PIAA Selects P. Divya Parikh to Serve As New Director of Loss Prevention and Research

The Physician Insurers Association of America (PIAA), a national association of healthcare provider-owned and/or -operated medical professional liability insurance companies, today announced that P. Divya Parikh will be replacing Lori Bartholomew Smarr as its Director of Loss Prevention and Research. Ms. Smarr recently retired after serving the Association for more than 14 years.

Ms. Parikh comes to the PIAA with extensive experience in the research and health fields, having served most recently as the Clinical Research Coordinator and Interim Intramural Training Director at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). During her tenure at NIH, she served its National Institute of Nursing Research and National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research divisions. At the PIAA, Ms. Parikh will lead the Association’s efforts to advance patient safety through key studies, and oversee the PIAA Data Sharing Project.

“We are very pleased to have Divya join the PIAA staff,” said Lawrence E. Smarr, president of the PIAA. “Her extensive background in the research and health fields will ensure the Association remains at the forefront of industry research and patient safety initiatives.”

Ms. Parikh holds a Master of Public Health Degree from Johns Hopkins University and earned double Bachelor of Science Degrees in Zoology and Psychology from the University of Maryland.

The PIAA is a national association of physician/provider-owned and/or -operated medical liability insurance companies, which insure more than 60 percent of America’s private practicing physicians as well as dentists, hospitals, and other healthcare practitioners.