PROFESSOR AND CHAIR
M_MED-CORE-ADMIN-GENERAL
[email protected]

Robert Wachter, MD is Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Author of 300 articles and 6 books, he coined the term “hospitalist,” the fastest-growing medical specialty in U.S. history. He is past-president of the Society of Hospital Medicine, past-chair of the American Board of Internal Medicine, and an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine. In 2004, he received the John M. Eisenberg Award, the nation’s top honor in patient safety. Modern Healthcare magazine has ranked him as one of the 50 most influential physician-executives in the U.S. more than a dozen times; he was #1 on the list in 2015.

His 2015 book, "The Digital Doctor," was a New York Times bestseller. His new book, "A Giant Leap: How AI is Transforming Healthcare and What That Means for Our Future," was published by Portfolio/Penguin in 2026.

Publications

The top patient safety strategies that can be encouraged for adoption now.

Annals of internal medicine

Shekelle PG, Pronovost PJ, Wachter RM, McDonald KM, Schoelles K, Dy SM, Shojania K, Reston JT, Adams AS, Angood PB, Bates DW, Bickman L, Carayon P, Donaldson L, Duan N, Farley DO, Greenhalgh T, Haughom JL, Lake E, Lilford R, Lohr KN, Meyer GS, Miller MR, Neuhauser DV, Ryan G, Saint S, Shortell SM, Stevens DP, Walshe K

Advancing the science of patient safety.

Annals of internal medicine

Shekelle PG, Pronovost PJ, Wachter RM, Taylor SL, Dy SM, Foy R, Hempel S, McDonald KM, Ovretveit J, Rubenstein LV, Adams AS, Angood PB, Bates DW, Bickman L, Carayon P, Donaldson L, Duan N, Farley DO, Greenhalgh T, Haughom J, Lake ET, Lilford R, Lohr KN, Meyer GS, Miller MR, Neuhauser DV, Ryan G, Saint S, Shojania KG, Shortell SM, Stevens DP, Walshe K