Alan Balch, PhD

Patient Advocate Foundation and the National Patient Advocate Foundation

Titles and Affiliations: 

  • Chief Executive Officer, Patient Advocate Foundation and the National Patient Advocate Foundation

Dr. Balch has more than 15 years of executive leadership in the non-profit sector with an emphasis on consensus-building and collaboration. He became the CEO of both PAF and NPAF in 2013. From 2006-2013, he served as Vice President of the Preventive Health Partnership — a national health promotion collaboration between the American Cancer Society, American Diabetes Association, and American Heart Association. Prior to his work with the Preventive Health Partnership, Dr. Balch was the Executive Director of Friends of Cancer Research.

Dr. Balch volunteers as a board member for the Council for Affordable Health Coverage (CAHC), Innovation and Value Initiative (IVI), Pharmacy Quality Alliance (PQA), Specialty Pharmacy Certification Board (SPCB)) and the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT). Dr. Balch has served on the Executive Board of Patient Advocate Foundation and National Patient Advocate Foundation since 2007. From 2006 to 2016, Dr. Balch served on the board of Fight Colorectal Cancer including several years as Vice Chair.

Dr. Balch also serves on numerous advisory boards and committees including:

  • National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) Consumer Advisory Council
  • Duke-Margolis Value-Based Payment Advisory Board
  • National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN)’s Quality and Outcomes Committee
  • Hutchinson Institute for Cancer Outcomes Research (HICOR) Advisory Boar
  • Core Quality Measure Collaborative (CQMC) Steering Committe
  • Journal of Clinical Pathways Editorial Advisory Board and contributing editor
  • Payment and Policy subcommittee for the National Quality Forum (NQF) Task Force: Driving Value through the Next Generation of Quality
  • Finance Committee and the Membership Committee for the National Health Council (NHC)
  • Core member of the International Headache Society (IHS) Global Patient Advocacy Coalition
  • Working group member for the National Academies of Medicine’s Action Collaborative on Clinician Well-Being and Resilience

He earned his PhD in 2003 from the University of California, his master’s degree in 1997 from the University of Texas; and his bachelor’s degree (cum laude) in 1994 from Trinity University in San Antonio.