Dermatologists historically on sidelines in hospital medicine, says new president of USC Care

David Peng

Keck Medicine of USC announced that David Peng, MD, MPH, has been named president of USC Care Medical Group, a faculty practice plan of Keck Medicine physicians at hospital clinics and ambulatory locations.

Peng, chair and professor of the department of dermatology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, will serve as president until June 30, 2021, according to a press release.

“Functioning as chair of a department, we are responsible for the academic, clinical and teaching missions of a department, and it’s quite exciting because you get to focus on faculty members and nurture them toward career success,” Peng said in an interview with Healio Dermatology on what will dovetail between the two roles. “The president [of the medical group] is responsible to help all faculty members maximize their practice potential in the clinical areas. Of course, the exciting thing in an academic medical center is we also then harness the power to see patients in clinical trials and impact discovery toward new therapeutics. We get to look at epidemiology, population science and efficiencies, and those things are really exciting to me.”

He said he is also interested in improving quality and the patient experience.

“I would also say that dermatologists have historically been on the sidelines in hospital medicine. I’ve had the opportunity to learn a lot about hospital medicine and how patients move through the hospital system and how a central billing office functions. These types of experiences have been valuable for me because I’ve learned that everyone in the medical enterprise needs to work together toward measurable improvement in all areas. It is a team effort, and I enjoy that part of learning and all the individual components that lead toward success,” he said. – by Abigail Sutton

Disclosure: Peng reports he is employed by Keck Medicine of USC.