A Discourse on Working in Academic Health Centers With Some Practical Observations

Lecture Presenter

Michael B. Cohen, MD Professor Emeritus Department of Pathology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine

Dr. Michael Cohen’s clinical work focused on cytopathology. He has been an extramurally funded investigator focused on prostate cancer, and has also published in several other areas, including quality. He was a member of the IOM Committee that wrote Improving Diagnosis in Health Care in 2015. A native of Amsterdam, Dr. Cohen was previously at the University of Utah School of Medicine in various positions including Professor and Vice Chair for Faculty and House Staff Development. Before joining the University of Utah, Dr. Cohen was a faculty member in pathology at the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University, the University of California San Francisco, and the University of Iowa, where he was Professor and Head of the Department of Pathology, and faculty member in the Departments of Urology and Epidemiology. He is board-certified in both anatomic pathology and cytopathology. His service has included peer-review on numerous editorial boards as well as various funding agencies, including the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Cohen’s research has resulted in about 300 peer-reviewed journal articles, books and book chapters and other miscellaneous publications. His interest in diagnostic errors goes beyond the professional. Dr. Cohen, who had served on a panel that issued a national report on medical misdiagnosis, experienced his own misdiagnosis and advocates transparency. As he has previously stated, “We want to learn from our mistakes to identify true diagnostic errors, and near misses, and bring these to light in a culture that facilitates improvement but isn’t punitive.”