Dr. Robert Smith assumed the role of Acting Director on May 22, 2011. He previously served as Chief of Staff/Medical Director at the VA San Diego Healthcare System effective March 2010. Dr. Smith graduated from Princeton University with a Bachelors of Science in Engineering in 1975, and from McGill University School of Medicine in 1979. He came to San Diego to complete residency training in Internal Medicine at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine (UCSD SOM) and was Chief Resident in Internal Medicine in 1982. Following this, he completed a fellowship in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the USCD SOM followed by a Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Biochemistry at the Research Institute of Scripps Clinic.
Dr. Smith joined the VA in 1993 as the Director of Medical Critical Care while leading a research program focusing on acute lung injury. In 1997, he was appointed as the Associate Chief of Staff for Healthcare Analysis. At that time he assumed leadership over the implementation of the electronic medical record system at VASDHS and the integration of that system with efforts to improve the quality and delivery of healthcare. He took on the role of Associate Chief of Staff for Research and Development in 2008 and served as acting Chief of Staff/Medical Director at VASDHS from June 2009 to March 2010.
Dr. Smith is a Diplomat of the American Board of Internal Medicine and has additional specialty certification in Pulmonary Medicine and Critical Care Medicine. He is Professor of Medicine at UCSD School of Medicine and a Fellow of both the American College Physicians and the American College of Chest Physicians. He is a member of the Veterans Health Administration Informatics Committee and recently served as the Department of Veterans Affairs representative to the Health and Human Services American Health Information Community on Electronic Medical Records. He has previously served on the Network 22 Quality and Performance Improvement Council, Executive Leadership Board, and Information Management Committees, and chaired the Network 22 Data Management Board.
