Timothy R. Huerta, PhD

Timothy Huerta will serve as the Principal Investigator for the proposed project, “MyExperience: A Patient-Centric Safety Error Reporting Mobile Technology Application.” He will lead all aspects of both the front- and back-end implementation, and will use his skills and experience with Health Information Technology (HIT) implementation to troubleshoot technological roadblocks. Huerta has a long history outside of academia developing tools to support practice redesign. During his tenure at Texas Tech University, he wrote the theoretic back-end for commercialized software (www.mobiusslip.com) and continue to serve on the advisory board for the organization that developed the technological implementation – serving as technology consultant. That software is currently in use at universities throughout the U.S. to facilitate social learning. Additionally, he serves as a Technology Co-Founder for a sales and engagement software company – Digital Frontier Consulting – currently seeking angel investors for the software I co-designed. As an undergraduate, Huerta designed the customer relationship management (CRM) software for the College of Engineering and Technology at California State University at Los Angeles.

I am a nationally recognized expert on issues related to healthcare productivity and process analysis. I have extensive expertise in the area of outcomes as it relates to electronic health records (EHRs), HIT and Meaningful Use. I have taught a blended Lean/Six Sigma Course for three years after having participated in the first cohort of ASQ’s Lean/Six Sigma Training for healthcare. I have extensive history in large-scale implementation, including leading the training for the conversion of a 1,000-bed hospital to the Meditech EHR system.

I have over 20 years of health services research experience. Having spent seven years in an internally funded environment where seeking external resources was viewed as less important than building relationships with community partners, I have extensive experience with interdisciplinary collaborations, and am aware of the importance of open, honest and engaged communications among research team members. This project’s success relies on a collaboration that includes individuals with a diverse mix of academic perspectives, complementary research skills, and practical experience coming together to work on this important project of mutual interest. As you can see, my background allows me to serve as “boundary spanner” – understanding the language of health services and quality improvement along with the technical components of HIT.  I am particularly excited to lead this project because of the potential for substantive contribution and the opportunity to ultimately improve patient safety and quality of care.

• B.A., California State University, Los Angeles, 1993
• M.S., California State University, Los Angeles, 1995
• Doctoral Fellowship, Santa Fe Institute, 2001
• Ph.D., University of Southern California, 2005