Permanente Practice
As an integrated, multidisciplinary medical group that combines strong physician leadership, highly skilled clinicians and the most sophisticated technology, The Permanente Medical Group is at the heart of Kaiser Permanente Northern California’s mission to deliver high quality and affordable health care to our patients and communities.
Permanente physicians hail from top medical schools, residency programs and fellowships, with 21% receiving their training at Harvard University, Stanford University, or the University of California, San Francisco.
Our physicians also reflect the tremendous diversity of our patient population: approximately 55% of them are ethnically and culturally diverse, and more than half speak a language in addition to English.
At the core of our multispecialty group practice is a strong commitment to the physician-patient relationship: we help patients make informed decisions and take the right steps to maximize their total health through all stages of life—in mind, body and spirit.
Meet Members of our Executive Leadership Team
Richard Isaacs, MD, FACS
CEO and Executive Director
CEO and Executive Director Dr. Isaacs leads 9,000 physicians and 35,000 staff members caring for over 4.5 million Kaiser Permanente members in the states of California, Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia.
Sameer Awsare, MD
Associate Executive Director
Associate Executive Director In his role as associate executive director, Dr. Awsare oversees mental health, pharmacy services, risk-adjusted coding, revenue cycle, pain services, and outside medical services for The Permanente Medical Group (TPMG). He also leads the work for TPMG’s opioid initiative.
Kari Carlson, MD
Associate Executive Director
Associate Executive Director Along with her work in Northern California, Dr. Carlson has held national leadership roles at Kaiser Permanente, serving as co-chair of the inter-regional ob-gyn chiefs’ group and as the clinical lead for both the Digital Experience and the KP Connected Care, a new hybrid virtual prenatal care program
Yi-Fen (Irene) Chen, MD
Associate Executive Director
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).
Ellie Farahabadi, MD
Associate Executive Director
Dr. Farahabadi oversees the areas of Physician Human Resources, Physician Recruitment, and Physician Education and Development. She takes great satisfaction in leading efforts and developing programs that support physicians in clinical practice and also enhance their professional development throughout their careers at The Permanente Medical Group (TPMG).
Edward Lee, MD
Associate Executive Director
Dr. Lee was named associate executive director for The Permanente Medical Group (TPMG) in 2019 and has accountability for Information Technology (IT), which includes operational performance, technology integration, and innovation. He also serves as executive vice president for IT and chief information officer for The Permanente Federation.
Rich McCarthy, MDAssociate Executive Director for the Mid-Atlantic States
Dr. McCarthy is TPMG’s associate executive director with oversight for the Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group (MAPMG). In this role, Dr. McCarthy leads more than 1,800 physicians and staff members who deliver superior health care to nearly 800,000 Kaiser Permanente members in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
Brian Missett, MD
Associate Executive Director
In his role as associate executive director, Dr. Missett oversees The Permanente Medical Group’s (TPMG) medical subspecialty services, which includes cancer care services and cardiac care services.
Stephen Parodi, MD
Associate Executive Director
In his role as associate executive director, Dr. Parodi is responsible for hospital operations, inpatient quality, patient safety, care of complex and special needs populations, skilled nursing facilities, home health, hospice, and external communications.
Smita Rouillard, MD
Associate Executive Director
Dr. Rouillard was named associate executive director for The Permanente Medical Group (TPMG) in 2019. In this role, she has accountability for surgical services, perioperative medicine, physical medicine and rehabilitation, outpatient access, operating room access, anesthesia, clinical and surgical technology, and physician assistants.
Suketu Sanghvi, MD
Associate Executive Director
Dr. Sanghvi serves as TPMG’s liaison to Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, and to the large employers who purchase Kaiser Permanente coverage for their employees.
Kevin Yee, MD
Associate Executive Director
Dr. Yee was named associate executive director for The Permanente Medical Group in 2022, and in this role he oversees Adult and Family Medicine (AFM) for the medical group.
Karen Hall
Chief Legal Officer and
General Counsel
General Counsel
Karen Hall was named Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel for The Permanente Medical Group and the Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group in 2019. In this role, she oversees TPMG’s and MAPMG’s Office of the General Counsel and serves as a business and legal partner and trusted advisor to the Boards of Directors and executives.
Patricia West
Vice President of Financial Services
As vice president of Financial Services for The Permanente Medical Group, Inc., and Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group, Patricia West is responsible for managing TPMG’s and MAPMG’s financial affairs.