Rollin J. “Terry” Fairbanks, MD Recognized as a 2025 John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Award Recipient by Joint Commission, National Quality Forum

Dr. Fairbanks is a pioneer and the recognized leader in the integration of human factors engineering in healthcare design and delivery.

WASHINGTON – Rollin J. “Terry” Fairbanks, MD, MS, has been recognized with the prestigious John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Award in the Individual Achievement category. The Eisenberg Awards, named in honor of the late John M. Eisenberg, MD, MBA, a leading advocate for healthcare quality improvement, recognize major achievements by individuals and organizations that are improving patient safety and healthcare quality in innovative and measurable ways.

Dr. Fairbanks is senior vice president and chief quality & safety officer for MedStar Health. Over his 30-year career, he has leveraged his unique credentials as a physician trained in human factors engineering to measurably improve safety in many areas, particularly in medication safety, event review, safety culture, and health IT applications.

In 2010, he envisioned and founded the National Center for Human Factors in Healthcare, with funding from several organizations including the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), uniting safety scientists and clinical researchers to develop new approaches to improve patient safety. This work has propelled MedStar Health to the forefront of advancing patient safety, and he has advanced safety strategies both nationally and internationally through a wide range of effective projects, collaborations, mentorships, publications, and public speaking.

“I’m proud that MedStar Health has invested in safety science, helped to fund the startup of the National Center for Human Factors in Healthcare, and is incorporating safety science into everything we do,” said Dr. Fairbanks. “Our patients and our associates benefit every day from this exceptionally strong prioritization, and I’m proud of how my career has impacted patients around the world. It’s an honor to have our work acknowledged with this prestigious award.”

Dr. Fairbanks and colleagues have created new conferences and workshops used to train thousands and they have influenced the development of similar organizations throughout the U.S. and in Spain, Australia, and the UK.

Among his many projects, Dr. Fairbanks led the project that led to the production of the video “Annie’s Story” a Just Culture training tool that is now used around the world for safety culture training.

Launched in 2002, the awards honor the late John M. Eisenberg, MD, MBA, former administrator of the AHRQ. An impassioned advocate for healthcare quality improvement, Dr. Eisenberg was a founding member of NQF’s board of directors.

Dr. Fairbanks was honored in a formal awards presentation at UNIFY™ 2025: Convening for Quality, Joint Commission’s inaugural thought leadership summit in Washington, D.C.

The 2025 winners join more than two decades of influential healthcare organizations and leaders that have made major strides to improve patient care worthy of an Eisenberg Award. To learn more about the achievements and strategies of each awardee and the history of the program, visit the Joint Commission’s website [jointcommission.org].