The American Hospital Association has selected Chris DeRienzo, MD, to serve as senior vice president and chief physician executive — a newly created role in which he will oversee the organization's physician leadership agenda.
Dr. DeRienzo is the former chief medical officer and senior vice president of quality at Raleigh, N.C.-based WakeMed Health. Prior to that, he served as CMO of a healthcare predictive analytics company and as chief quality officer at Asheville, N.C.-based Mission Health. In his new role at the AHA, Dr. he will serve as a "key spokesperson on clinical issues," and develop strategies to improve health outcomes, according to a Dec. 21 statement.
"Strengthening our relationships with physicians and other clinicians is more important than ever," Rick Pollack, president and CEO of the AHA, said in a news release. "Chris brings a deep practical knowledge of healthcare services, as well as a strong record leading efforts on care transformation and quality and continuous improvement to this vital work."