Robert M. Wachter, MD

Vice Chair and Director

Vice Chair and Director Robert M. Wachter, MD, is Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, and a thought leader in organization of care, quality, patient safety, and digital health. Dr. Wachter, who has published more than 300 articles and six books, is the best-selling author of The Digital Doctor: Hope, Hype, and Harm at the Dawn of Medicine’s Computer Age. He is currently writing a new book on the impact of AI on healthcare, to be published in 2026. He coined the term “hospitalist” in a 1996 New England Journal of Medicine article and is generally regarded as the academic leader of the hospitalist movement. Dr. Wachter is Past President of the Society of Hospital Medicine. He serves on The Doctors Company Board of Governors, is Chair of the company’s Patient Safety Committee, and a Member of its Technology and Cybersecurity Committee.