Leadership

Deirdre Mylod, PhD
Executive Director
Institute for Innovation

Dr. Deirdre Mylod is responsible for developing and leveraging measures and methodologies to better understand the human experience within healthcare.  She focuses on understanding the needs of both patients as well as clinicians and caregivers and promoting the integration of data and analytics to take into account the full context of the care and caring environment.  As a prominent thought leader in the industry, Mylod regularly lectures on topics including optimizing patient experience, supporting the needs of the healthcare workforce, data strategy as well as how to bring an equity lens to healthcare improvement activities.  Mylod has extensive expertise in measure development, methodology and statistics and is the architect of frameworks related to reducing patient suffering and understanding clinician burnout.  

In addition, Mylod serves as the Senior Vice President of Research & Analytics at Press Ganey.  During her 24 years at Press Ganey, she has served in a variety of key leadership roles related to research, public policy and support of partner organizations in their improvement journeys.

Mylod holds a master’s degree and PhD in psychology from the University of Notre Dame.

Thomas H. Lee, MD
Chief Medical Officer
Press Ganey

Dr. Thomas Lee has more than three decades of experience in health care performance improvement as a practicing physician, a leader in provider organizations, researcher and health policy expert. He is a published author who has contributed significant leadership and research to improving patient care and outcomes. Dr. Lee has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to improving the patient experience, to better serve patients and reduce suffering as the industry works to control costs and improve quality. 

Dr. Lee is an internist and cardiologist and practices primary care at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. As Chief Medical Officer at Press Ganey, Dr. Lee is responsible for developing clinical and operational strategies to help providers across the nation measure and improve the patient experience. The overarching goal is to reduce the suffering of patients as they undergo care and improve the value of that care. Dr. Lee previously served as Network President for Partners Healthcare System and CEO for Partners Community HealthCare, Inc., the integrated delivery system founded by Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital. In this capacity, Dr. Lee oversaw efforts to improve the quality and efficiency of care.

Dr. Lee is a member of the Board of Directors of Geisinger Health System, the Special Medical Advisory Committee (SMAC) of the Veterans Administration and the Panel of Health Advisors of the Congressional Budget Office, and a member of the Editorial Board of The New England Journal of Medicine. Dr. Lee is a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Professor of Health Policy and Management at the Harvard School of Public Health. He is currently on leave from both positions.

Dr. Lee frequently lectures on health care and the patient experience and has authored more than 250 academic articles and two books, Chaos and Organization in Health Care and Eugene Braunwald and the Rise of Modern Medicine. 

Named in his honor, the Thomas H. Lee Award for Excellence in Primary Care is given each year to recognize a primary care physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital who meets the needs of his or her patients exceptionally well. 

Dr. Lee holds a bachelor’s degree in history and science from Harvard College, a medical degree from Cornell University Medical College and a master’s degree in epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health.

Patrick T. Ryan
Chief Executive Officer
Press Ganey

Patrick T. Ryan has more than three decades of experience working with health care leaders and providers, and a passion to continuously improve the safety, quality, and accessibility of care for patients. Ryan spearheaded the idea for the Institute and founded it through funding by Press Ganey.

As a client of Press Ganey for 12 years of his career, Ryan understands the value of insights derived from listening to the patient’s voice. A longtime health care executive with a deep understanding of the complexities of managing a health system, as Press Ganey’s CEO, Ryan has now set out with the Press Ganey team to transform the industry’s approach to understanding, measuring and improving the patient experience. Through Ryan’s leadership, Press Ganey has advanced the concept of reducing patient suffering by addressing avoidable defects in care to achieve a truly patient-centered culture. 

Throughout his career in health care, Ryan has served on numerous public, private and charitable boards. Ryan currently serves on the board of trustees of the Lahey Clinic, a physician-driven medical center and teaching hospital of Tufts University School of Medicine, as well as the board of Atrius Health, one of the largest physician groups in the nation. Ryan frequently meets and presents to health systems and provides commentary and perspective for media. 

Prior to joining Press Ganey, Ryan served as the CEO of The Broadlane Group, a leading provider of cost management and supply chain solutions to acute, post-acute, and outpatient service markets. Ryan served as the CEO and a director of PolyMedica Corporation, until its acquisition by Medco Health Solutions in 2007. Operating under the well-known Liberty Medical Supply brand, PolyMedica was the nation's largest direct-to-consumer provider of blood glucose testing supplies and related services for more than 1 million active patients throughout the United States. Ryan also served as an executive leader at Physicians Dialysis, Inc., Principalcare Inc., ImageAmerica Inc., and R.B. Diagnostics.

Ryan is actively involved in numerous community efforts and has served on charitable boards throughout his career. He is keenly focused on advancing the quality of education and sports activities for economically disadvantaged youth through various family scholarship programs. He presently serves on the board of directors of Avon Old Farms School in Connecticut and is a director of Affiliated Managers Group, Inc.

Ryan holds a bachelor of arts in political science and sociology from the University of Rochester.