycelyn Elders; Dr Marvin Feit, Editor of the Journal of Social Work in Pubic Health; Dr Nancy Wilson, Joint Senior Advisor to AHRQ and to the Office of the Secretary and Dr Regina Herzlinger, Chair of Harvard Business School and bestselling author of “Who Killed Health Care?”.

HW USA’s main policy initiative is mandatory public reporting of healthcare acquired infections. Dr. Kavanagh has helped author proposed legislation for the Kentucky House and Senate on this issue. He has also given multiple testimonies to the Kentucky legislature on this issue.  http://www.healthwatchusa.org/HWUSA-Presentations-Testimony/HWUSA-Testimony.htm 

Another HW USA policy initiative was the initiation and then partnering with Consumer Union to successfully advocate and enact Federal Legislation to require Medicaid to adopt Medicare regulations on the non-payment of Hospital Acquired Conditions.

HW USA has also been active in governance issues as they relate to accountable care organizations and healthcare integration. 

HW USA initiatives can be viewed at http://www.healthwatchusa.org/HWUSA-Initiatives/HWUSA-Initiatives.htm 

Dr Kavanagh, has had a wide range of practice experience serving rural and impoverished populations, ranging from Inner City Memphis to the Mississippi Delta to Appalachia. He also has a 15 year old niece who is three years status post cardiac transplant.