100 Most Influential People in Healthcare – 2004

The 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare awards & recognition program honors individuals in healthcare who are deemed by their peers and the senior editors of Modern Healthcare to be the most influential individuals in the industry, in terms of leadership and impact. This program allows for readers to vote for their top choices and selected honorees will be published in Modern Healthcare's annual ranking.

For eligibility, key dates and requirements, click here for more details.

Rank Name Job Title Organization Name Winner Title
1 David Brailer National healthcare IT coordinator HHS Rank 1
2 Bill Frist U.S senator (R-Tenn.) U.S. Senate Rank 2
3 Hillary Rodham Clinton U.S senator (D-N.Y.) U.S. Senate Rank 3
4 George W Bush President United States Rank 4
5 Edward Kennedy U.S senator (D-Mass.) U.S. Senate Rank 5
6 John Ashcroft U.S attorney general U.S. Justice Department Rank 6
7 Sister Mary Jean Ryan President, CEO SSM Health Care Rank 7
8 Tommy Thompson Secretary HHS Rank 8
9 Jack Bovender Chairman, CEO Hospital Corporation of America Rank 9
10 Linda Aiken Professor University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing Rank 10
11 Newt Gingrich Former speaker of the House; founder Center for Health Transformation Rank 11
12 John Kerry U.S senator (D-Mass.); Democratic nominee for president U.S. Senate Rank 12
13 Dennis O'Leary President Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations Rank 13
14 Uwe Reinhardt James Madison professor of political economy; professor of economics and public affairs Princeton University Rank 14
15 Thomas Daschle U.S senator (D-S.D.), Senate minority leader U.S. Senate Rank 15
16 Tom Ridge Secretary U.S. Department of Homeland Security Rank 16
17 Donald Berwick President, CEO Institute for Healthcare Improvement Rank 17
18 Doug Hawthorne President, CEO Texas Health Resources Rank 18
19 G Richard Hastings President, CEO St. Luke's Health System Rank 19
20 Linda Kloss Executive vice president, CEO American Health Information Management Association Rank 20
21 Pete Stark U.S representative (D-Calif.) U.S. House of Representatives Rank 21
22 Bill Thomas U.S representative (R-Calif.) chairman House Ways and Means Committee U.S. House of Representatives Rank 22
23 Gail Wilensky Senior fellow Project HOPE; former administrator HCFA Project HOPE Rank 23
24 Carolyn Clancy Director Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Rank 24
25 Barbara Blakeney President American Nurses Association Rank 25
26 Nancy Johnson U.S representative (R-Conn.), chairwoman - House Ways and Means health subcommittee U.S. House of Representatives Rank 26
27 Alan Miller Chairman, president, CEO Universal Health Services Rank 27
28 Karen Ignagni President, CEO America's Health Insurance Plans Rank 28
29 Mark McClellan Administrator CMS Rank 29
30 Wayne Smith Chairman, president, CEO Community Health Systems Rank 30
31 Thomas Dolan President, CEO American College of Healthcare Executives Rank 31
32 John Ferguson President, CEO Hackensack University Medical Center Rank 32
33 Chuck Grassley U.S senator (R-Iowa), chairman Senate Finance Committee U.S. Senate Rank 33
34 Neal Patterson Chairman, CEO Cerner Corp. Rank 34
35 Rose Ann DeMoro Executive director California Nurses Association Rank 35
36 William Jessee President, CEO Medical Group Management Association Rank 36
37 Pamela Thompson CEO American Organization of Nurse Executives Rank 37
38 Joel Allison President, CEO Baylor Health Care System Rank 38
39 Henry Waxman U.S representative (D-Calif.) U.S. House of Representatives Rank 39
40 Suzanne Delbanco Executive director Leapfrog Group Rank 40
41 Jay Grinney CEO HealthSouth Corp. Rank 41
42 David Blumenthal Samuel Thier Professor of Medicine Harvard Medical School; director Institute for Health Policy Massachusetts General Hospital Rank 42
43 Molly Coye Founder, CEO Health Technology Center Rank 43
44 Julie Gerberding Director Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Rank 44
45 Rev Michael Place President, CEO Catholic Health Association Rank 45
46 Emily Friedman Independent health policy analyst Rank 46
