Stephen E. Muething, MD

I am a pediatrician, husband, father, and grandfather, dedicated to advancing pediatric care and safety. At Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, I serve as the senior clinical director for Global Advisory Services and hold the Michael and Suzette Fisher Family Chair for Safety. Additionally, I am a professor of pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. In my role with Global Advisory Services, I collaborate with hospitals and health systems across the United States and globally, helping them deliver the highest standards of pediatric care and safety. Our mission is to ensure that every child and family, regardless of location, receives optimal care and outcomes.

My career began with 13 years as a rural pediatrician, followed by leadership roles as chief safety officer and chief quality officer at Cincinnati Children’s. I also co-led the James M. Anderson Center for Health Systems Excellence for over eight years. My expertise focuses on high reliability and large-scale healthcare safety, and I have taught and presented extensively across the United States and in more than 20 countries. My national contributions include serving on multiple initiatives, such as the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s National Steering Committee for Healthcare Safety.

My research, centered on pediatric safety and quality, has been featured in esteemed journals, including Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, Kidney International, The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), and Pediatrics. In recognition of my contributions, I received the Cincinnati Children’s Faculty: Clinical Care Achievement Award in 2018, as well as a Fulbright Specialist Program award for USA-Australia exchange, granted by the US Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

I served as a founder and the inaugural clinical director for the Children’s Hospitals’ Solutions for Patient Safety (SPS) network, I continue to support its mission to eliminate harm for patients and staff. The SPS network now includes over 140 children’s hospitals across the United States and Canada, united in the pursuit of excellence in pediatric healthcare safety.