David B. Hellmann,
MD, MACP
When Bill Brody, longtime Johns Hopkins University president, encouraged me to “think big” in creating the Center for Innovative Medicine back in 2005, I took him at his word (p. 10). Today, some 14 years later, I’m gratified to see important CIM initiatives bearing fruit and having a big impact in advancing medicine as a public trust.
Consider the Miller Coulson Academy of Clinical Excellence, which we launched in 2008 to celebrate our doctors who are the “best of the best” at providing patient-centered clinical care. As you’ll learn in this issue (p. 2), the academy has served as the impetus and the model for an entirely new faculty promotion pathway being rolled out this fall at Johns Hopkins. For the first time in the history of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, faculty members who are passionate about providing outstanding patient care now have a clear track for advancement. I’m extremely proud that the rigorous process that Scott Wright and his colleagues established at the Miller Coulson Academy for measuring clinical excellence was so critical in demonstrating to school of medicine leaders that great doctoring can indeed be judged by objective standards. I’m also excited to serve as co-chair of the new Clinical Excellence Promotions Committee, together with psychiatrist Meg Chisolm, a Miller Coulson Academy scholar. With this new promotion track in place, I’m confident that Johns Hopkins will be better equipped than ever to attract – and retain – the best clinicians from across the country and around the world, and our patients will be the beneficiaries.
Of course, there are plenty of other CIM people and projects who are advancing our mission of thinking big – from radiologist Pam Johnson’s efforts at the national level to reduce unnecessary medical testing while advancing “high-value” medical care (p. 12), to addiction specialist Michael Fingerhood’s leadership of the Comprehensive Care Practice, which celebrates its
25th anniversary this year (p. 6). Established at a time when Baltimoreans struggling with addiction and HIV had few options for primary care, the program has saved the lives of countless Baltimoreans and provided hope to many, many more.
None of this important work would be possible without your generous support, and for that, all of the members of the Center for Innovative Medicine and I are immensely grateful.
Aliki Perroti Professor of Medicine;
Vice Dean, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center;
Chairman, Department of Medicine
