The past 12 months have been challenging for everyone working in health care, and Kevin Klauer, D.O.’92, EJD, FACEP, is no exception. The emergency physician became chief executive officer of the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) in May 2019, the first osteopathic physician to lead AOA operations since 1981.
Less than a year later, he found himself leading the association in collecting hundreds of first-hand accounts about how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted D.O.s; these were used to educate lawmakers on policy decisions. Under his leadership, AOA developed a COVID Response Campaign to help health care professionals safely treat patients during the pandemic. It also implemented a strategic plan to ensure the AOA’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion and made physician wellness a priority by creating a “wellness hub” where physicians can access on-demand videos and information related to mental and physical health.
Dr. Klauer also defended the profession on numerous occasions when the credentials of osteopathic physicians were questioned, most notably when former President Donald Trump’s physician, Sean Conley, D.O., was criticized in media outlets.
For his leadership and accomplishments, Dr. Klauer is among 150 physicians in the running for Modern Healthcare Magazine’s 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives, a list that “honors physicians working in the health care industry who are deemed by their peers and an expert panel to be the most influential in terms of demonstrating leadership and impact,” according to the magazine’s website. It provides these criteria:
- Actions the nominee took in the past year to help the organization achieve or exceed financial, operational and clinical goals
- Steps the nominee took to help the organization respond to the coronavirus pandemic, including efforts to sustain a culture of innovation
- Examples of how the nominee has addressed the quadruple aim of improved community health, a better patient experience, lower costs and reduced clinician burnout
Readers are invited to vote for three individuals on the list through April 13, 2021. Honorees will be published in the magazine on June 21.
Before becoming AOA’s CEO, Dr. Klauer was vice president and chief medical officer for hospital-based services, chief risk officer and executive director for patient safety at TeamHealth, a leading clinician services organization. Prior to joining TeamHealth in January 2015, he spent 15 years with Emergency Medicine Physicians Ltd. (EMP), serving in many capacities. He also served as a board member for the EMP Medical Group and the Physicians Specialty Limited Risk Retention Group.
A nationally recognized speaker at industry conferences and a member of several national committees dedicated to improved patient care, Dr. Klauer has served on the faculty of Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine and the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine. He was recognized by the American College of Osteopathic Emergency Physicians with the 2018 Outstanding Educator of the Year award.
A Fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), Dr. Klauer is board-certified in emergency medicine and holds an executive juris doctorate from Concord Law School. He served as medical editor in chief for ACEP Now from 2014 to 2019. He previously served as ACEP Council speaker and was editor-in-chief for Emergency Physicians Monthly, a manuscript reviewer for the Annals of Emergency Medicine and a member of the editorial board of the ED Legal Letter. The author of several medical book chapters, he has received numerous awards for his excellence in writing and public speaking. He was the keynote speaker for DMU’s 2020 Commencement.
