Practical Improvement Science in Health Care: A Roadmap for Getting Results

Don Goldmann, MD is Chief Scientific Officer, Emeritus, and Senior Fellow Institute for Healthcare Improvement Professor of Pediatrics Harvard Medical School Professor of Epidemiology Harvard School of Public Health. At IHI Dr. Goldmann supports content leads in identifying innovative approaches and cutting-edge developments, assists expert faculty in areas of strategic focus, as well as strengthens ties between the organization and the health services research and academic communities. He also serves as senior lead for the IHI Fellowship Program and continues to train and mentor emerging investigators at Boston Children’s Hospital.

A noted scholar and professor at Harvard, Dr. Goldmann brings a unique perspective, having performed studies across the entire continuum of translational research: bench science (vaccine development), infectious disease epidemiology (novel methods for early detection of outbreaks, risk adjustment, and effectiveness research), clinical trials (including cluster randomized trials of QI interventions), and implementation research (including quasi-experimental methods and real-time context-sensitive mixed methods evaluation). He has more than 230 peer-reviewed publications, many in high-impact journals, and numerous commentaries.

Dr. Goldmann is the founder and current co-director of the Harvard-wise Pediatric Health Services Research Training Program, funded by AHRQ and NICHD. He is also on the Board of both AcademyHealth and America’s Essential Hospitals Institute. In addition to the HarvardX MOOC, he is currently teaching a general education course on the Science of Living Systems, General Education SLS26.

David M. Williams, Ph.D. advises leaders and organizations worldwide on adopting quality as an organizational strategy. His work spans industries including government, healthcare, education, public health, academia, public safety, and small business. He has worked worldwide, helping translate the tools and methods of improvement for practical and assessable applications to solve real problems.

Dave serves the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) as a senior improvement advisor. His work includes facilitating organizational transformation, developing systemwide improvement capability, and leading large-scale improvement initiatives. Previously a member of the IHI leadership team, he was the senior lead for IHI’s global Improvement Science and Methods and Leadership portfolios and served as a senior quality expert.

Dave developed IHI’s Chief Quality Officer Professional Development Program and served as lead faculty for the course. He is also a lead faculty for the IHI Improvement Advisor Professional Development Program and on the faculty for IHI Open School and the Harvardx Massive Open Online Course Practical Improvement Science in Healthcare.

Dave started his career as a volunteer firefighter and worked as a paramedic in cities across The United States. He was the Quality Commander for the City of Austin, Texas, USA EMS system. He is an expert in ambulance service system design and consults with EMS systems around the world.

He has co-authored papers and book chapters on quality improvement and delivered numerous presentations on improvement science at conferences worldwide. He is currently collaborating on the upcoming book: Quality as an Organizational Strategy.

Dave earned a B.S. in EMS Management, an M.S. in Emergency Health Services Management, and a Ph.D. in Organizational Systems where his research focused on the obstacles to patient- centric EMS system design.

Twitter @DaveWilliamsATX

Web: DavidMWilliamsPhD.com

A paramedic by background, Dr. Williams practiced in urban EMS systems for many years and is internationally known as an expert on paramedic care and emergency medical services systems. He serves as Improvement Advisor to the prehospital patient safety and care improvement work at Hamad Medical Corporation’s Ambulance Service in Qatar. Dr. Williams is a 2013 alumni of the Leadership Austin Essentials program and serves as Vice Chairman of the Board for CommUnityCare in Austin, TX, one of the largest Federally Qualified Health Center systems in the United States. Prior to joining IHI, he led a consulting practice focused on improvement science and expert consulting in education, public safety, and health care.

Donald M. Berwick, MD, MPP, FRCP is President Emeritus and Senior Fellow at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and former Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. A pediatrician by background, Dr. Berwick has served on the faculty of the Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health, and on the staffs of Boston's Children's Hospital Medical Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, and the Brigham and Women's Hospital. He has also served as Vice Chair of the US Preventive Services Task Force, the first "Independent Member" of the American Hospital Association Board of Trustees, and Chair of the National Advisory Council of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. He served two terms on the Institute of Medicine's (IOM's) Governing Council, was a member of the IOM's Global Health Board, and served on President Clinton's Advisory Commission on Consumer Protection and Quality in the Healthcare Industry.

Recognized as a leading authority on health care quality and improvement, Dr. Berwick has received numerous awards for his contributions. In 2005, he was appointed "Honorary Knight Commander of the British Empire" by the Queen of England in recognition of his work with the British National Health Service. Dr. Berwick is the author or co-author of over 160 scientific articles and five books. He also serves as Lecturer in the Department of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School.