Bela Patel, MD, FCCP, FCCM, ATSF

Professor
Graham Distinguished University Chair
Vice Dean, Healthcare Quality
Director, Division of Critical Care Medicine
Interim Division Director, Pulmonary & Sleep Medicine
Distinguished Teaching Professor, The University of Texas System

Email:  Bela.Patel@uth.tmc.edu
Phone:  713-500-6835

Biography

Dr. Bela Patel is the Vice Dean of Healthcare Quality and the Division Director for Critical Care Medicine at the McGovern Medical School in the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. She also serves as the Regional Chief Medical Officer and the Executive Medical Director of Critical Care for Memorial Hermann Hospital Texas Medical Center.

Dr. Patel attended the University of Texas in Austin and McGovern Medical School (formerly The University of Texas Houston Medical School). She completed her Internal Medicine training in 1996 and subsequently two fellowships in Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine and Sleep Medicine in 1999 also at McGovern Medical School (formerly The University of Texas Houston Medical School).

In 2002, Dr. Patel was appointed the Chief of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, and later appointed the Chief of Medicine at Lyndon B. Johnson General Hospital and Vice-Chair of the Department of Medicine in 2007. In 2009, she became the Assistant Chief Medical Officer and Executive Medical Director of Critical Care at Memorial Hermann Hospital Texas Medical Center.

Through her work in Quality and Patient Safety, she was inducted as a Fellow in Clinical Safety and Effectiveness by the University of Texas System. Dr. Patel was appointed as the Assistant Dean of Healthcare quality in 2011 and the Vice Dean in 2017 and supports the 18 Vice Chairs of Quality in Medicine at McGovern Medical School. Dr. Patel’s research interest includes pulmonary hypertension, cognitive complexity and error reduction in critical care, and quality improvement implementation science.

Areas of Interest

Research Interests

Pulmonary hypertension
Cognitive complexity
Error reduction in critical care
Quality improvement implementation science

Education

• Medical Degree
  McGovern Medical School, formerly The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) Medical School, Houston, TX
• Residency
  Internal Medicine, McGovern Medical School, formerly The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) Medical School, Houston, TX
• Fellowship
  Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine, McGovern Medical School, formerly The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) Medical School, Houston, TX
• Fellowship
  Sleep Medicine, McGovern Medical School, formerly The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) Medical School, Houston, TX

Board Certifications

American Board of Internal Medicine Diplomate
American Board of Internal Medicine – Pulmonary Disease
American Board of Internal Medicine – Critical Care Medicine
American Board of Internal Medicine – Sleep Medicine

Publications

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=patel+b