Titus Daniels, M.D., MPH, MMHC, associate professor of Medicine, has been named executive director of the Vanderbilt Medical Group (VMG) and chief operating officer for Adult Clinical Operations at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
In this new role, Daniels will report to David Posch, M.S., chief executive officer of Vanderbilt University Hospital and clinics, and will work closely with other members of the Medical Center’s senior leadership team including: Paul Sternberg M.D., chief medical officer for VMG and assistant vice chancellor for Adult Health Affairs; Mitch Edgeworth, MBA, chief operating officer for Vanderbilt University Hospital and Clinics; and Robin Steaban, MSN, R.N., chief nursing officer for Vanderbilt University Hospital and Clinics, as well as other members of VUMC’s leadership.
“Dr. Daniels brings a rich background of experience and the proven ability to develop programs and systems that will offer an increasing level of support for our growing adult clinical enterprise,” said C. Wright Pinson, MBA, M.D., deputy vice chancellor for Health Affairs and CEO of the Vanderbilt Health System.
“During his nearly 10 years with Vanderbilt, Titus has demonstrated broad capabilities and results-oriented leadership skills. We feel he is the ideal fit for this position.”
As Daniels transitions from his current role as vice chair for Clinical Affairs in the Department of Medicine, he will work closely with the clinical department chairs and operational leaders throughout VUMC and the Schools of Medicine and Nursing to ensure coordinated patient care and management processes across the continuum.
“I am thrilled Dr. Daniels will be joining our administrative team,” Posch said. “He will bring a needed perspective to the design of our operating systems to support patient care. He is a proven leader in managing complex change.”
New areas of oversight for Daniels will include: efforts to improve clinical documentation and coding; Electronic Medical Record (EMR) tool design, adoption and support; development and implementation of the standard clinical operating model; innovation in clinical processes; and design and alignment of systems to support population health and integration with the Vanderbilt Health Affiliated Network.
He will provide direct executive oversight to several patient care center leadership teams, participate in the development of the adult clinical enterprise operating and capital budgets, and guide space planning for the clinics.
Daniels said he is ready for the challenge this new position brings.
“I am honored to be serving in this position,” he said. “Vanderbilt is an incredible and unique health care center. I look forward to continuing to work with our outstanding physicians, advanced practice professionals, nurses and support staff as we continue to put Vanderbilt at the leading edge of health care. Though change in our industry is inevitable, my goal is to support our clinical professionals and staff through these changes so that Vanderbilt remains not only the preferred place to receive care, but also the most professionally fulfilling place to work and practice.”
In addition to his extensive clinical work and scholarship, Daniels has been recognized with several awards, including Vanderbilt’s Five Pillar Leader Award. A partial list of experiences includes work in credentialing, computerized physician order entry, information privacy and security, health record policy and development, meaningful use, pharmacy and therapeutics, medical board issue management, and quality. His most recent experience includes serving as vice chair for Clinical Affairs in the Department of Medicine.
“This appointment is a wonderful recognition of Titus’ superb leadership,” said Sternberg, also the George Weeks Hale Professor of Ophthalmology. “He brings great vision and extraordinary experience to this critical new position. I am excited to partner with him in our ongoing transformation of the VMG ambulatory practice.”
