100 Most Influential People in Healthcare - 2017

• Years on list: 9

Still a practicing internal medicine physician, Kaplan has shaped Virginia Mason Health System into a pioneer of patient safety and quality. It makes sense, because Kaplan himself is no stranger to innovation in quality and patient safety. He has offered warranties on joint replacements, for instance, and launched price transparency initiatives that shore up his reputation as a bold experimenter in the name of higher quality, better-priced care. He is chairman of the National Patient Safety Foundation Lucian Leape Institute and immediate past chair of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement Board of Directors.