The Chief Operating Officer (COO) provides strategic and operational leadership for the academic physician practice, ensuring the delivery of high-quality, patient-centered care while advancing the organization’s clinical, academic, research, and financial objectives.
The COO oversees Baylor Medicine’s day-to-day operations ambulatory sites, procedural areas, and support functions. Working in close partnership with physician leaders, department chairs, faculty, administrators, hospital and health-system executives, and academic leaders, the COO translates organizational strategy into effective operating plans, scalable infrastructure, and measurable results.
The ideal candidate is an experienced healthcare executive with a strong understanding of academic medicine, physician practice operations, ambulatory care delivery, faculty practice models, value-based care, revenue cycle management, and organizational change.
Reporting Structure
- Reports directly to the Executive Vice President of Clinical Affairs, or designee, and works in collaboration with Department Chairs, COO, President’s team, Medical Directors, and Clinical Administrators to manage quality, safety, and patient experience throughout the Baylor Medicine clinical enterprise.
- Direct reports include: (add in current COO reports)
- Works collaboratively with other members of the Baylor Medicine Council and/or their direct reports to enhance the clinical quality mission.
Strategic and operational leadership
- Develop and execute the operating strategy for the academic physician practice in alignment with institutional priorities.
- Lead the development and implementation of annual operating plans, performance goals, budgets, and capital plans.
- Establish effective systems for accountability, decision-making, communication, and execution across clinical and administrative functions.
- Identify opportunities to improve access, capacity, productivity, patient experience, quality, and financial performance.
- Build an integrated operating model that supports the practice’s clinical, education, research, and community missions.
- Assess opportunities for growth, new services, affiliations, partnerships, mergers, and expansion into new markets.
Clinical practice operations
- Oversee the operational performance of outpatient practices, specialty clinics, procedural services, and other practice locations.
- Improve patient access, scheduling, referral management, care coordination, clinic utilization, and continuity of care.
- Partner with medical directors and department leaders to optimize provider templates, staffing models, workflows, and practice capacity.
- Promote standardized, evidence-informed operating practices while respecting specialty-specific needs.
- Support the implementation of team-based care, population health initiatives, digital health services, and other innovative care models.
- Ensure effective coordination between the physician practice, hospitals, academic departments, affiliated organizations, and community partners.
Physician and faculty partnership
- Establish strong, collaborative relationships with department chairs, division chiefs, medical directors, faculty, advanced practice providers, and practice leaders.
- Partner with physician leadership on clinical strategy, governance, compensation, recruitment, retention, professional development, and succession planning.
- Support an environment that recognizes and balances clinical, teaching, research, and service contributions.
- Facilitate timely resolution of operational issues and conflicts.
- Engage physicians in performance improvement, strategic planning, innovation, and organizational decision-making.
- Promote a culture of trust, professionalism, inclusion, transparency, and shared accountability.
Quality, safety, compliance, and patient experience
- Ensure that clinical operations support high standards for quality, patient safety, service excellence, and regulatory compliance.
- Partner with the CQO to monitor outcomes and address performance gaps.
- Advance initiatives related to patient experience, access, care coordination, and population health.
- Ensure compliance with applicable federal and state laws, accreditation requirements, payer regulations, privacy standards, and institutional policies.
- Develop and maintain effective dashboards and reporting systems for operational, clinical, financial, and experience outcomes.
Workforce and organizational development
- Develop a high-performing administrative and operational leadership team.
- Oversee workforce planning, recruitment, onboarding, retention, succession planning, and leadership development.
- Promote appropriate staffing models for physicians, advanced practice providers, nurses, clinical support staff, and administrative personnel.
- Foster employee engagement, professional development, and a culture of continuous improvement.
- Ensure that organizational structures and roles are aligned with strategic and operational priorities.
Academic and research mission
- Ensure that practice operations support the educational mission of the medical school, residency and fellowship programs, and continuing professional education.
- Partner with academic leaders to protect and strengthen the infrastructure needed for teaching and research.
- Support the development of clinical research operations, research participation, and appropriate integration of research into clinical practice.
- Collaborate on faculty recruitment, retention, promotion, and advancement initiatives.
Technology, data, and innovation
- Partner with information technology and clinical informatics leaders to optimize the electronic health record and other practice systems.
- Advance the effective use of analytics, automation, artificial intelligence, telehealth, and digital tools.
- Ensure that leaders have timely, accurate, and actionable data for decision-making.
- Support interoperability, patient engagement, and digitally enabled care models.
- Evaluate emerging technologies and operational innovations for strategic value, feasibility, and return on investment.
Governance and stakeholder engagement
- Participate in executive leadership, board, faculty practice, and institutional governance structures.
- Maintain effective relationships with health-system executives, hospital leaders, academic leadership, trustees, donors, payers, regulators, and community stakeholders.
- Represent the physician practice with professionalism and credibility inside and outside the organization.
- Promote alignment between the practice, medical school, hospitals, health system, and affiliated entities.
Minimum Qualifications
- Required Education: Master’s degree in Healthcare Administration, Business Administration, Operations Management, or related clinical field.
- Required Experience: Ten years of directly related experience in healthcare or a related field.
Baylor College of Medicine is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action/Equal Access Employer.
