Biography

John Spertus, M.D., M.P.H. is a cardiologist, the Lauer/Missouri Endowed Chair, and Professor of Medicine at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He is the founding director of UMKC’s Healthcare Institute for Innovations in Quality and serves as Clinical Director of Outcomes Research at Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute.

Dr. Spertus earned his medical degree from the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) and completed training in internal medicine, cardiology, and health services research at the University of Washington. He has served on national committees for the American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association, American Medical Association, National Quality Forum, Medicare, and UnitedHealthcare.

His research has been recognized with induction into the American Society of Clinical Investigation (2006) and the Association of University Cardiologists (2018), and he was named a Distinguished Scientist by the American Heart Association (AHA) in 2018. Thomson Reuters identified him as one of the world’s most influential scientists (2014, 2015) and listed him among its highly cited researchers from 2016-2025.

Dr. Spertus has authored more than 1,500 peer-reviewed publications (H-Index = 185) and holds 11 patents.

Research Summary

Dr. Spertus has dedicated his career to advancing the quality, equity, and patient-centeredness of healthcare. His research emphasizes methods for assessing patient outcomes, measuring healthcare quality, and applying information technology to guide clinical decisions through risk-prediction models. The goal of this work is to support safer, more cost-effective, evidence-based, and patient-centered care.

He is the developer of the Seattle Angina Questionnaire (SAQ) and the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ), which are now international standards for measuring symptoms, function, and quality of life in patients with coronary artery disease and heart failure. The KCCQ was the first patient-reported outcome measure to be qualified by the FDA for use in heart failure.

Dr. Spertus has helped design, analyze, and interpret numerous clinical trials, including ISCHEMIA and RECHARGE. While he collaborates with basic scientists to explore the prognostic role of genetics and biomarkers in cardiovascular outcomes, his primary focus lies at the intersection of patient care and implementation research.

Since arriving in Kansas City, he has continuously supported his research program through extramural funding. His group also serves as an analytic center for the American College of Cardiology’s National Cardiovascular Data Registry (NCDR) and the American Heart’s Association’s Get With The Guidelines (GWTG).