Medical Injury and the Journey to Value

Charles (Chuck) D. Stokes

President & CEO
Memorial Hermann Health System

Medical error is the third leading cause of death in the United States: the equivalent of a fully loaded 737 airplane crashing every 7 hours. Chuck Stokes was a key voice in ACHE prioritizing patient safety for this reason. While the business case for patient safety is compelling in a fee-for-service world, the journey to fee-for-value will better align incentives. Stokes also believes individual lifestyle accountability (such as Memorial Hermann’s policy of not hiring smokers), health system waste and ethical end-of-life care are three critical challenges emerging healthcare leaders must be prepared to address.