Paul Murdock Ellwood Jr. (July 16, 1926 – June 20, 2022) was an American physician and a prominent figure in American health care. Often referred to as the "father of the health maintenance organization", he not only coined the term, he also played a role in bringing about structural changes to the American health care system to simultaneously control cost and promote health by replacing fee-for-service with prepaid, comprehensive care. The term "HMO" was coined by Ellwood in a January 1970 Fortune magazine article. More recently, he had advanced an agenda for monitoring health outcomes, so that patients, providers, and payers can make health care decisions based on real information about what treatments and providers are actually effective.