L.A. Care Promotes James Kyle, MD, to Medical Director for Quality, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Dr. James Kyle, MDL.A. Care Health Plan, the largest publicly operated health plan in the country, is pleased to announce the promotion of James Kyle, MD, to the new position of Medical Director for Quality, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Dr. Kyle joined L.A. Care as Medical Director for Quality Improvement in April of 2019, leading QI efforts in clinical quality, including health disparities, accreditation initiatives and member and provider surveys. He recently assumed his new title, but he has been leading the health plan’s enterprise-wide equity efforts since July 2020.

Last summer, when the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 in Black and Latino communities was becoming devastatingly clear, Dr. Kyle organized two COVID-19 Disparities Leadership Summits. He wanted to gather health care leaders from across Los Angeles County to strategize on how to address these disparities. He also led L.A. Care’s participation in LA vs Hate’s inaugural United Against Hate Week.

Dr. Kyle is spearheading an effort outlined in L.A. Care’s Statement of Principles on Social Justice and Systemic Racism. The statement calls for the formation of an Equity Council to focus on equity issues related to L.A. Care members, providers, employees, and vendors. Dr. Kyle is leading that council.

Dr. Kyle will continue to help lead the Quality Improvement Department as Chair of the Credentialing and Peer Review Committee and the Performance Improvement Collaborative and Physician Quality Committee, as he works to help reduce health care inequities among the under-resourced communities that L.A. Care serves.