The UNC Department of Urology has named Dr. David Friedlander as its inaugural Director of Health Services Research. This newly established role reflects a growing recognition across academic medicine that improving how care is delivered is just as critical as the treatments themselves.
Health services research focuses on understanding care in real-world settings – examining outcomes, access, efficiency, and cost – to identify meaningful opportunities for improvement. In urology, this work has the potential to shape not only individual patient experiences, but broader systems of care across North Carolina and beyond.
Building on a Foundation of Impact
Since joining UNC Urology, Dr. Friedlander has emerged as a leader at the intersection of clinical care, health policy, and outcomes research. His work consistently reflects a central question: how can we deliver better care – not just new care?
His research portfolio has focused on understanding variation in surgical care and identifying pathways that improve outcomes while reducing unnecessary costs. This work has been supported by competitive national funding, including an AHRQ K08 Career Development Award, which supports his efforts to develop data-driven approaches to improving care for patients with renal colic and other urologic conditions.
At the national level, Dr. Friedlander has contributed to shaping how quality is measured and understood in urology. As a co-author of the American Urological Association’s healthcare performance measurement primer, he has helped define frameworks that guide quality improvement efforts across the field.
Within UNC, his leadership has already translated into tangible improvements in patient care. As Co-Director of the department’s Quality Improvement program, he has helped implement data-driven initiatives that enhance efficiency, reduce variation, and improve clinical workflows – efforts that continue to influence care delivery across the health system.
In parallel, Dr. Friedlander has deepened his engagement with system-level improvement efforts across UNC Health. A former UNC Institute for Healthcare Quality Improvement (IHQI) Improvement Scholar, he joined the IHQI Faculty in FY2026, where he collaborates with quality teams across the health system and helps clinicians navigate improvement resources, including coaching and advanced analytics.
Together, these efforts have positioned Dr. Friedlander as a leading voice in the movement toward value-based, patient-centered urologic care.
A Vision for Health Services Research at UNC Urology
In his new role, Dr. Friedlander will lead the development of a comprehensive health services research program within the Department of Urology – one designed to integrate research directly into clinical practice and drive measurable improvements in care delivery.
His vision is grounded in three core pillars:
- Improving Health System Performance: Advancing research that evaluates how urologic care is delivered across the healthcare system, with a focus on identifying opportunities to improve outcomes, efficiency, and value.
- Clinical Data Science and Decision Support: Leveraging large-scale clinical data, advanced analytics, and emerging technologies to better understand patient journeys and support clinical decision-making through data-informed tools embedded in practice.
- Training, Collaboration, and Research Infrastructure: Building a multidisciplinary ecosystem that connects clinicians, data scientists, and health services researchers – both within UNC and across partner institutions – to expand research capacity and create new opportunities for trainees and faculty.
This vision builds on existing collaborations across UNC, including partnerships with the NC TraCS Data Science Lab and the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, as well as external collaborations with experts in industrial and systems engineering. By strengthening these connections, the program aims to accelerate innovation while ensuring that research remains grounded in real-world clinical needs.
Advancing the Future of Urologic Care
Dr. Friedlander’s appointment represents more than the creation of a new leadership role – it signals a continued evolution in how UNC Urology approaches its mission.
By investing in health services research, the department is positioning itself to better understand the full continuum of care: from diagnosis to treatment to long-term outcomes. This work will help identify where care can be improved, where disparities can be addressed, and where new models of delivery can better serve patients.