John Barrett, MD, has been named chair of the Department of Family & Preventive Medicine (DFPM) for University of Utah Health, effective March 17, 2025. Barrett has been serving as interim chair since January 2024, managing the affairs and core administrative responsibilities of DFPM.
“Dr. Barrett has demonstrated exceptional leadership in unifying the DFPM and advancing its mission,” said Sam Finlayson, MD, interim dean of the Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine at the University of Utah. “His ability to foster collaboration, expand clinical reach, and drive meaningful improvements in patient-centered care and population health has positioned the department well for continued success. I am confident that DFPM will further its impact in research, education, and value-driven health care under his expert leadership.”
Barrett is a family medicine physician who served as the executive medical director of the Community Physician Group for six years. Under his leadership, the physician group grew to provide care for 500,000 patients annually, opened urgent care clinics across nine community health centers, collaborated with system leaders to launch virtual primary and urgent care platforms, and led initial Project CORE (Coordinating Optimal Referral Experiences) efforts with the AAMC to improve system-wide communications between primary care and specialty care via enhanced referrals and eConsults.
Barrett graduated medical school from the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and completed his residency training at St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Junction, Colorado. He has practiced in various settings for more than 30 years, working extensively with rural populations throughout the course of his career. He is the recipient of multiple awards, including twice receiving the United States Public Health Service Achievement Medal and the Utah Physician Assistant Association “Physician of the Year” in 2019. He has served as CMO Council Chair for the American Medical Group Association since 2020. Most recently, John was elected to the Board of Directors of the American Medical Group Association, a nationally leading medical group organization that strives to improve our health care system for the good of patients and clinicians.
“I’m so grateful to be able to continue serving in this position,” Barrett said. “Our journey in merging the community practices into what was already a great department continues. I credit our division chiefs, Dr. Bernadette Kiraly and Dr. Jim VanDerslice, with making this transition go well. Dr. Matt Johnson brought his clinical operations expertise to DFPM with great success. My administrative partner, Holly Bynum, has been a great colleague and mentor, and Dr. Joe Stanford has been an excellent teacher regarding research. I’m looking forward to what’s next—we have incredible teams to lead us into the future of a thriving academic and clinical mission!”