Mark Smith, MD is the innovator-in-residence at the MedStar Institute for Innovation. He was the first executive to lead innovation for the MedStar Health system as its first chief innovation officer and founding director of the MedStar Institute for Innovation. During his tenure, he helped transform the MedStar Institute for Innovation from a small, part-time team into one of the largest and most diverse innovation centers in health care.
Prior to these innovation leadership roles, Dr. Smith was chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at MedStar Washington Hospital Center for 14 years and was the founding chair of MedStar Emergency Physicians. Dr. Smith is also a professor and past chair of emergency medicine at the Georgetown University School of Medicine.
Dr. Smith received his Bachelor of Arts in mathematics, philosophy, and psychology with highest honors from Swarthmore College and his master's in computer science from Stanford University. His medical degree is from Yale University School of Medicine. Dr. Smith completed an internship in medicine at George Washington University Medical Center and a residency in emergency medicine at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital.
Dr. Smith’s interests include complex systems theory, thinking differently, the computational paradigm, information visualization, and catalyzing sustainable and self-organizing change within and across large systems.
Earlier in his career, Dr. Smith was the co-founder of Project ER One, an initiative of MedStar Washington Hospital Center to develop the design specifications for an all-risks ready emergency care facility for mass casualty incidents. He is the co-creator of MedStar Health's Azyxxi / Amalga clinical information system, which had been in continuous use at MedStar Health hospitals for 22 years and was utilized in other hospitals in the United States. Dr. Smith has authored numerous journal articles and two textbooks in emergency medicine; served on federal advisory groups in cardiac care, disaster response, and innovation; and helped to develop large programs in clinical simulation, human factors in health care, and telehealth.