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Pamela Johnson

Pamela Johnson, MD

Diagnostic Radiology

Highlights

Languages

  • English

In-Network Plans

View All Accepted Plans (12)

Gender

Female

Johns Hopkins Affiliations:

  • Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Faculty

About Pamela Johnson

Professional Titles

  • Vice President of Care Transformation, Johns Hopkins Health System
  • Sheldon B. Bearman, MD, Professorship in Radiology

Primary Academic Title

Professor of Radiology and Radiological Science

Background

Dr. Pamela T. Johnson, FACR is the Sheldon B. Bearman, M.D. Endowed Professor in the Johns Hopkins Medicine Department of Radiology, where she holds joint appointments in Oncology and Urology. Her area of clinical expertise is Body CT, and her dedication to patients and providers was recognized with the 2024 Best Consulting Physician Award from the Johns Hopkins Hospital. 

A passionate advocate for patient-center, high value health care, Dr. Johnson also serves as the Vice President of Care Transformation for the Johns Hopkins Health System, appointed in 2020. In concert with the leadership team of JHHS and in collaboration with key internal partners, the Office of Care Transformation oversees a portfolio of performance improvement programs across six hospitals, the Johns Hopkins Community Practice and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Ambulatory Practice, designed to optimize the effectiveness, efficiency, consistency and affordability care delivered across our health system. The health system care transformation mission is aligned with multiple arms of the Johns Hopkins Medicine Strategic Priorities: Clinical Excellence and Regional Expansion, Organizational Culture and Workforce Development, Operational and Financial Optimization. This work has been recognized through the Johns Hopkins Hospital 2017 and 2022 Innovations in Clinical Care awards and the Society of Hospital Medicine 2018 Excellence in Quality Improvement Teamwork award. In 2019, the Center for Innovative Medicine selected Dr. Johnson as the Stanley Levenson Scholar with a 5 year grant to support the high value initiative, and she was named one of Becker's Healthcare Chief Transformation Officers to Know in 2023 and 2024.

In 2019, Dr. Johnson established the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine as one of 22 provider-led entities in the US approved by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to develop appropriate use criteria (AUC) for the Protecting Access to Medicare Act advanced imaging regulation. Pamela orchestrated large teams of clinicians from across the health system to design evidence-based diagnostic guidelines in the electronic medical record that optimize resource utilization and patient outcomes, while fulfilling CMS’ requirements for advanced imaging clinical decision support.

Nationally, she is the founder and co-director of the High Value Practice Alliance (www.hvpaa.org), a consortium of medical centers collaborating on high value care quality improvement, research and education. Between 2017 and 2024, the alliance organized a national conference to disseminate successful value improvement initiatives, which was supported by 2 consecutive AHRQ grants,  facilitated sharing of 1000 abstracts, and established a national network of high value care champions. Dr. Johnson is the former chair of the American College of Radiology Choosing Wisely® Committee and member of the Radiological Society of North America Committee on Government Relations.

Dr. Johnson graduated Cum Laude from Harvard University in 1987 and earned her medical degree as a member of AOA from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA in 1991. She completed her residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital, where she was elected Chief Resident and performed a fellowship in ultrasound, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic image resonance imaging (MRI) at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. In 2019, she became a fellow of the American College of Radiology. 

 

X Profile

Recent News Articles and Media Coverage

Additional Academic Titles

Joint Appointment in Urology, Professor of Oncology

Research Interests

  • Body CT  protocol design to optimize multidetector row CT image quality
  • Body CT interpretative performance improvement
  • Clinical performance improvement to optimize longitudinal patient outcomes and cost-effectiveness. 

PubMed - Publications

Selected Publications

  • Johnson PT, Alvin MD, Ziegelstein RC. Transitioning to a High Value Health Care Model: Academic Accountability. Acad Med. 2017 Nov 1. doi:10.1097/ACM.0000000000002045. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 29095705.

  • Johnson PT, Badger D, Horton KM, Fishman EK. Mitigating Misdiagnosis in Radiology: Educational CT CME Case Conference for Peer Review and Interpretative Improvement. J Am Coll Radiol. 2016 Oct;13(10):1244-1246. doi:10.1016/j.jacr.2016.05.015. Epub 2016 Jul 27. PubMed PMID: 27474418.

  • Johnson PT, Fishman EK. Enhancing Image Quality in the Era of Radiation Dose Reduction: Postprocessing Techniques for Body CT. J Am Coll Radiol. 2018 Mar;15(3Pt A):486-488. doi: 10.1016/j.jacr.2017.11.001. Epub 2018 Jan 2. PubMed PMID:29305078

  • Johnson PT, Mahesh M, Fishman EK. Image Wisely and Choosing Wisely: Importance of Adult Body CT Protocol Design for Patient Safety, Exam Quality, and Diagnostic Efficacy. J Am Coll Radiol. 2015 Nov;12(11):1185-90. doi:10.1016/j.jacr.2015.02.021. Epub 2015 Apr 16. Review. PubMed PMID: 25892227.