47 Denny Shelton Chairman, CEO Triad Hospitals Rank 47
48 David Kessler Dean Yale University School of Medicine New Haven Conn.; former commissioner U.S Food and Drug Administration Yale University School of Medicine Rank 48
49 Rich Averill Director of clinical research 3M Health Information Systems Rank 49
50 Doug Badger Assistant to the president on health and economic policy Rank 50
51 Al Stubblefield President, CEO Baptist Health Rank 51
52 Polly Bednash Executive director American Association of Colleges of Nursing Rank 52
53 Beth O'Brien President, CEO Baptist Health Rank 53
54 Gail Warden Former president, CEO Henry Ford Health System Rank 54
55 Richard Clarke President, CEO Healthcare Financial Management Association Rank 55
56 Cheryl Johnson President United American Nurses Rank 56
57 Lynn Massingale President, CEO TeamHealth Rank 57
58 Ron Anderson President, CEO Parkland Hospital Rank 58
59 Eliot Spitzer Attorney general State of New York Rank 59
60 Diane Mancino Executive director National Student Nurses' Association Rank 60
61 Margaret O'Kane President National Committee for Quality Assurance Rank 61
62 Chip Kahn President Federation of American Hospitals Rank 62
63 Joanne Bauer President Kimberly-Clark Health Care Rank 63
64 John Hammergren Chairman, CEO McKesson Corp. Rank 64
65 Michael Cohen President Institute for Safe Medication Practices Rank 65
66 David Fine CEO St. Luke's Episcopal Health System Rank 66
67 Susan DeVore President Premier Purchasing Partners Rank 67
68 Mary Grealy President Healthcare Leadership Council Rank 68
69 John Babiarz President Aramark Healthcare Management Services Rank 69
70 David Vandewater President, CEO Ardent Health Services Rank 70
71 Trevor Fetter President, CEO Tenet Healthcare Corp. Rank 71
72 David Nash Dr Raymond C and Doris N Grandon professor chairman department of health policy Thomas Jefferson University Rank 72
73 Elias Zerhouni Director National Institutes of Health Rank 73
74 Martha Marsh President, CEO Stanford Hospitals and Clinics Rank 74
75 Erich Reinhardt President, CEO Siemens Medical Solutions Rank 75
76 Paul Wright Executive director American Medical Student Association Foundation Rank 76
77 Jeff Goldsmith President Health Futures; associate professor of medical education School of Medicine University of Virginia Rank 77
78 Susan Sherry Deputy director Community Catalyst Rank 78
79 Lucian Leape Adjunct professor of health policy Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Public Health Rank 79
80 Richard Davidson President American Hospital Association Rank 80
81 Sidney Wolfe Director Public Citizen's Health Research Group Rank 81
82 Rick Wolfert President, CEO GE Healthcare Financial Services Rank 82
83 Richard Carmona U.S surgeon general U.S. Public Health Service Rank 83
84 Stuart Altman Chairman Council on Health Care Economics and Policy Rank 84
85 Lydia Reed President, CEO Association of University Programs in Health Administration Rank 85
86 Drew Altman President, CEO Kaiser Family Foundation Rank 86
87 Helen Darling President National Business Group on Health Rank 87
88 Ron Pollack Executive director Families USA Rank 88
89 Regina Herzlinger Nancy R McPherson professor of business administration Harvard Business School Rank 89
90 Col David Rubenstein CEO Landstuhl Regional Medical Center Rank 90
91 Scott Wallace President, CEO National Alliance for Healthcare Information Technology Rank 91
92 Kenneth Kizer President, CEO National Quality Forum Rank 92
93 George Halvorson Chairman, CEO Kaiser Foundation Health Plan/Kaiser Foundation Hospitals Rank 93
94 Arthur Caplan Director, Center for Bioethics University of Pennsylvania Rank 94
95 Anthony Principi Secretary U.S. Veterans Affairs Department Rank 95
96 Scott Serota President, CEO Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association Rank 96
97 Rupert Evans President, CEO Institute for Diversity in Health Management Rank 97
98 Jordan Cohen President Association of American Medical Colleges Rank 98
99 H Stephen Lieber President, CEO Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society Rank 99
100 Kenneth Raske President Greater New York Hospital Association Rank 100