Dr. Mecklenburg trained at Northwestern University Medical School, the University of Washington and the National Institutes of Health. He joined Virginia Mason in 1974, led the Section of Diabetes and Endocrinology for 14 years and is past Director of the Diabetes Clinical Research Unit. He served as Chief of Medicine and member of VM’s Health Systems Board for eight years. He is currently Medical Director for Virginia Mason’s Center for Health Care Solutions and initiated the Marketplace Collaborative Project in 2004.

Dr. Mecklenburg has served in the Food and Drug Administration, as a National Board member of the American Diabetes Association, as Chair of the Council on Health Care Delivery for the ADA, and Chair of the Washington State Health Care Initiative Committee on Benefits for Chronic Conditions. He has authored over 50 scientific articles including two studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine. He has studied the Toyota Production System in Japan and is a certified instructor in these methods. He serves as Co-Chair of the Quality Improvement Committee of the Puget Sound Health Care Alliance. His work with employers and health plans has been featured in the Wall Street Journal and Health Affairs.