29: Robert Goldberg: Myositis Association Executive Director and Health Leader

Robert Goldberg is Executive Director of The Myositis Association, an organization with headquarters in Alexandria, VA where he has served in that position for the past 11 years. Prior to the Myositis Association, he was Vice President of the National Health Council, an association consisting of 115 diverse national health organizations. His involvement in the health field includes serving as Assistant Director for Patient Registration & Financial Services at Fairfax Hospital in Virginia, a 600+ bed Level I trauma center that is part of the INOVA Health System. Another position in the hospital domain occurred when he was the Director, Admitting/Patient Financial Admissions Office at the George Washington University Medical Center, a 500-bed teaching hospital in Washington, DC. His health policy experience includes serving in the office of U.S. Senator Richard Schweiker where he was director of the Senator’s district office in Pittsburgh for two years and Staff Assistant in the Senator’s Washington office for two more years. His degrees are from Michigan State University and The George Washington University. In this interview, Robert discusses myositis and the challenges to both patients and as an organization, as well as defensive medicine, the shift to managed care, and the importance of prevention.