Newswise — Noted patient safety expert Charles R. Denham, M.D., has been appointed Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Patient Safety. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

Dr. Denham takes over for outgoing Editor-in-Chief, Nancy W. Dickey, M.D., who is stepping down after years of dedicated service. His appointment is effective immediately.

A National Leader in Patient SafetyRecognized as one of the most visible and active leaders in the patient safety community, Dr. Denham serves as Co-Chairman of the National Quality Form’s Safe Practices program, and Chairman of the Leapfrog Group Safe Practices Program. Dr. Denham is also Chairman of Texas Medical Institute of Technology (TMIT), an independent medical not-for-profit organization dedicated to saving lives, saving money, and building value; and CEO of Health Care Concepts Corporation (HCC), a business development accelerator in medical, technical, and service product fields.

Under Dr. Denham's leadership, TMIT and HCC have established a National Research Test Bed of more than 3,100 hospitals to study and accelerate the adoption of high-impact performance improvement solutions. The numerous task forces and practicing communities of TMIT are served by an online knowledge management system, which can be accessed at www.SafetyLeaders.org.

Dr. Denham is also a 2009-2010 Advanced Leadership Initiative fellow at Harvard University and Chairman of the Patient Safety Center Development Board of the Brigham and Women's Hospital. He has a faculty teaching appointment at the Harvard School of Public Health.

A familiar presence to the readers of Journal of Patient Safety, Dr. Denham served as an Associate Editor under Dr. Dickey and has been an active and enthusiastic advocate of the journal. He played a key role in encouraging actor Dennis Quaid to author an article, "Story Power: The Secret Weapon," in which Mr. Quaid relates his experiences after a near-fatal medical error involving his twin sons. Dr. Denham also participated in cross-marketing the journal with a Discovery Channel documentary, Chasing Zero: Winning the War on Healthcare Harm, produced by TMIT and narrated by Mr. Quaid.

Published quarterly, the Journal of Patient Safety seeks to be the journal of record for advances in patient safety, from original research to the latest ideas in promoting and protecting patients in everyday care practice. Even before his appointment, Dr. Denham was planning two special supplements for the upcoming year: one focused on Medicare Reform and the other on Leadership in Patient Safety.

"We are extremely pleased to welcome Dr. Denham to his new position," comments Druanne Martin, Publisher of Journal of Patient Safety for Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. "We're confident that he'll build on the standard of excellence set by Dr. Dickey, making our journal 'can't-miss' reading for those professionals and policymakers who are setting the pace in improving patient safety."

About Journal of Patient SafetyThe Journal of Patient Safety (http://www.journalpatientsafety.com) is dedicated to presenting research advances and field applications in every area of patient safety. While Journal of Patient Safety has a research emphasis, it also publishes articles describing lessons learned from near-miss incidents, system modifications that are barriers to error, and the impact of regulatory changes on healthcare delivery. This mix of research and real-world findings makes Journal of Patient Safety a valuable resource across the breadth of health professions and from bench to bedside.

About Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (LWW) is a leading international publisher for healthcare professionals and students with nearly 300 periodicals and 1,500 books in more than 100 disciplines publishing under the LWW brand, as well as content-based sites and online corporate and customer services.

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