Dr. David Bates is an internationally renowned expert in patient safety, using information technology to improve care, quality of care, cost effectiveness and outcomes assessment in medical practice, and care redesign and innovation science.
In addition to serving as a practicing general internist and chief of General Internal Medicine, Dr. Bates also is 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 Mass General Brigham. He directs the Center for Patient Safety Research and Practice at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and serves as external program lead for research in the World Health Organization’s Global Alliance for Patient Safety. He is the editor of the Journal of Patient Safety.
At a time when patient safety has become a key driver for focusing national attention on health care quality, Dr. Bates’ work has served as a blueprint for improvement. He led a seminal study on the epidemiology of drug-related injuries, demonstrating that the most effective way to prevent serious medication errors is to focus on improving the systems, and has performed many studies on how computerized, evidence-based guidelines can improve quality and efficiency.