Ami Bhatt Named New ACC Chief Innovation Officer

Ami B. Bhatt, M.D., FACC, has been named the new ACC chief innovation officer.

December 7, 2021 — The American College of Cardiology (ACC) has named Ami B. Bhatt, M.D., FACC, as chief innovation officer. Bhatt has been a member of the ACC for almost 20 years, during which she has been active in the ACC Innovation Section. The college said she brings to the CIO role nearly 10 years of experience in telemedicine and digital health, ranging from clinical implementation, patient experience, digital health solution development and advising investors.

“The ACC’s Innovation Program is shaping the future of cardiovascular care by ensuring clinicians and patients are involved in the development and implementation of the latest medical innovations,” said ACC CEO Cathleen Gates. “Dr. Bhatt has a wealth of experience in the development of digital technologies to improve patient care and has shown a commitment to advancing the clinician/patient experience that will be vital as she helps the ACC further its mission to transform cardiovascular care and improve heart health.”

As CIO, Bhatt will provide leadership and expertise in healthcare innovation, while representing the ACC as a global thought leader in innovation. The ACC CIO works with the entire ACC innovation team on digital transformation of cardiovascular care, including virtual care, remote monitoring and digital health, and advanced analytics and artificial intelligence-driven care, in support of ACC’s mission.

Bhatt most recently served as the director of outpatient and telecardiology at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Corrigan-Minehan Heart Center. She graduated from Harvard College and the Yale School of Medicine and completed her medicine and pediatrics residency at Harvard, her adult cardiology fellowship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and her adult congenital heart disease and pulmonary hypertension fellowship at the Boston Children’s Hospital. While ACC CIO, Bhatt will continue clinical practice at MGH in adult congenital heart disease and teaching as an associate professor at Harvard Medical School.

As an active clinical cardiologist, investigator and educator Bhatt founded her first program in virtual care in 2013 and continues to work on creating culturally relevant personalized virtual cardiovascular care delivery models. Bhatt's research centers on identifying and implementing solutions to overcoming access barriers to cardiovascular and telemedicine care. Bhatt has led national telemedicine education via the ACC in her roles on the Lifelong Learning Oversight Committee and within the ACC Innovation Program, and she has assisted countries affected by COVID with the urgent need to deliver remote care.

“My interest in digital health strategy and the digital transformation of the cardiovascular field stems from my belief that state of the art, personalized care can be delivered to individuals in the community, empowering patients and creating stronger clinician-patient partnerships for sustainable health outcomes,” Bhatt said. “The ACC Innovation Program has a robust platform to transform digital patient care and advance technologies that are reshaping medicine, and I am eager to begin work furthering these strategies as ACC CIO.”

The American College of Cardiology envisions a world where innovation and knowledge optimize cardiovascular care and outcomes. As the professional home for the entire cardiovascular care team, the mission of the College and its 54,000 members is to transform cardiovascular care and to improve heart health.

For more information: acc.org