Human Factors in Action

Rebecca Butler, MA is a senior program manager for the system safety program at MedStar Health. In this role, she helps manage the system’s adverse event reporting and review processes. Rebecca specializes in integrating human factors engineering and safety science principles to create and implement solutions that increase safety throughout the MedStar Health system. She has expertise in medical device usability and previously worked for MedStar Health’s National Center for Human Factors in Healthcare as a consultant to manufacturers working through the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) pre-market submission process. She holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial and systems engineering from Virginia Tech and a master’s in human factors and applied cognition from George Mason University.

Laura Lee, MS, BSN is MedStar Health’s Assistant Vice President for Patient Safety. In this role, Laura is integral to developing and operationalizing MedStar Health’s high reliability and patient safety strategic initiatives. Laura is committed to bringing the principles of high reliability to life through practical applications at the front line of care delivery and healthcare operations and to advancing MedStar Health as a leader in the design of proactive safety systems that anticipate and prevent hazards and unsafe conditions. Prior to joining the MedStar Health team, Laura was the Director of the Office of Patient Safety and Clinical Quality at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (NIH CC). As a senior leadership team member, Laura’s responsibilities included managing the NIH CC’s patient safety, clinical quality improvement, and performance measurement programs, guiding the NIH CC’s high-reliability journey, and managing the NIH CC’s accreditation activities. Laura holds a Master of Science in Patient Safety Leadership from the College of Medicine at the University of Illinois-Chicago, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the Catholic University of America, and a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Gettysburg College.

Kristen Miller, DrPH, CPPS is the Co-Director of the MedStar Health Center for Diagnostic Systems Safety, Senior Scientific Director of the MedStar Health National Center for Human Factors in Healthcare, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at Georgetown University School of Medicine, Affiliate Faculty at Georgetown Innovation Center for Biomedical Informatics, and Graduate Faculty at George Mason University College of Public Health. Dr. Miller is a clinically oriented human factors researcher focusing on diagnostic safety, medical decision-making, informatics, and the assessment of medical interventions with an emphasis on healthcare delivery. Her work incorporates both industrial engineering and cognitive psychology components and takes into account the entire system, from health information technology to characteristics of individual patients. Dr. Miller was recently appointed to the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) Forum on Advancing Diagnostic Excellence, serves as a mentor in the Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine (SIDM) Fellowship in Diagnostic Excellence, and is an active participant on the Diagnostic Safety Measures Expert Workgroup to support AHRQ’s Quality Indicators (QI) Program.

Zoe Pruitt, MS, CPHFH is a Senior Human Factors Scientist at the MedStar Health National Center for Human Factors in Healthcare. She specializes in applying the psychology of human error to safety event analysis and process improvement. Her research interests include the usability of healthcare technologies, including electronic health records and medication administration records. She also helps manage the center’s internal and external human factors consulting team and synchronous and asynchronous education initiatives. She has lectured at various conferences and institutions, including the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and the Patient Safety Authority. Zoe earned her Master of Arts in Human Factors and Applied Cognition at George Mason University and her Bachelor of Arts in Brain and Cognitive Science at the University of Rochester. She is also a Certified Professional in Human Factors in Healthcare.

Raj Ratwani, PhD, MPH is the director of the MedStar Health National Center for Human Factors in Healthcare-- the largest human factors research team embedded in a healthcare system. As a center director, he is responsible for overall strategy development and execution, and he oversees research, advisory services, and education efforts. He is also the vice president of scientific affairs for the MedStar Health Research Institute. He is responsible for supporting researchers in program development, identifying strategic partners and funding opportunities to foster high-impact research, and supporting an administrative infrastructure that enables rigorous research. He earned a Doctorate in Human Factors and Applied Cognition from George Mason University and received the Fleishman dissertation award for outstanding research. He completed a National Research Council post-doctoral fellowship at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory. Dr. Ratwani is a professor at Georgetown University School of Medicine who teaches human factors in the Executive Master’s in Clinical Quality, Safety, and Leadership program.