NEW YORK– Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing (PROP) has appointed Dr. Andrew Kolodny to succeed Dr. Jane Ballantyne as the organization’s next president. The appointment will become effective June 21, 2022.
“I am delighted to serve in this role again, especially at a time when the need for more cautious opioid prescribing in the United States and abroad is becoming increasingly clear to clinicians, policymakers and the public.”
Dr. Kolodny, founding member of PROP, served as the organization’s first president from 2010 until 2014. He is currently the Medical Director of Opioid Policy Research at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University and teaches about the opioid crisis at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. Dr. Kolodny previously served as Chief Medical Officer for Phoenix House, a national nonprofit addiction treatment agency and Chair of Psychiatry at Maimonides Medical Center in New York City. Dr. Kolodny has a long-standing interest in public health, beginning his career working for the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in the Office of the Executive Deputy Commissioner. He helped develop and implement programs to improve the health of New Yorkers and save lives, including city-wide buprenorphine programs, naloxone overdose prevention programs and ER-based screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment (SBIRT) programs for drug and alcohol misuse.
Dr. Jane Ballantyne, who served as president of PROP for the past 8 years, will remain in a leadership role, serving as the organization’s VP for Clinical Affairs. Dr. Ballantyne received her medical degree from the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine in London, England. She trained in anesthesiology at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, England, before moving to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston in 1990, where she directed the Center for Pain Medicine for 20 years. She currently serves as University of Washington Medicine Professor of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine. Dr. Ballantyne is also a widely published author and holds editorial positions for several leading journals and textbooks.
PROP is a several hundred-member education and advocacy group of both healthcare professionals and concerned citizens whose mission is to reduce morbidity and mortality resulting from opioid prescribing by promoting cautious, safe, and responsible opioid prescribing practices.
