Durado Brooks, MD, MPH

1998-1999

Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Screening Business Unit, Exact Sciences, Madison, WI; Dallas, TX

Dr. Durado Brooks is the Associate Chief Medical Officer for the Screening Business Unit of Exact Sciences Corporation, a position he assumed in October 2020.  In this role he: provides medical insights to product discovery, development; works across multidisciplinary teams within the organization to contribute to the design, conduct, and reporting of innovative research; serves as liaison for scientifically driven engagements.  Dr. Brooks also works closely with Exact Sciences’ Health Equity Team on strategic outreach and collaboration designed to increase cancer screening and improve outcomes in vulnerable populations.

Prior to joining Exact Sciences Dr. Brooks spent 20 years with the American Cancer Society’s national headquarters.  During his tenure at ACS Dr. Brooks served in a variety of positions with steadily increasing areas of responsibility, culminating in the role of Vice President of Prevention and Early Detection.  Throughout his ACS career Dr. Brooks worked to increase access to high quality prevention and screening and to decrease cancer-related inequities through the design, implementation and evaluation of cancer prevention and early detection programs at the national, state and local levels.

A graduate of the Ohio State University and the Wright State University School of Medicine, Dr. Brooks completed his internal medicine residency and chief residency at Wright State’s Affiliated Hospitals in Dayton, Ohio, and a fellowship in General Internal Medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.  He provided primary care and served as medical director for community health centers in Dayton and in the Community Oriented Primary Care Program at Parkland Memorial Hospital in his current hometown of Dallas, Texas. 

After completing the Commonwealth Fund/Harvard University Fellowship in 1999 he served as a Senior Health Policy Intern in the Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for one year, prior to joining ACS. 

Dr. Brooks was a 2015 recipient of the Prevent Cancer Foundation’s Laurel Award for National Leadership in Cancer Prevention and Early Detection.

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2001

Community Health Centers and Managed Care: Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract:

The growth of managed medical care has forever changed the face of the U.S. healthcare system.  While for many years managed care was largely confined to the commercially insured population, in the past decade there has been rapid growth in the enrollment of Medicaid-eligible individuals into managed care plans.  While a multitude of studies have been performed to assess the impact of managed medical care in the private arena, relatively little evaluative work has been done with regard to the enrolled Medicaid population.  Even less research has been done to assess the consequences of Medicaid managed care on the traditional providers of service for these populations.

During the past three decades a network of community health centers has developed in our country to provide medical care to millions of the nation's low income and uninsured.  By virtue of their geographic location and the populations that they serve, many of these centers qualify for federal grants and enhanced reimbursement through Medicaid and Medicare.  Such centers are designated Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs).  There are approximately 60 FQHCs located in the state of Texas, and these are supported by HRSA's Dallas regional field office.

Texas initiated its first Medicaid managed care pilot program in 1993.  Known as the STAR program (State of Texas Access Reform), Medicaid managed care is in the midst of a state-wide phase in, due to be completed in 2002.  At the present time approximately 400 thousand of the state's estimated 1.5 million Medicaid eligible citizens are enrolled in managed Medicaid.

For a number of reasons, FQHCs have not traditionally been "partners" in managed care programs.  With the pronounced shift of one of their core constituencies into these new models it has become imperative that FQHCs be included on managed care panels. These new relationships require significant adjustment in the processes of care and the financial management of these health centers.

Project Design:

There were 2 phases of data collection for this project:

1) Review of grant renewal and continuation applications (and the associated financial statements) of the FQHCs located in each region of Texas that has implemented the STAR program.

2) Telephone survey of the directors of these FQHCs (or their designee) regarding their experiences in adapting their centers to the managed care environment.

Results:

Medicaid managed care, along with other concurrent changes in the health care environment, has had significant impact on both financial and clinical aspects of Community Health Centers in Texas.  This study identified various problems common to health centers during and after the transition to managed care.  Benefits of managed care involvement were also identified.  A number of recommendations are made regarding useful groundwork for health centers to undertake in order to maximize their chances of competing successfully in a managed care environment.

Sponsoring Agencies:

U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) Dallas Regional Field Office

The opportunity to hold in-depth, candid conversations with high-level policymakers is a unique and valuable aspect of the fellowship. In addition, the rapidly growing network of former fellows, many of whom have moved into important roles in the pubic and private sectors, has already proven to be a tremendous resource.