A photo of Stephen Muething.

Chief Quality Officer

Michael and Suzette Fisher Family Chair for Safety

Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics

513-636-2068

513-803-9245

Board Certified

Biography & Affiliation

Biography

I am the Chief Quality Officer and the Co-Director of the James M. Anderson Center for Health Systems Excellence at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and Professor of Pediatrics at The University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. I was awarded the Michael and Suzette Fisher Family Chair for Safety at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. I focus on the strategic goals of Cincinnati Children’s to improve all aspects of care, including safety, outcomes, experience, affordability and population health. My research and national impact focus on high reliability, large scale healthcare safety and lean culture transformation. I have taught all over the United States and in more than a dozen countries. I have led or served on multiple national initiatives including the National Steering Committee for Healthcare Safety.

My research has been published in quality journals, such as Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, Kidney International, The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, Journal of the American Medical Association, and Pediatrics.

In 2018, I received the Cincinnati Children’s Faculty Awards: Clinical Care Achievement Award. Also in 2018, I received the Fulbright Specialist Program, USA-Australia Exchange, US Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

I was one of the founders of the Children’s Hospital Solution for Patient Safety (SPS) and now serve as the Strategic Advisor. This network of more than 140 children’s hospitals across the United States and Canada is collaborating to eliminate all harm for both patients and staff.

Clinical Interests

Improved coordination of care in the primary care office; hospitalist care; electronic medical record; immunization registry; health care improvement; family education via the media

Research Interests

Serious harm reduction; high reliability organization theory; organizational culture and leadership; evidence-based care; learning health systems

Academic Affiliation

Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics

Divisions

Quality Improvement, Hospital Medicine

Education

MD: University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, 1984.

Residency: Cincinnati Childrens Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH 1984-1987.

Certification: Pediatrics.

Publications

A prospective multi-center quality improvement initiative (NINJA) indicates a reduction in nephrotoxic acute kidney injury in hospitalized children. Goldstein, SL; Dahale, D; Kirkendall, ES; Mottes, T; Kaplan, H; Muething, S; Askenazi, DJ; Henderson, T; Dill, L; Somers, MJ G; et al. Kidney International. 2020; 97:580-588.

Assessing the appropriateness of the management of otitis media in Australia: A population-based sample survey. Clay-Williams, R; Stephens, JH; Williams, H; Hallahan, A; Dalton, C; Hibbert, P; Ting, HP; Arnolda, G; Wiles, L; Braithwaite, J; et al. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health. 2020; 56:215-223.

Using a network organisational architecture to support the development of Learning Healthcare Systems. Britto, MT; Fuller, SC; Kaplan, HC; Kotagal, U; Lannon, C; Margolis, PA; Muething, SE; Schoettker, PJ; Seid, M. BMJ Quality and Safety. 2018; 27:937-946.

We Will Not Compete on Safety: How Children's Hospitals Have Come Together to Hasten Harm Reduction. Lyren, A; Coffey, M; Shepherd, M; Lashutka, N; Muething, S; Grp, SP S L. The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety. 2018; 44:377-388.

Quality of Health Care for Children in Australia, 2012-2013. Braithwaite, J; Hibbert, PD; Jaffe, A; White, L; Cowell, CT; Harris, MF; Runciman, WB; Hallahan, AR; Wheaton, G; Williams, HM; et al. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2018; 319:1113-1124.

Children's Hospitals' Solutions for Patient Safety Collaborative Impact on Hospital-Acquired Harm. Lyren, A; Brilli, RJ; Zieker, K; Marino, M; Muething, S; Sharek, PJ. Pediatrics. 2017; 140:e20163494-e20163494.

Development of an Electronic Pediatric All-Cause Harm Measurement Tool Using a Modified Delphi Method. Stockwell, DC; Bisarya, H; Classen, DC; Kirkendall, ES; Lachman, PI; Matlow, AG; Tham, E; Hyman, D; Lehman, SM; Searles, E; et al. Journal of Patient Safety. 2016; 12:180-189.

The application of the Global Trigger Tool: a systematic review. Hibbert, PD; Molloy, CJ; Hooper, TD; Wiles, LK; Runciman, WB; Lachman, P; Muething, SE; Braithwaite, J. International Journal for Quality in Health Care (Elsevier). 2016; 28:640-649.

Ohio Children's Hospitals' Solutions for Patient Safety: A Framework for Pediatric Patient Safety Improvement. Lyren, A; Brilli, R; Bird, M; Lashutka, N; Muething, S. Journal for Healthcare Quality. 2016; 38:213-222.

A sustained quality improvement program reduces nephrotoxic medication-associated acute kidney injury. Goldstein, SL; Mottes, T; Simpson, K; Barclay, C; Muething, S; Haslam, DB; Kirkendall, ES. Kidney International. 2016; 90:212-221.