OU Health Names Physician Executive for Community Health and Primary Care Division

OU Health family medicine physician Rachel M. Franklin, M.D., FAAFP, has been named Physician Executive for the Community Health and Primary Care Division at OU Health. As part of the leadership team for OU Health, she will oversee the division’s patient care services and help expand healthcare access to people across Oklahoma.

Franklin will continue to serve as Vice Chair and Regents’ Professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at the OU College of Medicine. She has cared for patients and served on faculty for 15 years, and brings that experience and expertise to her new leadership role.

“We are excited to announce Dr. Franklin’s new position with OU Health,” said John Zubialde, M.D., Executive Dean of the OU College of Medicine. “Her skills in leadership and innovation are extensive. She is the ideal physician to lead this division.”

Franklin earned her medical degree and completed her family medicine residency at the OU College of Medicine. She also completed several types of fellowship training in leadership and operations at the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine; Lean/Six Sigma Fundamentals Certification Program; American Academy of Family Physicians Predoctoral Directors’ Institute; and Association of Departments of Family Medicine Senior Leaders Fellowship.

During her time at OU, Franklin has maintained a busy clinical practice, serving as medical director for the Family Medicine Center, while also teaching medical students and residents. She leads various initiatives in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine and for the campus as a whole. She developed a standardized workflow for chronic pain management in the Family Medicine Center and created a pain medicine curriculum for students and residents to identify the mechanisms of chronic pain and to tailor management of that pain to the mechanism, focusing first on non-pharmacologic treatments. She has developed numerous other teaching materials on family medicine topics.

She is a member of the implementation committee for EPIC, the new electronic health record for OU Health, as well as the OU Health IT Transformation Council. She is also a member of the COVID-19 Vaccine Outreach Committee. She has held leadership roles with the Oklahoma Academy of Family Physicians as well as Prevent Child Abuse Oklahoma. She has written a book, “Expecting Twins, Triplets, and More: A Doctor’s Guide to a Healthy and Happy Multiple Pregnancy.” She is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians.

As Physician Executive for the Community Health and Primary Care Division at OU Health, Franklin will oversee the division’s clinical care operations, including ambulatory and inpatient care services, telehealth, and clinically integrated networks. She will champion the delivery of high-quality healthcare and the values of consistency, safety and patient experience, and she will work with the enterprise executive team to expand primary care services.

“Dr. Franklin has a deep dedication to our comprehensive academic healthcare system, and her insight and leadership are invaluable,” said Ian Dunn, M.D., OU Health Interim Chief Physician Executive and Professor and Chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at OU College of Medicine. “She embraces the critical importance of community health and will guide our enterprise as we increase our ability to provide patients the medical home that is so foundational to their health and well-being.”

Franklin added: “In primary care, we address the majority of our patients’ healthcare needs, and we are advocates for them when they need other medical services. Because of that, we develop strong relationships with our patients that often span many years. Those tenets of medicine are so important, and I am excited to lead this division as we continue that patient-centered care and broaden our network to many more Oklahomans.”