Dr. Mark L Diana

Dr. Diana is the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Programs at the Usha Kundu, MD College of Health and a Professor in the Department of Health Sciences and Administration at the University of West Florida (UWF) in Pensacola, Florida. Previously, he was a Professor in the Health Policy and Management Department at Tulane University’s School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine for 17 years. He has over 40 years of experience in the U.S. healthcare system and earned his PhD and Master of Science in Information Systems from Virginia Commonwealth University, as well as an MBA with a Graduate Certificate in Health Care Management from Shenandoah University. Dr. Diana’s research focuses on the relationship between health information systems, organizational interventions, and outcomes such as patient safety, quality, financial performance, and efficiency. Much of his work has centered on hospitals, but he has also studied new care delivery models like Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) and Patient-Centered Medical Homes, as well as Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. He has published over 40 peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and technical reports and presented at conferences nationwide. Dr. Diana has led numerous funded evaluation projects, including assessments of Medicaid expansion, health information exchanges, electronic health records, and the Healthy Louisiana Opioid Use Disorder/Substance Use Disorder Section 1115 Medicaid waiver. He has collaborated with organizations like CMS, USAID, and the Louisiana Public Health Institute, securing grants and producing key reports to advance health information technology and quality initiatives. At UWF, Dr. Diana focuses on establishing the Wright Family Institute for Global and Population Health, enhancing research across the College of Health, and strengthening the College’s graduate programs.