  • Johnson PT, Pahwa AK, Feldman LS, Ziegelstein RC, Hellmann DB. Advancing High-Value Health Care: A New AJM Column Dedicated to Cost-Conscious Care Quality Improvement. Am J Med. 2017 Jun;130(6):619-621. doi:10.1016/j.amjmed.2016.12.018. Epub 2017 Jan 14. PubMed PMID: 28093189.

  • Alvin MD, Horton KM, Johnson PT. Training Radiology Residents to be Stewards in Healthcare Value. Acad Radiol. 2017 Jun;24(6):755-756. doi:10.1016/j.acra.2016.10.016. Epub 2017 Feb 24. PubMed PMID: 28238603.

  • Expert Panels on Vascular Imaging and Gastrointestinal Imaging:, Singh-Bhinder N, Kim DH, Holly BP, Johnson PT, Hanley M, Carucci LR, Cash BD, Chandra A, Gage KL, Lambert DL, Levy AD, Oliva IB, Peterson CM, Strax R, Rybicki FJ, Dill KE. ACR Appropriateness Criteria(®) Nonvariceal Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding. J Am Coll Radiol. 2017 May;14(5S):S177-S188. doi: 10.1016/j.jacr.2017.02.038. PubMed PMID: 28473074.

  • Jensen J, Lin T, Fishman EK, Johnson PT. Pulmonary CTA in sickle cell patients: quantitative assessment of enhancement quality. Emerg Radiol. 2017 Dec;24(6):667-674. doi: 10.1007/s10140-017-1541-3. Epub 2017 Aug 11. PubMed PMID:28801805.

  • Rowe SP, Rowe KH, Hill P, Johnson PT. Challenges in Quality Improvement: Appropriate Utilization of Computed Tomography Angiograms for Evaluation of Pulmonary Embolism. Am J Med. 2017 Jun;130(6):652-656. doi:10.1016/j.amjmed.2017.01.019. Epub 2017 Feb 10. PubMed PMID: 28192088.

  • Trakhtenbroit M, Abdollahian D, Horton KM, Johnson PT. Choosing Wisely and Imaging 3.0 Professional Development: Radiology Resident Consultant Service. J Am Coll Radiol. 2016 Jun;13(6):730-2. doi: 10.1016/j.jacr.2016.02.016. Epub 2016 Apr 19. PubMed PMID: 27106487.

Honors

  • 49 Chief Transformation Officers to Know, Becker's Health Care, 8/24/23
  • Excellence in Teamwork in Quality Improvement, Society of Hospital Medicine, 2/7/18
  • Innovations in Clinical Care Award for High Value Care Committee, Johns Hopkins Hospital, 11/7/17
  • Most Effective Radiology Educator Award, Aunt Minnie, 10/26/16
  • Best Radiologist Training Program, Aunt Minnie, 10/21/15
  • Radiology Editors Award for Distinction in reviewing, 1/1/07
  • Radiology Editors Award for Distinction in reviewing, 1/1/02
  • Radiology Editors Award for Distinction in reviewing, 1/1/99
  • Radiology Editors Award for Distinction in reviewing, 1/1/98
  • Homar Branch Award for outstanding fellow, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Ultrasound/CT/MRI Fellowship, 1/1/97
  • Radiology Editors Award for Distinction in reviewing, 1/1/97
  • Chief Resident, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Radiology Residency, 1/1/95
  • Outstanding Intern Award, Presbyterian Medical Center, Internal Medicine Internship, 1/1/92
  • AOA, Elected in Junior Year, Jefferson Medical College, 1/1/90

Memberships

  • American College of Radiology
  • Association of University Radiologists
  • Radiologic Society of North America

Professional Activities

  • Department of Radiology, Vice Chair of Quality, Safety and Value, 7/1/17 - 6/30/24
  • Johns Hopkins Health System, Vice President of Care Transformation, 7/1/20
  • Johns Hopkins Health System High Value Care Committee, Physician Lead, 3/1/16 - 6/30/22

Locations

  1. The Johns Hopkins Hospital
    • 600 North Wolfe Street, JHOC 4223 Radiology, Baltimore, MD 21287
    • Get Directions

Expertise

Education

  • Fellowship: Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals, Ultrasound, 1997
  • Residency: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Radiology, 1996
  • Medical Education: Sidney Kimmel Medical College, MD, 1991

Board Certifications

  • Diagnostic Radiology: American Board of Radiology, 1996

Insurance

Search plans
  • Aetna
  • CareFirst
  • Cigna
  • First Health
  • Geisinger Health Plan
  • HealthSmart/Accel
  • Johns Hopkins Health Plans
  • MultiPlan
  • Pennsylvania's Preferred Health Networks (PPHN)
  • Point Comfort Underwriters
  • Private Healthcare Systems (PHCS)
  • Veteran Affairs Community Care Network (Optum-VACCN)