Yi-Fen (Irene) Chen, MD
Associate Executive Director
In her role as associate executive director for The Permanente Medical Group (TPMG), Dr. Chen has responsibility for TPMG’s nationally recognized clinical quality and population management work, technology integration, and research, which includes overseeing the TPMG Division of Research (DOR).
The Division of Research is one of the nation’s largest research facilities outside of a government or university setting and is home to more than 50 research scientists and 600 staff members who are involved in more than 250 ongoing research studies. DOR researchers are recognized for their scientific expertise worldwide and have contributed more than 3,000 scientific papers to medical and public health literature on a wide range of topics, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, substance abuse, mental health, maternal and child health, women’s health, drug safety, health care policy, and health care disparities.
Dr. Chen joined TPMG in 2001 and has held several leadership positions in the medical group while maintaining a clinical practice at Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara Medical Center, where she provides care for a diverse group of patients, including those who speak Mandarin, Taiwanese or Spanish. She was a module leader for several years, mentored new physicians, was involved in resident teaching and served as the assistant chief of Medicine.
More recently, Dr. Chen has worked with physician colleagues on efficiency training. She was one of the original six TPMG physician faculty members for the Pathway to KP HealthConnect Proficiency Program and served on the regional KP HealthConnect Physician Core Team between 2010 and 2015. She created the KP HealthConnect Quick Wins curriculum in 2014 and the technology training program for Medical Assistants and Physician Partners’ University.
She also served as the chief of Information Technology from 2011 to 2015 and oversaw the Physicians Helping Physicians Program at Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara. She received the Outstanding Achievement Award in 2011 at Santa Clara and the regional TPMG Cecil Cutting Leadership Award in 2015.
Dr. Chen received her medical degree from Indiana University and completed her residency in internal medicine at Northwestern University.
