Dean Sittig, Ph.D Closed Now

Dr. Dean F. Sittig is a renowned scientist, professor, and researcher in the field of clinical informatics, health data systems, and patient safety in electronic health records (EHRs). For more than three decades, he has dedicated his career to studying how information technology can be harnessed to improve the quality, safety, and efficiency of healthcare delivery.

Currently, Dr. Sittig serves as a Professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), School of Biomedical Informatics. He is also affiliated with the Center for Safety, Quality, Informatics, and EHR Research, where he leads initiatives aimed at reducing patient harm through better use of technology.

His work has been pivotal in defining best practices for clinical decision support systems (CDSS) and in identifying the risks associated with poorly designed EHR systems. Dr. Sittig is internationally recognized for developing socio-technical models of health IT safety, frameworks that emphasize the interaction between people, processes, and technology in healthcare settings.

He has published extensively, co-authoring more than 300 peer-reviewed papers and several influential books, including Improving Outcomes with Clinical Decision Support and Electronic Health Records: Challenges in Design and Implementation. His research often focuses on EHR usability, safety surveillance, interoperability, and health IT regulations.

Dr. Sittig has also worked with the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) and the Institute of Medicine (now the National Academy of Medicine), contributing to reports and national policies that guide the safe and effective use of health data systems.

Through his teaching, publications, and leadership, Dr. Sittig has shaped the way healthcare organizations think about health IT safety, EHR optimization, and clinical decision-making in the digital age