Becker’s Hospital Review Names Dr. Andy Anderson a Chief Medical Officer to Know
West Orange, NJ, Mar 19: Andy Anderson, MD, Executive Vice President and Chief Medical and Quality Officer of RWJBarnabas Health, has been named to Becker’s Hospital Review’s 252 hospital and health system chief medical officers to know 2026 list. The list honors exceptional chief medical officers serving hospitals and health systems nationwide. These physician executives are instrumental in elevating patient safety, upholding rigorous quality standards, strengthening collaboration between executive leadership and medical staff, and guiding risk management efforts.
Dr. Anderson has dedicated his career to providing the highest quality care to the people who rely on RWJBarnabas Health for their healthcare needs. In his role, he oversees more than 41,000 employees, including 9,000 physicians, and is responsible for ensuring top-tier clinical outcomes and the safest and best experience possible for both patients and staff alike.
Dr. Anderson has been instrumental in RWJBarnabas Health’s journey to become a high reliability organization. This initiative unites the system in a culture of excellence and continuous quality improvement and advances its mission to deliver top-tier clinical outcomes and the safest, most compassionate, and equitable care for patients and team members.
Under Dr. Anderson’s direction, RWJBarnabas Health has significantly increased its investments in innovative technology. He has led the system’s efforts to harness the power of predictive modeling to identify early signs of patient deterioration, enabling clinical teams across its hospitals to intervene more quickly and save lives, via Epic’s Deteriorization Index. Overall, RWJBarnabas Health has seen a 27% relative reduction in mortality in patients transferred to the ICU and a 17% relative reduction in mortality over six months. The successful implementation of this tool has contributed to an estimated 1,000 lives saved annually since 2023.
Under his leadership, the system embarked on an effort to lower rates of central-line associated bloodstream infections – CLABSIs. By standardizing the type of central lines and dressing kits used across its hospitals and educating staff on system best practices, in 2024 and 2025, the system decreased central-line-associated blood stream infections by over 30% and decreased C. diff infections by over 60%.
Dr. Anderson implemented system task force groups focusing on HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems), mortality/ palliative care, hospital-acquired infections, and readmissions. Utilizing surveys and feedback from patients and health system team members, these groups have ultimately led to a better patient experience and the establishment of successful care protocols.
