Coretta Mallery Lankford

Coretta Mallery Lankford leads a national portfolio focused on patient-reported measurement, accessible research methods, and the use of patient evidence in healthcare and regulatory decision-making. Her current work includes leading the CMS MIDS Qualified Health Plan Enrollee Experience Survey System project (2022–present), which assesses consumers’ experiences with qualified health plans sold through the Health Insurance Marketplaces established under the Affordable Care Act. She is also principal investigator for an NIDILRR grant to develop and validate an English- and Spanish-language virtual method for administering the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers & Systems Home and Community-Based Services Survey (HCBS CAHPS) to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (2023–present). In addition, Dr. Lankford directs an FDA project examining how Patient-Reported Outcomes (PROs) and Patient Preference Information (PPI) have informed medical device submissions and regulatory decisions through systematic identification of PRO instruments and detailed case studies of PRO and PPI use.

Previously, Dr. Lankford led the development, testing, and credentialing of the HCBS CAHPS Survey, the first cross-disability survey of beneficiaries’ experiences receiving long-term services and supports. The survey enables comparisons across hundreds of state Medicaid HCBS programs serving diverse adult populations, including frail older adults, people with physical, developmental, or intellectual disabilities, people with acquired brain injury, and people with severe mental illness. She also led formative research for FDA toward a PROM or PerfO measure for ocular bioelectronic implants in patients with profound vision loss and validated a screening tool for opioid misuse among people with disabilities, overseeing instrument design, field-test planning, and data analysis. Trained as a mental health counselor, Dr. Lankford brings direct patient-care experience to her work in healthcare quality improvement and to her commitment to ensuring that patient perspectives shape measurement, research, and evaluation.