
Alex Fiks, MD, MSCE
Areas of expertise: General pediatrics
Locations: Main Building, Karabots Pediatric Primary Care Center, West Philadelphia
About Alex Fiks, MD, MSCE
Dr. Fiks is a primary care pediatrician, a Professor of Pediatrics, and holds a Distinguished Endowed Chair in the Department of Pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Board certified in clinical informatics, Dr. Fiks’ research is aimed at improving outcomes for ambulatory pediatric patients through primary care practice-based research with a focus on improving health and healthcare decision-making through health information technology.
To achieve these goals, much of Dr. Fiks’ research has focused on fostering shared decision making between clinicians and families, often in the setting of behavioral health conditions. He is also especially interested in how electronic health record data may best be used to improve primary care, medication use and child health more broadly. With the American Academy of Pediatrics Pediatric Research in Office Settings Network, which he directs, Dr. Fiks has overseen the creation of the Collaborative Electronic Reporting for Comparative Effectiveness Research (CER2), an electronic health record database designed to support pharmacoepidemiologic and other comparative effectiveness studies that currently includes >1.2 million US children from across multiple health systems.
Dr. Fiks is also the medical director for the Pediatric Research Consortium (PeRC), CHOP's practice-based research network, director of Clinical Futures, a CHOP Research Institute Center of Emphasis, a founding member of the hospital’s Department of Biomedical and Health Informatics, and faculty in PolicyLab. He also directs the Possibilities Project, a CHOP-based effort focused on primary care practice innovation and transformation.
An elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, Dr. Fiks’ human papillomavirus vaccine intervention research was awarded the best practice-based study of immunization delivery by the US Department of Health and Human Services and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (2013) and was designated a National Cancer Institute Research-Tested Invention Program (2017). Dr. Fiks received a national award for mentorship from the Academic Pediatric Association (2012) and received the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Samuel Martin Health Evaluation Sciences Research Award in 2023. With ongoing studies and innovation projects involving hundreds of thousands of children, Dr. Fiks’ research regularly informs the primary care of children across the United States.
Titles
Distinguished Endowed Chair, Department of Pediatrics
Professor of Pediatrics, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
Director, Clinical Futures
Certifications
Clinical Informatics – American Board of Pathology
Pediatrics – American Board of Pediatrics
Leadership and Memberships
Memberships in Professional Organizations
American Academy of Pediatrics
- Director, Pediatric Research in Office Settings (PROS)
Education & training
Medical Degree
Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, Mass.
Publications
Publications
Fiks AG, Gafen A, Hughes CC, Hunter KF, Barg FK. Using freelisting to understand shared decision making in ADHD: Parents' and pediatricians' perspectives. Patient Educ Couns. 2010 Aug 24. [Epub ahead of print]
Fiks AG, Leslie LK. Partnership in the Treatment of Childhood Mental Health Problems: A Pediatric Perspective. School Ment Health. 2010 Jun 1;2(2):93-101.
Bell LM, Grundmeier R, Localio R, Zorc J, Fiks AG, Zhang X, Stephens TB, Swietlik M, Guevara JP. Electronic health record-based decision support to improve asthma care: a cluster-randomized trial. Pediatrics. 2010 Apr;125(4):e770-7. Epub 2010 Mar 15.
Pati S, Feemster KA, Mohamad Z, Fiks A, Grundmeier R, Cnaan A. Maternal Health Literacy and Late Initiation of Immunizations Among an Inner-City Birth Cohort. Matern Child Health J. 2010 Feb 24. [Epub ahead of print]
Fiks AG, Localio AR, Alessandrini EA, Asch DA, Guevara JP. Shared decision-making in pediatrics: a national perspective. Pediatrics. 2010 Aug;126(2):306-14. Epub 2010 Jul 12.