Vice President, Clinical Quality & Safety
DaVita Kidney Care
Summary
DaVita is seeking an experienced nephrologist to serve as Vice President, Clinical Quality & Safety within the Office of the Chief Medical Officer. This national role provides physician leadership across three connected areas: clinical quality, patient safety, and infection prevention; medication and clinical protocol development; and the clinical evaluation of new therapies, devices, and diagnostics.
Job description
Responsibilities
Clinical Quality, Patient Safety, and Infection Prevention
- Serve as the physician executive for DaVita's AHRQ-certified Patient Safety Organization, meeting the clinical qualification requirements of the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act and Rule.
- Provide physician leadership to dialysis quality improvement, partnering with clinical quality leaders on priorities, measures, and interventions.
- Provide clinical direction to the national patient safety agenda, including review of adverse events and safety signals.
- Educate senior executives, operations and quality leaders on key patient safety findings.
- Serve as the clinical leader on infection prevention, including bloodstream infection reduction, tuberculosis and hepatitis B prevention and surveillance, and employee health matters.
- Provide clinical leadership and strategy for immunization initiatives and research opportunities.
Medication and Clinical Protocol Strategy
- Serve as the physician lead for medication management and clinical protocol development/revision, with primary focus on anemia management and bone mineral disease.
- Serve as Co-Chair of the Pharmacology and Therapeutics Committee.
- Provide clinical expertise and study interpretation of anemia therapies, including erythropoiesis-stimulating agents, HIF prolyl hydroxylase inhibitors, and iron management.
- Provide clinical expertise on bone mineral disease management, including calcimimetics and phosphate binders.
- Evaluate novel therapeutics in anemia and mineral bone disease.
- Provide clinical guidance on additional pharmacotherapy topics, including anticoagulation, thrombolytics, and GLP-1 receptor agonists.
- Partner with research and development colleagues on next-generation protocol design.
Clinical Evaluation of New Therapies, Devices, and Diagnostics
- Serve as the clinical partner to laboratory leadership on test utilization, result interpretation standards, reference ranges, and integration of lab data into clinical workflow.
- Provide clinical leadership to the evaluation of new dialysis machines and devices.
- Bring evidence standards and clinical judgment to enterprise decisions about adopting new equipment, assays, and therapies.
- Develop and steward clinical relationships with academic medical centers and nephrology training programs.
Broader Clinical Leadership
- Represent DaVita as a clinical leader in national forums and professional society meetings.
- Contribute clinical expertise to enterprise priorities, including fluid management, dialysis adequacy, and physician communication.
- Lead or support additional clinical initiatives at the direction of the Chief Medical Officer.
- Identify emerging clinical risks, quality opportunities, and innovations.
Requirements
- M.D., D.O., or MBBS degree
- Board certification in Nephrology
- Active, unrestricted medical license
- Qualification as a licensed or certified medical professional for patient safety organization physician designation
- Minimum 10 years of post-training experience as a practicing nephrologist
- Experience as a dialysis medical director
- Demonstrated leadership in patient safety, quality improvement, event review, or clinical risk management
- Working knowledge of anemia management, bone mineral disease, and dialysis pharmacotherapy
- Experience developing or governing clinical protocols
- Proven ability to partner effectively with non-physician business and operational leaders
- Ability to interpret complex clinical data, evaluate strength of evidence, and translate findings into clinical recommendations
- Credible and confident communicator across executive, clinical, regulatory, and external audiences
- Prior patient safety organization, patient safety officer, hospital quality leadership experience, or outcomes research training strongly preferred
- Preferred: publication record in patient safety, anemia, bone mineral disease, or dialysis outcomes
- Preferred: experience evaluating devices or diagnostics
- Preferred: experience partnering with academic medical centers
Benefits
- Medical, Dental & Vision
- 401(k) Matching
- Paid Time Off
- PTO Cash Out
- Family Resources
- EAP Counseling
- Headspace Access
- Backup Child & Elder Care
- Maternity/Paternity Leave
- Professional Development Programs
Company overview
DaVita Kidney Care is a leading American healthcare provider specializing in kidney dialysis services, operating as one of the largest dialysis companies in the United States. Founded in 1992 and headquartered in Denver, Colorado, DaVita operates a vast network of 2,675 outpatient dialysis centers across the United States, serving approximately 200,800 patients, with an additional 367 centers in 11 other countries serving 49,400 patients. The company primarily treats end-stage renal disease (ESRD), providing life-sustaining dialysis treatments that patients typically require three times per week. DaVita holds approximately 37% market share in the U.S. dialysis market and is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker DVA. The company's name, derived from the Italian phrase "Dare Vita" meaning "to give life," reflects its mission to provide essential kidney care services. With approximately 76,000 employees, DaVita has established itself as a Fortune 500 company and a significant player in the healthcare industry, with Berkshire Hathaway owning a 41.2% stake in the organization.