Endovascular simulation specialist Mentice appoints Chief Clinical Officer

Mentice, a provider of in virtual reality‐based interventional medical simulation solutions, announced the appointment of Dr. David J. Ballard as Chief Clinical Officer and Executive Vice President of the Mentice Group. Dr. Ballard was appointed an independent member of the Mentice board of directors in October 2018.

Dr. Ballard (M.D., M.S.P.H., Ph.D., F.A.C.P.) is a health care executive with proven expertise in improving healthcare value and organizational financial performance, while providing international thought leadership. Dr. Ballard was recognized by Becker’s Hospital Review as one of the top 50 experts leading the field of patient safety in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.

“I am excited to join the Mentice executive team, in addition to continuing to engage my existing role on the Mentice board,” says Dr. Ballard. “I have spent the last couple of months educating myself on the opportunities to leverage Mentice solutions to reduce harm to patients, and to make health care more affordable. We have excellent opportunities to make significant contributions towards achieving both these objectives in partnership with healthcare systems across the world.”

A past president of the International Society for Quality in Health Care, Dr. Ballard in 2008 received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. Widely recognized as a scholar in health care quality and value, his two books on health care quality leadership have received Shingo Awards for their contributions to operational excellence.

Dr. Ballard served the past 19 years as Chief Quality Officer of Baylor Scott & White Health, the largest health care system in Texas. He has also served in leadership roles at Emory University (1994-1999), University of Virginia (1991-1994) and the Mayo Clinic. He holds degrees in economics, epidemiology and medicine from the University of North Carolina where he was a John Motley Morehead Scholar. Dr. Ballard trained in internal medicine at the Mayo Clinic and served from 1986-91 on the Mayo staff as Consultant, Associate Professor and Head of the Section of Health Services Evaluation, where he now serves as Healthcare Policy Section Editor for the Mayo Clinic Proceedings. Dr. Ballard is a member of the Chancellor’s Global Leadership Council at the University of North Carolina where he is also Adjunct Professor of Health Policy and Management in the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health.

“I’m thrilled to welcome Dr. Ballard to our team,” says Goran Malmberg, Group CEO of Mentice. “Dr. Ballard will help drive our engagement with health systems, and I cannot think of a better person for this role. Mentice has a unique technology and a market-leading position with premier medical device corporations and academic institutes worldwide. We believe the largest opportunity for our solutions is within the field of continuous practice and with leading health systems—areas where we are just beginning.”