Bimal Shah, MD, MBA, assistant professor of medicine (Cardiology), has served as the director of quality improvement and credentialing in the Department of Medicine since 2011. At the end of this month, Dr. Shah will step down from that role to take a new position as Vice President of Premier Research Services, a division of Premier, Inc., a healthcare performance improvement alliance of some 3,000 U.S. hospitals and 110,000 other providers.
"Bimal has been an effective and valued member of the leadership team in the Department of Medicine," said Mary Klotman, MD, chair of the Department of Medicine. "I am grateful to him for all of his efforts, and wish him well in his new endeavor."
Among his accomplishments, Shah assembled the first group of Quality Champions within Medicine to lead efforts around divisional quality improvement metrics. He also spearheaded the Department’s efforts around clinical effectiveness and high-value, cost-conscious care, and he provided leadership and representation for the Department in the Maestro Care Steering Committee and credentialing.
Cary Ward, MD, assistant professor of medicine (Cardiology), will become director of quality improvement and credentialing, effective July 1.
Dr. Ward was one of the inpatient physician champions during the implementation of Maestro Care, and she is currently involved in multiple research projects that use Maestro Care to ensure quality care for patients. She will apply this experience to her new role as she leads the Department’s efforts in organizational and clinical quality improvement, working with quality champions in each division.
Ward will also collaborate with the Department’s research and education leadership to identify and support research opportunities within existing and future QI activities.
Find additional information about credentialing and quality improvement on MedicineNews at http://news.medicine.duke.edu/quality-improvement-credentialing/