Thomas A. Owens, MD, Vice President for Medical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer for Duke University Health System and associate professor of medicine (General Internal Medicine) and pediatrics, has been has been named the next president of Duke University Hospital, effective Jan. 1, 2018.
Background
Dr. Owens has been a part of Duke since he came here for his Medicine/Pediatrics residency training in 1995. He completed a General Internal Medicine fellowship in 2000, and served as Chief Resident in 2001. He has held a number of positions of increased responsibility over the years including Chief Medical Officer for Duke University Hospital (DUH), Chief of the Duke University Health System (DUHS) Hospital Medicine program, Chief Medical Officer for DUHS, and most recently named senior vice president in June of 2017; a title which Owens will retain. Many from the medical center and elsewhere know Owens as a longtime co-director of the popular workshop "Duke Teaching and Leading EBM."
Leadership
Over the past decade, Owens has made crucial contributions to the success of DUH and DUHS. He started the first ever hospitalist program at Duke and has led the work to redesign, realign, and reinvent the way we deliver care in many areas of clinical practice.
Owens’ leadership in patient safety and quality management has resulted in significant improvements across various clinical quality measures and CMS core measures. In addition, under his leadership, Duke Primary Care (DPC) has become the leading primary care network in the greater Triangle area while consistently exceeding quality, growth and financial targets. He has also played a pivotal role in helping shape our approach and capabilities in population health improvement.
Vision
Owens says his focus will be continuing Duke’s ongoing transition to a health care system that is more effective and affordable. He said the Triangle is a strong market where patients have choices and hospitals must be responsive and adaptable.
“It’s a competitive and growing market,” Owens said. “We’re committed to bringing care closer to home for the patients in our region.”
Owens succeeds Kevin Sowers, MSN, RN, FAAN, who leaves Duke early next year to become president of the Johns Hopkins Health System and executive vice president of Johns Hopkins Medicine.
Learn more about Owens and his new role in the video below.