BOSTON, Sept. 1, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tejal K. Gandhi, MD, MPH, CPPS, president and chief executive officer of the National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF) and the NPSF Lucian Leape Institute, is among the 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare for 2015 announced in the August 24 issue of Modern Healthcare magazine. Also on the list are NPSF Lucian Leape Institute member Bob Wachter, MD, and Gary Kaplan, MD, FACMPE, who chairs the Institute and also serves on the NPSF Board of Directors.
NPSF, an independent, not-for-profit organization, has been a central voice for patient safety since 1997. The NPSF Lucian Leape Institute, founded in 2007 and composed of national thought leaders, is the Foundation's think tank, providing strategic vision to the patient safety agenda.
Since 2003, Modern Healthcare has compiled an annual list to recognize "individuals in healthcare who are deemed by their peers and an expert panel to be the most influential individuals in the industry, in terms of leadership and impact." A month-long nomination period earlier this year yielded candidates, from which a pool of 300 who had received the most nominations were chosen as finalists. The selection of the final 100 was based in part on public voting and in part on the magazine editors' determination.
The patient safety and quality improvement areas of health care continued to be well represented on the 2015 list, with 9 people in that category, compared to 5 in 2014.
"It is wonderful to see this recognition of people working on safety and quality advancements," said Dr. Gandhi. "NPSF and many of our partners and collaborators have long focused on these issues, which are gaining renewed focus."
Dr. Gandhi is one of only 27 women listed for 2015, her second year on the list.
Dr. Kaplan, CEO of Virginia Mason Health System in Seattle, was named to the list six times previously. Dr. Wachter, chief of Hospital Medicine at University of California San Francisco Medical Center, makes his third appearance on the list.
"I know I speak for my fellow board members in saying how extremely proud we are to work alongside Tejal, Gary, and Bob," said Mary Beth Navarra-Sirio, MBA, RN, vice chair of the NPSF Board of Directors and vice president for regulatory strategy at McKesson Corp. "It is gratifying to see this recognition of those who work tirelessly with us to lead the national effort to realize the NPSF vision of creating a world where patients and those who care for them are free from harm."
Drs. Kaplan and Gandhi will be among the speakers at the 8th Annual NPSF Lucian Leape Institute Forum and Keynote Dinner, which takes place September 17, 2015, in Boston. Dr. Jonathan Perlin, chief medical officer at Hospital Corporation of America and current chair of the American Hospital Association, will be the evening keynote speaker. A former long-time board member of NPSF, Dr. Perlin is also included on the Modern Healthcare list.
See Modern Healthcare's list of the 100 Most Influential People in Health Care, 2015.
About the National Patient Safety Foundation
The National Patient Safety Foundation's vision is to create a world where patients and those who care for them are free from harm. A central voice for patient safety since 1997, NPSF partners with patients and families, the health care community, and key stakeholders to advance patient safety and health care workforce safety and disseminate strategies to prevent harm. NPSF is an independent, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. To learn more about the Foundation's work, visit www.npsf.org and follow @theNPSF on Twitter.