The Future of Diagnosis

Dr. Ronald Wyatt serves as SIDM's Chief Science and Medical Officer. Former roles include Vice-President and Patient Safety Officer at MCIC Vermont and Chief Quality and Patient Safety Officer at Cook County Health, one of the largest public health systems in the United States. Dr. Wyatt is nationally recognized in the United States as an expert in patient safety and was named several times by Becker’s as one of the “Top 50 Patient Safety Experts” in the U.S. In 2010, Ron was appointed as Director of the Patient Safety Analysis Center in the U.S. Department of Defense, now the Defense Health Agency. Dr. Wyatt was the first Patient SafetyOfficer at the Joint Commission and in that role contributed to National Patient Safety Goals, Sentinel Event Alerts, and developed the “Quick Safety” publication.

Dr. Wyatt is a member of the ACGME Clinical Learning Environment Review Committee (CLER). Ron currently serves as co-chair of the Institute of Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Equity Advisory Group. He presents nationally and internationally on leadership, safety culture, safety event analysis, human factors in healthcare, patient experience, and health equity. He also serves on several boards, including the IHI Certified Professional in Patient Safety and, formally, the Society to Prevent Diagnosis in Medicine.

Dr. Wyatt is a credentialed course instructor in the School of Health Professions at the University of Alabama Birmingham. Dr. Wyatt is a graduate of the University of Alabama Birmingham School of Medicine and holds an executive master’s in health administration degree from the University of Alabama Birmingham. He was a 2009-2010 Merck Fellow at IHI.

Dr. Harry Hoar is an Internal Medicine and Pediatric Hospitalist, Medical Director of Quality Assurance, and Director of Clinical Reasoning Education at Baystate Medical Center- UMass Chan Medical School.  He created the Clinical Reasoning Academy, a novel interprofessional education series that brings together providers, nurses, other medical professionals, patient advocates, and patients to improve diagnostic quality and safety culture at Baystate.  He is a long-time member of the Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine and co-chair of the SIDM 2023 conference.

Helene has grown accustomed to being the only person in the room without an MD after her name. Since 1999, she has served on committees, panels, and boards of directors for medical research projects, healthcare organizations, public schools, and grant-givers. She first became an advocate for families dealing with crisis when her son’s complex 15-year diagnostic journey began. She has been a published writer for over 25 years, known for turning complex issues into accessible information so readers can apply the information to their own lives. She has done so for topics ranging from healthcare to policy to parenting issues and many more. Helene is a proud member of SIDM’s Patient Engagement Advisory Committee and the author of SIDM’s Dx IQ column, which helps engage and empower patients in their search for an accurate diagnosis. Helene’s personal mission is to ensure no adult, parent, senior, child, or family member ever has to accept a wrong diagnosis again as she did, unprotected and unarmed. She seeks to help educate, empower, and encourage patients to ask questions, pursue answers, access resources, and band together with others to support one another.