Dr. Thomas Diller has been named the executive director for UNT Health Science Center’s Institute for Patient Safety.
Thomas Diller, MD, named executive director of UNT Health Science Center’s Institute for Patient Safety. [Photo courtesy of UNTHSC]
The new institute, created with $4 million from the state, is the first in the nation to focus on “actionable change for the medical industry,” according to D Healthcare Daily.
Medical errors affect 9,000 people in North Texas annually, according to the university. The IPS hopes it can reduce those numbers with a cultural change.
“The health care system does a very good job and we save a lot of lives,” Diller said in a release. “But the system is provider-centric as opposed to patient-centric. My vision is to look at how we can transform health care and make it much safer for the patient.”
Diller most recently served as vice president and system chief medical officer for Irving-based Christus Health. His background includes more than 20 years as an internist. As the first IPS executive director, he’ll be tasked with furthering patient safety education for clinicians and health systems.
“We can’t ask people to just work harder and smarter,” Diller said. “We have got to put them in an environment where they have all the tools they need in order to do the right thing.”
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