Tejal K. Gandhi, MD, MPH, CPPS, is Chief Clinical and Safety Officer at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and President of the IHI/NPSF Lucian Leape Institute.
She is a prominent advocate for patient safety at the regional, national and international levels, driving educational and professional certification efforts, and helping to create and spread innovative new safety ideas. Dr. Gandhi was formerly the Executive Director of Quality and Safety at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Chief Quality and Safety Officer at Partners Healthcare. In these roles, she led the efforts to standardize and implement patient safety best practices across hospital and health systems.
Throughout her career, Dr. Gandhi has been committed to educating other clinicians on the topic of patient safety. She is regularly invited to speak on this issue, has mentored physicians in post-doctoral study, and frequently served on regional and national committees and boards. She was included in Modern Healthcare’s 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare 2014-2015; Top 25 Women in Healthcare 2015; and 50 Most Influential Physician Executives and Leaders 2016.
Dr. Gandhi’s research interests focus on patient safety and reducing error using information systems. In 2009, she received the John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Award for her contributions to understanding the epidemiology and possible prevention strategies for medical errors in the outpatient setting.
Dr. Gandhi is an internist and Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and she is a Certified Professional in Patient Safety. She received her MD and MPH from Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health, and trained at Duke University Medical Center. Her undergraduate training at Cornell University was in biochemistry.