Thomas M. Maddox, MD MSc


Director, Health Systems Innovation Lab

Dr. Thomas M. Maddox is the inaugural Director of the Health Systems Innovation Lab (HSIL), a partnership between BJC HealthCare and Washington University School of Medicine. HSIL develops innovative ways to deliver care and improve the health of individuals and communities. Cross-disciplinary in nature, HSIL spurs the invention of health delivery solutions by bringing together clinicians, patients, informaticians, designers, researchers, public health experts, and private industry. As promising solutions are created, HSIL helps cultivate and spread them across BJC HealthCare and Washington University care delivery sites, the broader St. Louis community, and beyond. HSIL also serves as a conduit to the national and international healthcare innovation community, facilitating a bidirectional conversation that will accelerate collaborative innovation.

Dr. Maddox is a cardiologist and Professor of Medicine in the Washington University School of Medicine.  He maintains an active inpatient practice in consultative cardiology.  Prior to his arrival at Washington University, he served as the National Director for the Veterans Affairs (VA) Clinical Assessment, Reporting, and Tracking (CART) cardiac quality program, which oversaw care in all 78 VA cardiac catheterization laboratories. He was also a staff cardiologist at the Denver VA medical center, and an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

Maddox earned his BA in economics and history, cum laude, from Rice University in 1993; an MD from Emory University in 1999; and a MSc in epidemiology from the Harvard University School of Public Health in 2007. He trained in internal medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern medical center 1999-2002, and in cardiovascular medicine at the Mount Sinai medical center 2003-2006.  He was also a fellow at the Kaiser Family Foundation and the National Academy of Medicine in 2002-2003.

Maddox’s research interests have been focused on health services research in cardiac quality, safety, and value.  He has specific expertise in the development and promotion of “learning healthcare systems”, which use real-time clinical data to inform high-value cardiology practice and research. He has authored over 150 peer-reviewed publications, and has received multiple grants exploring optimal strategies of prevention and cardiac risk reduction among patients with coronary artery disease. He also holds national leadership positions overseeing initiatives in promoting high-quality cardiac care in the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association.