David W. Bates, M.D., M.Sc. has been named senior vice president and chief innovation officer at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), effective immediately. Dr. Bates, editor of the Journal of Patient Safety, will also continue to lead the Division of General Medicine and Primary Care at BWH.
“Innovation is at the core of our academic mission, ” said Elizabeth G. Nabel, M.D., president of Brigham and Women’s Health Care, in the February 6, 2015 news release. “Dr. Bates brings a depth and breadth of experience in this area, and under his leadership, the Brigham will support innovation and collaboration to help solve the important and difficult health care challenges of today and tomorrow.”
Dr. Bates, who previously served as the Chief Quality Officer at BWH, “will focus on identifying opportunities to drive transformative change at BWH, with the goal of translating inventions, discoveries and new ideas into services and products that benefit patients and improve the delivery of care. He will also serve as executive sponsor of the Brigham Innovation Hub (iHub), a catalyst of innovation across the hospital.”
“Dr. Bates is also a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and a professor of Health Policy and Management at the Harvard School of Public Health, where he co-directs the Program in Clinical Effectiveness. He also serves as medical director of Clinical and Quality Analysis for Partners Healthcare. He directs the Center for Patient Safety Research and Practice at BWH and serves as external program lead for research in the World Health Organization’s Global Alliance for Patient Safety.”
Dr. Bates told OTW, “Through my experience leading a patient safety research center, I have been exposed to and involved in many partnerships that require interaction with my colleagues in industry. These opportunities, along with my experience in commercializing several ideas, make me excited to continue this work of facilitating innovation in a systematic way across the Brigham.”
