About
Dr. Jay Bhatt

Jay Bhatt, D.O., MPH, MPA is a physician executive, internist, geriatrician, public health innovator and widely quoted expert on healthcare transformation and improving healthcare outcomes.

These include cross-sector initiatives; the application of predictive analytics and informatics; using Medicare and Medicaid as opportunities to redesign the healthcare system; addressing the social determinants of health to lower costs, improve outcomes and eliminate inequities; technology innovation; and emergency preparedness.

Prior to founding his consultancy, Dr. Bhatt (pronounced “bot”) was vice president and chief medical officer of the American Hospital Association. Jay is recognized for thought leadership and clarity in his remarks and writings on systemic healthcare issues.

He has spoken at South by Southwest, the National Academy of Medicine, HLTH: Create Health’s Future and the Aspen Ideas Festival, and has been published in Academic Medicine, American Journal of Public Health, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Annals of Internal Medicine and the Journal of the American Medical Association. His comments and viewpoints have appeared in ABC News, USA Today, The Washington Post, Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Tribune, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, Fox News, Modern Healthcare, Becker’s Hospital Review, HuffPost and HealthLeaders.

Dr. Jay Bhatt’s Innovative Initiatives

As a physician executive, Jay’s innovative initiatives have helped hospitals deliver safer, smarter and better care; made physicians and nurses more skilled and responsive to patients; and helped government across sectors impact health outcomes and the health of communities.

These accomplishments have been informed by his earliest positions practicing internal medicine and geriatrics in underserved communities at the Erie Family Health Center on Chicago’s Northwest Side and as the managing deputy commissioner and chief innovation officer for the Chicago Department of Public Health.

Through hard work and fresh ideas, he became a trusted community leader and eventually was able to bring the voice of those patients to the Illinois Health and Hospital Association (IHA) and American Hospital Association (AHA) as a senior executive.

At the AHA, Jay served as vice president and chief medical officer and led several AHA subsidiaries as president and CEO.

These included the Institute for Diversity and Health Equity, which addresses barriers to receiving adequate care, and the Health Research & Educational Trust, which trains medical professionals and encourages research into the quality, cost and equality of healthcare.

While at AHA, Jay’s efforts were focused on working with healthcare and technology companies to help hospitals develop and drive innovation. As part of this, he helped develop and deploy major AHA initiatives, including partnerships with Amazon, Google and Microsoft; the Age-Friendly Health Systems initiatives to improve the health of people at every stage of life; the AHA Physician Alliance, a community for physicians and hospitals to collaborate; and the government-sponsored Hospital Improvement Innovation Network, engaging over 1,600 hospitals in 34 states to improve quality and patient safety.

Improving Wellness Where People Live, Learn, Work and Play

Before joining the AHA, Jay served as the first chief health officer of the IHA, where he launched the organization’s Hospital Engagement Network to improve quality and safety. He launched a physician leadership academy, led a statewide zero-harm initiative, led the medical executive forum and headed an IHA regional patient safety organization.

As the Chicago Department of Public Health’s managing deputy commissioner, Jay implemented Healthy Chicago, the city's public health agenda. Under his guidance, the department was recognized nationally for using predictive analytics and machine learning to target food-safety hotspots; improve their approach to inspections; reduce lead exposure and chronic disease; and strengthen the culture of safety and continuous improvement.

Jay earned a B.A. from the University of Chicago; a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine; a MPH in public health from the University of Illinois at Chicago; and a MPA in public administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government as a Zuckerman and Commonwealth Fund Minority Health Policy Fellow.

An Acclaimed Expert in Tackling Healthcare Challenges

Over the years, Jay has received many honors. He was an Aspen Health Innovator Fellow and a Presidential Leadership Scholar.

Jay was named to 40 Under 40 lists by Crain’s Chicago Business, the National Minority Quality Forum, MedTech Boston and Becker’s Healthcare, where he was a Rising Star; and received the UIC School of Public Health’s Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award, the National Medical Fellowships’ Champions of Health Award and the American College of Physicians’ (ACP) Walter J. McDonald Award for Early Career Physicians.

He was also named a leader in the ACP’s Resident/Fellow Membership and was part of the National Health Service Corp., a program aimed at reducing health workforce shortages in underserved areas.

Known to his patients as the “dancing doctor,” Jay creatively nurtures his own wellness by teaching dance classes, participating in fitness programs and engaging in Chicago’s lively restaurant scene with his family and friends. He enjoys podcasts, nonfiction reading on leadership and autobiographies.

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