SUBJECT:  New Physician in Chief

I am delighted to announce that Thomas McAfee, M.D., has accepted our offer to be the first Physician in Chief for UCSD Health Sciences, pending final Regental approval. He will begin on August 19.

Tom is Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine and Associate Chief Medical Officer in the Department of Medicine at UCSF, and Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer for Brown & Toland Medical Group in San Francisco.

Physician in Chief is a new position created to provide senior physician leadership for the clinical enterprise, encompassing the Medical Center and Medical Group. As Physician in Chief, Tom joins my administrative team, directing the activities of the Medical Group, and working with the Chairs to help integrate the missions of the clinical departments. Tom's initial challenges will be to improve customer service both for the patient and the clinician, and increasing operational efficiency with the goal of transforming UCSD into San Diego's premier healthcare delivery system.

Given the challenges of operating a successful clinical practice in today's health care market, particularly as we implement a newly defined structure for the Medical Group, we are fortunate to have someone with Tom's unique background in both academic medicine and private practice joining our management team.

Tom joined the UCSF faculty in 1987, after earning his M.D. and completing his residency training in Internal Medicine at Georgetown University School of Medicine and Hospital. He has served in a number of leadership roles at UCSF, including membership on the Strategic Planning Committee for Health Care Futures, the Quality Improvement Executive Committee, and board membership on the Clinical Services Executive Board.

At Brown & Toland, he is part of the administrative team directing the largest Independent Practice Association (IPA) in San Francisco, with more than 1,600 physicians board-certified in over 40 specialties, serving more than 260,000 patients. They are a three-time winner of the prestigious Pacific Business Group on Health (PBGH) Blue Ribbon Award for medical excellence.

With his experience in performance improvement and patient satisfaction, combined with his impressive credentials as a clinician and his commitment to academic medicine, he will be a tremendous asset as we work to enhance our clinical services and assure the continued success of our physician practice.

As part of the administrative restructuring, the Physician in Chief will assume the responsibilities previously handled by the Chief Medical Officer for Health Sciences, a position which is being eliminated. I want to thank Jan Radke, M.D., for his leadership in improving Medical Group operations and clinical performance, and for his vision in guiding clinical services planning initiatives. I wish him the best in his future endeavors.

This position will also take over the duties previously assigned to the Dean for Clinical Affairs, a position that has also been eliminated with the reassignment of Charles Mittman, M.D., as Director of Corporate Compliance. He will also continue to serve as the Vice Chancellor's Special Assistant for Clinical Affairs.

Beginning August 19, Tom's office contact number will be (619)543-5338. Please join me in welcoming Tom to UCSD and San Diego.

                                                Edward W. Holmes, M.D.
                                                Vice Chancellor, Health Sciences
                                                Dean, School of Medicine