Episode 155: The Evolution of the Parkinson’s Foundation Hospital Care Initiative

Peter Pronovost, MD, PhD, is a world-renowned patient safety champion, physician executive, critical care physician, prolific researcher with more than 1000 peer-reviewed publications, an innovator who has founded several technology companies, and a thought leader informing U.S. and global health policy. 

Dr. Pronovost’s transformative work leveraging checklists to reduce central line-associated bloodstream infections has saved thousands of lives and earned him national acclaim. This life-saving intervention has been implemented across the U.S., and as a result, central line-associated infections that used to kill as many people as breast or prostate cancer have been reduced by 80 percent. In recognition of this innovation, his highest-profile accolades include being named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time Magazine and receiving a coveted MacArthur Foundation “genius grant.”   

While serving as Chief Clinical Transformation Officer at University Hospitals Health System in Cleveland and as a Professor in the Schools of Medicine, Nursing and Management at Case Western Reserve University, Dr. Pronovost developed a checklist to make visible defects in value and deployed a management and accountability system to eliminate those defects.  

This system reduced the annual cost of care for Medicare patients by 30% over three years while improving quality.  In 2022, Dr. Pronovost lead the efforts that culminated in University Hospitals winning the American Hospital Association’s Quest for Quality award, the industry’s most prestigious honor recognizing its member organizations for their commitment to quality. He was named the Veale Distinguished Chair in Leadership and Clinical Transformation in 2023.