ASA Chief Quality Officer Richard Dutton, M.D., will be leaving the American Society of Anesthesiologists® (ASA®), effective August 28, 2015 after six years in his role. Dr. Dutton is leaving to join the U.S. Anesthesia Partners (USAP) as their inaugural Chief Quality Officer. He will remain involved with ASA on key initiatives such as working on quality reporting aspects of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA). Dr. Dutton will work with the Anesthesia Quality Institute (AQI) Board of Directors, elected leadership and ASA staff to help ensure the smoothest possible transition of his ASA responsibilities.
As the founding Executive Director of AQI, Dr. Dutton has made a remarkable impact on ASA and the specialty by building AQI into the nation’s largest specialty clinical registry and an indispensable resource for anesthesia performance data. He has co-authored more than 20 peer-reviewed articles using AQI data. He has worked with ASA leadership to develop innovative education on quality management, including the Anesthesia Quality Meeting and Practice Performance Assessment and Improvement (PPAI) courses. He has worked diligently with many external groups, such as the National Quality Forum (NQF), National Quality Registry Network (NQRN), Council of Medical Specialty Societies (CMSS), the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), and the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), to advance quality improvement in anesthesiology. Through his leadership, ASA has partnered with many specialty organizations, such as the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS), to develop registries which have leveraged the experience, resources and infrastructure of AQI. Dr. Dutton has played a major role in positioning ASA as a leader in quality and improving patient care.
Questions regarding ASA’s Quality Division should be directed to Matt Popovich, Ph.D., director of quality and regulatory affairs at [email protected] or (202) 289-2222. For questions about AQI, please call Lance Mueller, interim AQI executive, at [email protected] or (847) 268-9190.