09/19/2026
Congratulations to our Former resident Farrukh Merchant MD. Well deserved!!!
A MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Farrukh Merchant, MD
I am pleased to announce that Farrukh Merchant, MD, has been selected for the permanent position of Senior Medical Advisor for the Office of Primary Care. In this role, Dr. Merchant will serve as a technical expert and strategic medical advisor, reporting directly to me. He will provide expert clinical and operational guidance on all aspects of primary care delivery across VHA, ensuring alignment with national goals, strategic initiatives, policy requirements, and evidence‑based practice.
Dr. Merchant is a board-certified primary care physician and Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians with more than 20 years of service to the Veterans Health Administration. He is a graduate of the VA Leadership Development Institute and a recognized VA Geriatric Scholar. He has dedicated his career to advancing team-based and virtual primary care for vulnerable Veteran populations, beginning with 14 years of direct patient care before progressing through increasingly senior leadership roles.
Since 2019, he has served as Chief of Tele-Primary Care for VA Network 22's Clinical Resource Hub (CRH). Under his leadership, the CRH tele-primary care program has become one of the nation's leading virtual care services, pioneering a fully virtual care model and a network-wide same-day call-out program, and earning national recognition for its innovation in addressing primary care staffing shortages.
Dr. Merchant has also completed two details to the Office of Primary Care (OPC) under my direction as Senior Medical Advisor, supporting clinical operations and leading national workgroups. He is a steadfast advocate for primary care clinician workload efficiency and for reducing unnecessary administrative burden on providers. As a member of the OPC Consultative Team, Dr. Merchant has conducted consultative visits to sites nationwide, with recommendations that have contributed to shorter wait times for new patients. He has also represented OPC in several key specialty workgroups.
Dr. Merchant is a Southern Californian who joined the VA immediately after residency and counts many Veterans among best friends.