BOSTON — The Institute for Healthcare Improvement has appointed Ronald Wyatt, M.D., M.H.A., as its first Chief Medical Officer, placing the physician executive in a newly created role focused on shaping the organization’s clinical strategy and healthcare improvement work.
Wyatt will provide clinical and scientific leadership for IHI’s efforts to improve patient safety, healthcare quality and health equity worldwide. He brings more than 30 years of experience across healthcare institutions in the United States and internationally.
“Ron brings the rare combination of clinical insight, scientific credibility, and lived commitment to equity that this role requires,” said Sylvia Trent-Adams, Ph.D., R.N., President and CEO of IHI. “He has spent his career connecting improvement work to the real experiences of patients, families, and communities, and his longstanding relationship with IHI gives him a deep understanding of who we are and where we can lead next. We are proud to welcome him to IHI in this new role.”
Wyatt previously served as the inaugural Patient Safety Officer at The Joint Commission, where he developed the organization’s sentinel event analysis process, led the team that wrote its Patient Safety Systems Chapter and created the Quick Safety publication.
He later held senior roles including Chief Quality Officer at Hamad Medical Corporation in Qatar and Cook County Health in Chicago, Medical Director of the Patient Safety Center at the U.S. Defense Health Agency and Chief Science and Medical Officer at the Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine.
Wyatt is a board-certified physician and has published research and commentary on patient safety, health equity, diagnostic excellence, safety culture and the social determinants of health. He has also contributed to several IHI white papers.
Becker’s Hospital Review has recognized him three times as one of the top 50 patient safety experts in the United States. He is also the founder of Achieving Health Equity LLC.
Wyatt became the first African American Chief Resident at the St. Louis University School of Medicine. Throughout his career, he has focused on addressing structural barriers and inequities that can affect patient safety and healthcare outcomes.
“Health equity is more than a program or a priority, it is a patient safety imperative,” Wyatt said. “Everything I have seen over three decades tells me that we cannot achieve the outcomes we seek without honest dialogue about who does and does not benefit from progress. IHI has done important work to advance equity, and my goal is to help embed it even more deeply into our science, our solutions, and the systems we work with.”
Wyatt has a longstanding relationship with IHI, having served as a Senior Fellow, former co-chair of the organization’s Health Equity Initiative and faculty member for its Leadership for Health Equity Professional Development Program.
He also co-authored IHI’s white paper, “Achieving Health Equity: A Guide for Health Care Organizations.”
As Chief Medical Officer, Wyatt will help advance IHI’s strategic priorities and work to ensure its programs are grounded in scientific evidence and produce measurable improvements for patients, communities and health systems.
“IHI’s mission has been central to my work for years, and I have seen firsthand what this organization is capable of,” Wyatt said. “What excites me about this moment is the opportunity to push further, moving beyond translating what we know into practice, and generating what the field needs next. Health systems are facing challenges that don’t yet have answers, and innovation can uncover opportunities that systems and communities may not even know they have. That is where IHI is positioned to lead.”
