EXCOM Member

Dr. David Baker is the executive vice president for Healthcare Quality Evaluation at The Joint Commission.  He is responsible for the development of standards and performance measures for The Joint Commission’s Accreditation and Certification programs, which cover over 20,000 health care organizations. He is also responsible for survey methods, public reporting, recognition programs and awards, and The Joint Commission’s Department of Health Services Research. 
 
Baker received his MD from the UCLA School of Medicine and his MPH from the UCLA School of Public Health. He completed his research training in health services research at the UCLA Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program. Prior to coming to The Joint Commission, Baker was the Michael A. Gertz Professor of Medicine; Chief of the Division of General Internal Medicine and Geriatrics; and Deputy Director of the Institute for Public Health and Medicine at the Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University. Baker is internationally known for his research into health literacy and the consequences of inadequate health literacy. In addition, he has conducted important studies examining racial and ethnic disparities, the impact of language barriers on health care, and differences in health outcomes for the uninsured. Along with his work in health literacy and disparities, Baker has conducted extensive research in quality of care, focusing on the use of electronic health records for quality measurement and quality improvement. He has published over 250 original research articles and book chapters. His numerous awards include the 2013 American College of Physicians’ Alvan R. Feinstein Memorial Award for his research in clinical epidemiology. Baker is also editor-in-chief for The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety.