I’ve been privileged to serve on the boards of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a Harvard Medical School teaching hospital, for five years, first on the Leadership Board and now on the Trustee Advisory Board. I first got involved with BIDMC in Boston as a grateful L&D patient, experiencing firsthand what it means to be surrounded by clinicians who deeply value patient comfort, prioritize quality, and unabashedly and vociferously promote evidence-based medicine, the beauty and irrefutability of science, and the invaluable power of humanity and empathy in delivering world-class care.
Since early 2020 I’ve been fortunate to spend time with physicians, nurses, senior administrative leaders, and community members associated with the hospital and its parent network – Beth Israel Lahey Health (BILH). The conversations I’ve had have been marked by thoughtfulness, introspection, and profound optimism that is resilient in the face of the unprecedented challenges the past few years have presented for healthcare practitioners.
Dr. Rob Fields is the Chief Clinical Officer at BILH, a family medicine doctor, an accomplished amateur musician, a tireless advocate for patient care quality and equity, and an expert in public health and the challenges of running the most complex healthcare system in the region. BILH is the largest health system in Massachusetts by number of Medicaid and Medicare recipients, and as the unit economics of care delivery have evolved, so have the strategies that leaders like Rob employ to ensure that every patient that comes through the doors of a BILH facility feels like every clinician’s only priority.
Rob shares the healthcare facility and administrator viewpoint on systemic challenges and the impact of technology, including: