Penn Highlands Taps Dugan as Chief Medical Officer
Penn Highlands Healthcare announced today that Gary DuGan, MD, has been named the system's Chief Medical Officer (CMO). This new position has been created to focus on quality and patient safety and have a broad influence on clinical strategy, clinical integration and the cost of care across the system. Dr. DuGan has been the Vice President and Chief Medical Officer for Penn Highlands DuBois, one of the system's affiliate hospitals, since 2007.
As part of the Penn Highlands Healthcare senior leadership team, Dr. DuGan will be responsible for overseeing the quality of medical care, the needs of the physician community and partnering with senior leadership across the system to strengthen and grow clinical programs.
Dr. DuGan received a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Wilkes College in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., where he graduated Magna Cum Laude. He received his medical degree from Hershey Medical Center of the Pennsylvania State University, Hershey, Pa. He completed an Internal Medicine internship and residency at Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown, Pa., where he was also the chief medical resident.
He received a Master of Medical Management Degree from Tulane University in New Orleans, La. He is board certified in Internal Medicine by the American Board of Internal Medicine and a Certified Physician Executive of the American College of Physician Executives. He serves on the board of directors of the Pennsylvania Health Care Quality Alliance, a non-profit alliance of hospitals, physicians, health plans and other organizations who are dedicated to promoting responsible public reporting of health care information. He is also a member of the DuBois YMCA board of directors.
As the Chief Medical Officer at Penn Highlands DuBois, DuGan was responsible for overseeing many quality of care projects. Under his leadership, a four-year quality initiative with Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield resulted in an additional $1 million per year of revenue for Penn Highlands DuBois. During that program, that included 22 hospitals of similar size, Penn Highlands DuBois achieved the lowest readmission rate while at the same time, posting the most difficult case mix of all the hospitals.
"Dr. DuGan has shown that he has a great attention to detail while creating a system that allows our providers to perform at high levels when it comes to giving the best care to our patients," Penn Highlands Healthcare CEO Raymond A. Graeca said. "Under his leadership, our DuBois facility has excelled at providing high quality care at a low cost compared to state and national averages. By meeting the criteria set forth by many insurance companies, Penn Highlands DuBois has seen its reimbursement rates increase or remain the same while hospitals across the country have seen their reimbursement rates decline."