Brent C. James BS'74 (computer science) BS'76 (medical biology) MD'78 MSt'84 (master's of statistics), chief quality officer at Intermountain Healthcare, was presented with the 2011 Deming Cup prize from Columbia University's Business School.
The award is given annually to an individual who has made outstanding contributions in the area of operations and has established a culture of continuous improvement within his or her respective organization.
In November, James was also named by Modern Healthcare among its “Top 25 Clinical Informaticists.” The magazine's new awards and honors program recognizes medical professionals who excel at using patient-care data to improve both the clinical and financial performance of their healthcare organizations.
James is recognized among the most influential leaders in healthcare nationally and has often given testimony before congressional committees. As the leader of Intermountain's Institute for Healthcare Delivery Research, which offers advanced training program courses for healthcare executives, James has instructed more than 5,500 healthcare leaders from throughout the world in his courses in Salt Lake City. An additional 7,500 people have been trained at one of James' 50 sister training programs in the U.S at places such as the University of Texas' MD Anderson Cancer Center and California-based Sutter Health, and at locations internationally.
Raised on a ranch in Idaho, educated in Utah, and trained and established as a surgeon in Boston, James returned to Utah from Harvard University and joined Intermountain Healthcare in 1986. Brent James is an Adjunct Faculty with the Department of Biomedical Informatics.
(Story credit: Continuum Magazine)