Allen Douma

Allen Douma, MD, of Ashland, Oregon, has been a member of the AARP Board of Directors since 2008.

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Life Perspectives

"I have a very eclectic background. I was initially trained as an engineer and oceanographer. As an oceanographer, I was starting to study dolphins when I decided to explore the biochemistry of the brain. Rather than doing research invasive on animals, including monkeys, I decided to go to medical school and focus more on psychiatry. 

"During medical school, it was clear to me that the medical delivery system itself was just not very efficient from an engineering perspective. 
"So I went into emergency room medicine, where I could work as a physician and still be actively involved in health policy. 

"After working for a short time as a rural physician, I was fortunate to be funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in their Clinical Scholars program. For two years, this allowed me to study communications and economics while continuing my clinical work. 

"Many of us learn in economics 101 that our economic free market depends on an informed consumer, without which any economic sector, including the health care delivery system, is much less effective and efficient.

"This brought me back to the need for an informed patient. So I co-founded the first chronic disease management company in the United States, which was based on empowering people to make informed decisions. I moved on to the The Travelers Insurance Co., where I was able to create the next generation product.

"We then thought that if this works for people who have typical medical issues and concerns, it might work even better for people who are disabled. So we created a support system for people with a disability that was also founded on empowering people to make informed decisions.

"While I was working for The Travelers, I met Elin Silveous, who is the smartest product manager and marketing person I ever met. 

"I was doing all these things as an engineer and a doctor, and she said, 'Well, maybe you ought to learn a little bit about marketing and communications.' She taught me that, and a lot of what I was doing improved markedly.

"We ended up getting married and planned to take an extended honeymoon. But before we were able to get on with our traveling, in 1992, Elin saw that the emerging Internet provided a great opportunity to positively change people's lives by empowering them through individualized information and support. So she started a company (I joined her shortly thereafter) that built many online communities, including America Online's Health Channel and many websites for various national health organizations. Very importantly, she was able to create communities that really were the forerunners of what we now call social media.

 "The way you present information is as important as the information itself. Historically, physicians were told that when we were dealing with our patients, we tell them 'This is the fact.' It was all about just transferring that fact to the person. End of story. 

"That's not the end of the story. A person needs to feel that they are equals in decision making about their health concerns. The important point is empowering the individual to ask questions, because their asking the right questions is just as important as my answering them."
Education

B.E.S. in engineering science, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore; degree in medicine, Medical College of Virginia, Richmond, Va.;  medical residency, Providence Medical Center, Portland, Ore.; fellowship in economics, George Washington University, Washington, D.C.

Expertise

Health policy, engineering, medicine, economics, communications, chronic disease management

Experience

Currently, chief executive officer (CEO), Empower LLC. Former assistant director, Oregon Department of Human Services; CEO of Health Responsibility Systems; medical director, Hartford Insurance Co.; medical director, The Travelers Insurance Co.; and director of health education, American Medical Association.

Volunteer Experience

Boards: Serves on AARP Board's Member and Social Impact Committee and as a trustee on the AARP Insurance Trust, member of the Board of Governors of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute.
Former member of the Oregon Executive Council for AARP, member of the Southern Oregon University Advisory, board member of the Oregon Health Care Quality Corporation, and former commissioner of the Ashland Planning Commission.

Honors

National Science Foundation scholarship; named a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation clinical scholar; named "Best in Breed" by America Online; appointed by Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber to the Health Council and by former Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski to the Health Policy Commission.

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