Bob Harrington, MD, MHM, is president and chief medical officer, SurveyVitals, an organization that provides digital patient experience and Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) surveys nationwide to hospitals, health care systems, and physician practices. He believes he is an award recipient because he is a long-time advocate for hospitalists trained in family medicine (HTFMs). “I have always looked for ways to level the playing field for clinical and leadership opportunities for HTFMs,” he said.
Dr. Robert W. Harrington
Dr. Harrington first became involved with the Society of Hospital Medicine as chair of its Family Medicine Committee in the late 1990s. In that role, his committee looked at unique needs of HTFMs, including hiring practices, providing education to potential employers, and assisting HTFM members in career advancement.
“Our efforts resulted in tremendous growth of the HTFM membership, as these physicians began to view the society as their professional home and not as an internal medicine–dominant organization,” he said. He went on to become the first HTFM to serve on the society’s board and then became the first HTFM to be its president.
“This award is the greatest professional honor that I have received,” Dr. Harrington said. “It is especially important to me, because it is from a group of people whom I hold in the highest professional regard. They always put quality and patients first. I have been privileged to play a small part in that.”
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