Dr. Thomas Lee

Dr. Thomas H. Lee joined Press Ganey as Chief Medical Officer in 2013, bringing more than three decades of experience in health care performance improvement as a practicing physician, a leader in provider organizations, researcher and health policy expert.

As Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Lee is responsible for developing clinical and operational strategies to help providers measure and improve the patient experience, with the overarching goals of reducing patient suffering and improving the value of care. Dr. Lee has more than three decades of experience in healthcare performance improvement as a practicing physician, a leader in provider organizations, researcher, and health policy expert. An internist and cardiologist, Dr. Lee continues to practice primary care at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

Dr. Lee frequently lectures on the patient experience and strategies for improving the value of health care and was selected as a stage speaker on the subject at the acclaimed TEDMED meeting in 2015. He has authored more than 260 academic articles and three books, Chaos and Organization in Health Care and Eugene Braunwald and the Rise of Modern Medicine. In November 2015, Dr. Lee released his third book, An Epidemic of Empathy in Healthcare: How to Deliver Compassionate, Connected Patient Care That Creates a Competitive Advantage, published by McGraw-Hill. Named in his honor, the Thomas H. Lee Award for Excellence in Primary Care is given each year to recognize a primary care physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital who meets the needs of his or her patients exceptionally well.

Prior to joining Press Ganey, Dr. Lee served as Network President for Partners Healthcare System and CEO for Partners Community HealthCare, Inc., the integrated delivery system founded by Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital. In this capacity, Dr. Lee oversaw efforts to improve the quality and efficiency of care in this organization.

Dr. Lee is Chairman of the Board at Geisinger Health, a member of the board of directors at Geisinger Health System and Health Leads; the Board of Overseers of Weill Cornell Medical College; the Special Medical Advisory Group (SMAG) of the Veterans Administration; and the Panel of Health Advisors of the Congressional Budget Office. He also serves as a member of the Editorial Board of The New England Journal of Medicine. Dr. Lee is a Professor of Medicine, part time, at Harvard Medical School and Professor of Health Policy and Management at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Dr. Lee played a leadership role in the development and implementation of health care reform in Massachusetts, and was a member of the Massachusetts Health Care Quality and Cost Council from 2006 to 2012. He has held national leadership roles in defining and measuring quality of care, including serving on the Board of Overseers of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award from 2008 to 2010 and the Committee on Performance Management of the National Committee for Quality Assurance, which develops the widely-used HEDIS measures; Tom served as co-chair from 2002 to 2009.

Dr. Lee holds a bachelor’s degree in history and science from Harvard College, a medical degree from Cornell University Medical College and a master’s degree in epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health.