Cliff Fullerton

Cliff Fullerton, MD, MSc, serves as President Baylor Scott & White Quality Alliance. Dr. Fullerton is a practicing board certified family physician and past President of Family Medical Center at Garland/North Garland located in Garland, TX. Dr. Fullerton is a top performer in HealthTexas Provider Network (HTPN) nationally recognized primary care quality measures and is dedicated to the families he serves considering it a sacred trust and honor. His commitment to improving the healthcare of patients extends beyond his practice. As Vice President for Chronic Disease at Baylor Health Care System (BHCS), Chief Quality Officer for HTPN and Chief Medical Officer for Baylor Quality Alliance (BSWQA), he has effectively guided the implementation of many quality improvement initiatives, specifically in the areas of preventive services, care transitions, asthma and diabetes management demonstrating proven results of positively impacting the care delivered to the patients and communities throughout the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Dr. Fullerton’s natural ability to work alongside his colleagues along with his ability to positively influence physicians prompted his recruitment to serve in many leadership roles throughout his career that expands across the highly integrated health system comprised of BHCS, HTPN and the BQA. Some of these key positions include: Chairman of the HTPN Disease Management and Electronic Health Record Clinical Content Committee, BHCS Lead Champion for Ambulatory Care, member and Chairman of the HTPN Best Care Committee, Chairman of the BHCS Chronic Disease Governance Council, and member of the Board of Directors, and Executive Committee of HTPN. In addition, he has served on the Executive Committee, Quality Improvement Committee, and Patient Care Monitoring Committee at Baylor Regional Medical Center at Garland. He served as a Board Member of the Texas Academy of Family Physicians Foundation, a Member of the Dallas Ft. Worth Business Group on Health Diabetes Committee, a Clinical Advocate with the Texas Medical Foundation and a Physician Champion for Texas DOQ-IT. He is a current member of the Texas Medical Association Quality Council and MSO Task Force. An enthusiastic advocate of quality and best care delivery, Dr. Fullerton has been an active leader in the development and implementation of many prominent quality initiatives that include Adult Preventative Health Services, Chronic Disease Management, Transitional Care, and Care Coordination all of which facilitate successful population health management and care coordination in the post-reform era. His visionary approach to program development has been fundamental in identifying processes, developing tools and implementing strategies (flow sheets, diabetes database, physician dashboard, data transparency, pay-4-performance, patient-centered medical home) proven to improve care at both the individual and population patient level. Included among his achievements in the area of disease management is the double-digit improvement in diabetes outcomes metrics and the recognition of 180 HTPN physicians by Bridges to Excellence (BTE) in diabetes care. Other substantial accomplishments include establishing a reputable care coordination infrastructure in support of HTPN’s participation in value-based contracts and management of high-risk patients, developing the nation’s second largest network of NCQA recognized Patient-Centered Medical Homes (60 HTPN clinics, 250 physicians), developing a transitional care model resulting in decreasing heart failure readmission rates from 23% to 11%, and the founding of the Institute of Chronic Disease and Care Redesign for BHCS with the aim of coordinating and redesigning care for patients with chronic disease across the care continuum. Dr. Fullerton’s accumulated experience in the area of quality improvement is valued by industry leaders who often seek his consultation regarding patient centered medical home, readmission prevention and care coordination alignment strategies involving hospitals and post-acute care settings. Dr. Fullerton received his medical degree from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Dallas, TX. He completed his internship in General Surgery at the University of Texas Health Science Center, Dallas, TX, his family practice residency at University of Oklahoma Health Science Center, Oklahoma City, OK and a Masters of Science in Health Care Management at the University of Texas at Dallas.

[Programming descriptions are generated by participants and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SXSW.]