Accountable (PDF)

Carl Couch, MD, MMM, FAAFP, is the President of the Baylor Scott & White Quality Alliance, a clinically integrated organization of 625 employed physicians, 1800 independent physicians, Baylor Scott & White Health (BSWH) hospitals, and other providers of care whose mission is to improve quality and reduce the overall cost of care for the patients and communities served by BSWH.

Before coming to his current role, Dr. Couch served as Vice President of Health Care Improvement of Baylor Health Care System (BHCS), now part of Baylor Scott & White Health, from 2010 to 2011 and was the founding director and 13-year Chairman of the Board of HealthTexas Provider Network. He was also the founder of Family Medical Center at Garland, Texas and has been an active family physician for 40 years. Additionally, Dr. Couch was founder and executive director of ABC Baylor; Co-Chairman of the BSWH Best Care Committee; founder and Director of Baylor Health Care System's Advanced Physician Leadership course; and Director of the Physician Champions.

Dr. Couch's interests as a physician leader include physician group dynamics, large group practice organization and function, physician compensation, systematic quality improvement, ACO formation, and medical informatics. He has also done extensive work in redesigning the clinical delivery model to reduce "hassles," improve quality, and work with the Dallas-Fort Worth community of payers, providers, and purchasers to simplify the complexity of care delivery.

Dr. Couch is a board-certified family physician and an AOA graduate of the University of Florida Medical School. He completed his clinical training at Parkland in Dallas and holds a Masters in Medical Management from Tulane University in New Orleans and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians.