James L. Reinertsen, MD

This speaker's topics include:

James L. Reinertsen, M.D., heads The Reinertsen Group, an independent consulting and teaching practice helping health care leaders create organizational environments in which the work of nurses and doctors can thrive.  He brings to this work an unusual combination of skills and experience:

• He practiced rheumatology for twenty years, earning a reputation as a superb, patient-centered consultant
• He has been a respected CEO of complex health care systems in challenging markets for fifteen years
• He has functioned as an innovative thought leader in health care leadership development, clinical quality improvement, patient safety, health system integration, and health care market design

Dr. Reinertsen now brings his skills and experience to the Institute for Health Care Improvement (IHI) in Boston, where he is a Senior Fellow, heading IHI’s leadership development sector, and to hospitals and health care systems throughout the United States and Europe.  He was a subcommittee member of the Institute of Medicine’s work that produced the landmark publications  “To Err Is Human” and “Crossing the Quality Chasm,” and as an author of papers in major medical journals.

From July 1998 to August, 2001, Dr. Reinertsen was Chief Executive Officer of both CareGroup, a six hospital, 1400 physician system, and of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a teaching hospital of the Harvard Medical School. During his tenure at CareGroup, he was also Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Before his engagement at CareGroup, he served as the Chief Executive Officer of Park Nicollet Health Services (formerly HealthSystem Minnesota) in Minneapolis, an integrated care system that includes Methodist Hospital and Park Nicollet Clinic.  He was President and CEO of Park Nicollet Medical Center from 1986 to 1992, and President of Park Nicollet Medical Foundation from 1983 to 1985. 

From 1992 to 1997, Dr. Reinertsen was Chairman of the Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement (ICSI), a collaborative effort to develop and implement best practices in health care, sponsored by the Buyers Health Care Action Group, Park Nicollet, Mayo Clinic, and HealthPartners a Twin Cities health plan. ICSI is a nationally recognized example of what physician groups that otherwise compete with each other can accomplish when they collaborate around common professional and business goals.

A frequently invited speaker on these issues for physician, hospital, and integrated delivery system organizations, he also has authored more than 40 articles in journals such as Annals of Internal Medicine, British Medical Journal, New England Journal of Medicine, and the Joint Commission Journal on Quality Improvement.

Dr. Reinertsen wrote Ten Powerful Ideas for Patient Care Improvement, coauthored with Dr. Wim Schellekens, CEO of the Dutch Institute for Quality.

Dr. Reinertsen is Past President of the American Medical Group Association, and is a former member of the Board of Directors of the American Board of Internal Medicine. 

He joined Park Nicollet Medical Center as a consultant in rheumatology in 1978, following two years as a Clinical Associate at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.  A member of Alpha Omega Alpha, he received his medical degree from Harvard Medical School in 1973, and completed an internship at San Francisco General Hospital in 1974, and a residency at the University of California Hospital in 1976.  Doctor Reinertsen is a 1969 summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa graduate of St. Olaf College in Minnesota.

Engaging Speaker, very compelling.
Hospital Council of Northern & Central California

“Dr. Reinertsen recently assisted The William K. Warren Foundation in a complete review of our healthcare system’s practices, policies, strategies, philosophy, problems, and achievements as we attempt to position ourselves for the future.  Dr. Reinertsen was exceptionally thorough in his review of the issues at hand.  He always made himself available to travel to Tulsa to meet with us, many instances on short notice.  He took the time necessary to meet with, listen to, and learn from everyone involved…and to gain insight from their perspectives firsthand.  He prepared a sound, constructive strategy to address the many problems we faced.  Over the past few months, we have been implementing Dr. Reinertsen’s recommendations and are experiencing many positive results."
President, The Warren Foundation, Tulsa, OK

“Jim Reinertsen embodies the principles and practice of evidence based medicine and management. He not only has a deep and profound knowledge of the theory but an equally great experience in its practice. I know of no one else who could bring the elements of Sutter Health's program "Managing for Clinical Excellence" together in such a meaningful way as Dr. Reinertsen does.”
Ian Leverton, Former VP for Clinical Integration, Sutter Health