Goutham Rao, MD is the Jack Medalle Professor and Chairman of the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals of Cleveland. He is also Chief Clinician Experience Officer for the University Hospitals Health System. Dr. Rao is board certified in both family medicine and obesity medicine and practices in both specialties.  He is an established health services researcher who is currently the PI of the  UH-ADVANCE (Advancing Diagnosis through Validated Analytics and Novel Collaborations for Excellence) Center - an AHRQ-funded diagnostic safety center of excellence.  He is or has led or served as a co-investigator of a number of other large research projects funded by AHRQ, PCORI, the NIH and the American Heart Association. Dr. Rao's focus is improving the diagnosis of common but serious conditions in primary care. He is the author of more than 100 publications, including four books. He is Editor-in-Chief of Family Practice: An International Journal (Oxford University Press). He has or does serve in a number of prominent national roles. He is a past chair of the American Heart Association's Obesity Committee and currently serves on the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.  Dr. Rao is a graduate of McGill University School of Medicine and completed his family medicine residency at the University of Toronto. He competed fellowship training at the University of Pittsburgh.