Tampa General Hospital’s Dr. Peggy Duggan Honored as Chief Medical Officer to Know

Dr. Peggy Duggan, executive vice president, chief physician executive and chief medical officer at Tampa General Hospital, is honored for excellence in leadership for the fourth consecutive year.

 

Tampa, FL (Jan. 21, 2025) – Tampa General Hospital’s (TGH) Dr. Peggy Duggan, executive vice president, chief physician executive and chief medical officer, has been named one of the nation's "Chief Medical Officers to Know for 2025” by Becker’s Hospital Review. This recognition, marking her fourth consecutive year receiving this accolade, highlights Duggan’s exceptional leadership, innovative approach to patient care and commitment to advancing the field of medicine in and beyond the Tampa Bay community.

 

At Tampa General, Duggan oversees all functions related to physicians and patient care, quality, safety and the patient experience. She also leads the research and academic health system’s clinical and operational strategic pillar, which comprises 981 beds, six acute care hospitals, more than 150 care locations across Florida and nearly 15,000 team members and providers.

 

"This recognition affirms what our team and community have long understood: Peggy has set and continuously raised the bar for what strong clinical leadership should look like at a world-class academic health system,” said John Couris, president and CEO of Tampa General. “Her dedication to delivering world-class care of the highest quality, patient-centered care, fueled by a compassion for our patients and her team and the spirit of innovation, strengthens our organization and inspires positive change across the broader health care industry."

 

Duggan has implemented several innovative programs at Tampa General to enhance patient and team member safety and foster a compassionate internal culture. She introduced Schwartz Rounds to strengthen caregiver support and patient relationships. Schwartz Rounds is an international program that uses research-based strategies and tools to provide caregivers with resources to create and sustain a culture of compassion. Benefits of Schwartz Rounds include strengthening caregiver-patient relationships, improving caregiver support and boosting caregiver resiliency.

 

Notably, Duggan also revolutionized sepsis management at Tampa General by harnessing artificial intelligence and the system’s Care Coordination Center data to create an early warning system, cutting the early sepsis death rate nearly in half and saving approximately 220 lives annually. This also led to the development of pathways for more efficient patient discharges.

 

Furthermore, Duggan led Tampa General to become the first academic health system and Level I Trauma Center to achieve both the Collaborative Just Culture Program® and Reliability Management Team™ qualifications required to become a Collaborative High Reliability Organization. She also spearheaded system-wide physician alignment, expanded service lines and oversaw a major overhaul of the system’s 200-plus ICU beds.

 

"This recognition serves as a testament to the unwavering commitment of our entire team at Tampa General to providing exceptional, compassionate and innovative patient care,” said Duggan. “We strive every day to make a difference in the lives of our patients and community, and it’s an honor to see our collective hard work recognized."

 

Duggan is listed by Castle Connolly as one of America’s Top Doctors and was named by the Tampa Bay business community as a Tampa Bay Business Journal 2024 “BusinessWoman of the Year” honoree. Outside of her work at Tampa General, Duggan also serves in an advisory capacity with several health care organizations.

Becker’s Hospital Review is a leading source of hospital business news and analysis for the health care system industry. The full list of this year’s “180+ Chief Medical Officers to Know” can be found here.