A native of Buffalo, NY, Dr. Joshua Lynch is a leader and an expert in the areas of emergency medicine and treatment of opioid use disorder.
He completed his undergraduate studies at the University at Buffalo graduating with a BS in Psychology. Following his undergraduate studies at the University at Buffalo, Dr. Lynch attended the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine as part of the inaugural class at the Bradenton, Florida campus.
At LECOM he played a key role in establishing the brand-new medical school within the community. He completed an emergency medicine residency at the University at Buffalo, where he served as chief resident his final year. He serves as a Trustee on the Board of Education for Clarence Central Schools and a Board Member of United Way of Buffalo & Erie County. Dr. Lynch is passionate about health and physical fitness, and enjoys competing in triathlons and endurance races. In fact, he completed a 70.3-mile IronMan triathlon in 2019.
Awards and Honors:
Dr. Lynch is a leader and senior physician with UB|MD Emergency Medicine. He holds several academic appointments serving as Associate Professor of Addiction and Emergency Medicine at the University at Buffalo and Adjunct Professor at the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine. He works clinically in the emergency departments at Kaleida Health and Erie County Medical Center. He is actively involved in teaching medical students, EMS providers, and medical resident physicians. He has previously held academic appointments at Erie Community College and SUNY Upstate. He works clinically in the emergency departments of Kaleida Health and ECMC.
Dr. Joshua Lynch is a recognized leader in addiction medicine. He is founder and medical director of MATTERS (Medication for Addiction Treatment & Electronic Referrals) an innovative program offering resources to help patients receive comprehensive evaluations, increase access to medication, and provide expedited linkage to high quality care.
A national leader in addiction medicine, Dr. Lynch serves on the Erie County Opioid Epidemic Task force along with the New York State Buprenorphine work group. He is a medication assisted treatment specialist for the Erie County Department of Health. Dr. Lynch is also a technical advisor for the New York State Department of Health. He regularly assists other states in development of similar networks to link patients to care.
As founder and medical director of NY Matters, Dr. Joshua Lynch is a steadfast advocate for an innovative approach to addressing the opioid crisis in New York State and across the country. Dr. Lynch advocates for patients of all types through presentations across the U.S., from Washington, D.C. and New York City, to Dallas, Texas and San Diego, California. He meets regularly with county, state, and federal legislators on the importance of high-quality care for patients struggling with substance use disorder. He also regularly advocates for high quality emergency medicine services both in the hospital and in the pre-hospital environment.
NY Matters works to provide efficient buprenorphine training to emergency physicians and create linkages between the hospital and substance use treatment programs. The program aims to widely expand access to high-quality addictions care through emergency departments and urgent care centers on the frontlines of the opioid crisis.
For more information on mattersnetwork.org.
Dr. Lynch works tirelessly to educate first responders, medical professionals at all levels, and members of the public on naloxone, overdose, and treatment options. He regularly lectures throughout New York State and across the country on substance use disorder and effectively linking patients to care. He has even presented internationally in Sydney, Australia. He has served on the faculty at Erie Community College’s paramedic program. Dr. Lynch continues to regularly educate EMS providers on current trends in pre-hospital care, critical care transport, and many other topics.
Dr. Lynch is actively involved in research and is leading the NY Matters project to provide widespread access to buprenorphine and expedited linkage to treatment centers in the emergency departments across Western New York.
Dr. Lynch is a physician scientist. In addition to his clinical practice and administrative work, he enjoys working with his colleagues to conduct research. Dr. Lynch and his team are grateful to have received over 3 million dollars in funding to support their work from a variety of local foundations along with state and federal agencies. His research focus includes addiction medicine along with pre-hospital care areas. He is always looking to collaborate – please reach out if you have a project in mind!
Dr. Lynch began his career in emergency medicine as a volunteer firefighter, carrying on a tradition started by his grandfather. He first volunteered with the East Amherst Fire Company more than 20 years ago and worked as an emergency medical technician for Rural Metro of WNY. He has held every level of New York State EMS certification. Today, Dr. Lynch serves as the medical director for many volunteer fire departments, Mercy Flight of Western New York and regularly advises police departments on medical care and emergency medical service integration.
He continues his work in pre-hospital care by serving as medical director and flight physician for Mercy Flight of Western New York.
Dr. Joshua Lynch is available to serve as an expert witness in legal proceedings and offers case review services as well. With over a decade of medical experience, Dr. Lynch has had the pleasure of caring for tens of thousands of patients and has improved the medical care of patients across the United States. He is available to review and prepare opinions and reports as an expert witness in specialty areas of emergency medicine, addiction medicine, and substance use disorder among others. His specific interests are pre-hospital care/EMS, emergency medicine, and addiction medicine.
