The Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM) congratulates three hospitalists who appear on Modern Healthcare’s list of the 50 Most Influential Physician Executives and Leaders of 2016. Pediatric hospitalist Patrick Conway, MD, MSc, MHM, Deputy Administrator for Innovation and Quality and Chief Medical Officer of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), takes the No. 3 spot; national leader in healthcare quality and an architect of the hospital medicine movement, Robert M. Wachter, MD, MHM, of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), comes in at No. 4; and US Surgeon General and hospitalist Vivek Murthy, MD, MBA, ranks at No. 22.

In this Year of the Hospitalist, SHM’s celebration of the 20th anniversary of the New England Journal of Medicine paper by Drs. Robert Wachter and Lee Goldman that first used the term “hospitalist” to describe physicians who care for hospitalized patients, this distinct honor demonstrates hospitalists’ integral role in the hospital and health system, particularly in this era of monumental change. By nature of their work, hospitalists possess a deep understanding of how hospitals operate and how to add value to their institutions, improve patient outcomes and lead teams to solve the most complex problems both inside hospitals’ walls and in the U.S. healthcare system.

“I’m always proud to be a hospitalist, but it is in moments like these when hospitalists are recognized on the national stage that my pride is confirmed and amplified, validating that we are the change agents for improved quality of care and teamwork across the care continuum,” SHM President Brian Harte, MD, SFHM, said. “Congratulations to our colleagues and respected leaders, Drs. Conway, Wachter, and Murthy!”