Jeffrey Braithwaite


Jeffrey Braithwaite BA , DipIR, MIR , MBA , PhD , FIML, , FAAHMS, , FAcSS , Hon is an Australian professor, health services and systems researcher, writer and commentator. He is Founding Director of the at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia; Director of the Centre for Healthcare Resilience and Implementation Science, Australian Institute of Health Innovation; Professor of Health Systems Research, Macquarie University; Professor, Centre for Implementation of Hearing Research, Macquarie University.
His work appears in journals such as the British Medical Journal, The Lancet, Social Science & Medicine, BMJ Quality & Safety, and the International Journal of Quality in Health Care.
Braithwaite has a TED Talk “”

Career

He has tertiary qualifications in psychology, industrial relations and business administration and holds a Doctorate of Philosophy from University of New South Wales.
In 2000 he was appointed a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management, now known as the Institute of Managers and Leaders. In 2001 he was conferred as Fellow of the and in 2012 as Honorary Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Medical Administrators. In 2014 he was made Fellow in the distinction grade, . In 2015 he was conferred as Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, United Kingdom. In 2017 he was awarded Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences.
In 2017 the International Society for Quality in Healthcare announced his appointment as President-Elect for 2017-2020 after which he will take on the position of President from October 2020 – 2022.
Braithwaite has appointments with six other universities internationally including Honorary Senior International Research Fellow at the Canon Institute for Global Studies, Honorary Professor, University of Birmingham, Honorary Professor, Newcastle University and Adjunct Professor for Resilient Health Care and Patient Safety, University of Southern Denmark.
He is Professor of Health Systems Research with the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences at Macquarie University and his publications can be viewed on Google Scholar.

Research contributions

Braithwaite has published research on resilient healthcare, implementation science, health systems sustainability, complexity science, patient safety, international healthcare reform, professional cultures, change and restructuring. His publications can be viewed on Google Scholar.

Resilient Healthcare

From 2011 with colleagues including Professor Erik Hollnagel, University of Southern Denmark, and Professor Bob Wears, University of Florida, and as part of Denmark’s Resilient Health Care Net initiative, Braithwaite co-authored a series of books on resilient healthcare and Safety II.
Braithwaite has provided policy and development support to the Resilient Health Care Net and Conference with Professor Erik Hollnagel.

Implementation science

In 2017 Braithwaite was awarded a National Health and Medical Research Council project grant for the Centre for Research Excellence in Implementation Science in Oncology to turn research knowledge into effective patient-centred practice by bringing together researchers, policy makers, clinicians and patients.

Health system sustainability

In 2016 Braithwaite was awarded a National Health and Medical Research Council partnership centre grant to establish the Centre for Health System Sustainability to support the implementation of research-informed improvements in healthcare.

Complexity science and patient safety

Braithwaite has commented publicly on patient safety and the complex nature of healthcare systems and how the number of adverse events experienced by patients in hospital has not decreased.
In 2017, Braithwaite’s white paper Complexity Science in Healthcare – Aspirations, Approaches, Applications and Accomplishments was published. It advocates for healthcare to be recognised as a complex adaptive system and outlines potential applications to healthcare in Australia and worldwide. Braithwaite is a partner with the .
Braithwaite led the CareTrack Australia project, part of a National Health and Medical Research Council program grant, that examined the appropriateness of the care provided in Australia. It showed that adults in Australian received appropriate care in 57% of consultations. Results were published in the Medical Journal of Australia. Runciman WB, Hunt TD, Hannaford NA, Hibbert PD, Westbrook JI, Coiera E, Day RO, Hindmarsh DM, McGlynn EA, Braithwaite J. CareTrack: . Medical Journal of Australia. 2012; 197:100-5.
Results from the CareTrack Kids study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed children in Australia receive care in line with clinical practice guideline recommendations on average 60 percent of the time. Braithwaite J, Hibbert P, Jaffe A, White L, Cowell C, Harris M, Runciman W, Hallahan AR, Wheaton G, Williams H, Murphy E, Molloy C, Wiles L, Ramanathan S, Arnolda G, Ting HP, Hooper TD, Szabo N, Wakefield JG, Hughes CF, Schmiede A, Dalton C, Dalton S, Holt J, Donaldson L, Kelley E, Lilford R, Lachman P, Muething S. . Journal of the American Medical Association. 2018; 319:1113-24.

International healthcare reform

Braithwaite consults to the World Health Organization and AusAid, particularly to the governments of East Timor, Laos, Papua New Guinea and the People's Republic of China; to WHO Centre for Health Development Kobe in Japan and the . Braithwaite is an International member of the WHO Global Patient Safety Network, Geneva, Switzerland from 2015. He is a Technical Advisor to the Regional Director, Eastern Mediterranean Region of WHO, 2019-2021.
In 2017 Braithwaite edited Health Systems Improvement across the globe – success stories from 60 countries - which invited authors from poor-, middle- and high-income countries to contribute articles illustrating where their health system has done well and providing lessons for other countries.
He has contributed to policy and development of multiple international organisations including the , Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research, and , 2008–present.
Braithwaite developed and taught various educational activities on health services management for the , People’s Republic of China, on behalf of the World Health Organization between 1997-2000.
He developed a strategic approach to research and a research plan for the , the Danish accreditation provider, over 2009-2010.

Selected publications