Ep 32 – Delivering Care Where It's Needed Most – Dr. DeAnn Bullock (Nashville General)

EvidenceCare's CEO, Bo Bartholomew, sits down with Dr. DeAnn Bullock, Chief Medical Officer at Nashville General Hospital, to discuss clinical leadership at a safety-net hospital. From her background in emergency medicine to her current role overseeing hospital-wide clinical operations, Dr. Bullock shares how Nashville General delivers care to underserved populations while maintaining quality and operational efficiency.The conversation covers Dr. Bullock's journey from emergency department physician to CMO, practical strategies for improving clinician workflows, building equitable care programs that address patient needs beyond medical treatment, managing partnerships with other health systems, and what it takes to balance mission-driven care with operational realities.Key Takeaways:Emergency medicine as leadership training. Dr. Bullock's experience as ED medical director taught her to say yes, take on challenges, and support teams—skills that translated directly to hospital-wide leadership.Clinician-first improvements start with listening. Rather than assuming what providers need, Dr. Bullock spends time with clinicians to understand their challenges and prioritize solutions that improve workflow without adding burden.Equitable care means meeting patients where they are. Nashville General provides transportation vans, food pharmacies, meds-to-beds programs, clothing closets, and community care teams to address the full spectrum of patient needs.EMR consolidation improves care coordination. Moving clinics, ED, and hospital to a single EMR improved provider workflow, enabled better communication with other systems, and streamlined patient scheduling.Simplicity is the magic wand. Healthcare is too complicated for patients and providers—from insurance navigation to prior authorizations. Dr. Bullock advocates for making the system simpler at every touchpoint.Dr. DeAnn Bullock Bio:Dr. Bullock joined Nashville General Hospital in 2007 and was named the emergency department medical director in 2014. In addition to her role as Chief Medical Officer, she continues to serve as the emergency department medical director as well as the medical director for the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) program. Board Certified in emergency medicine, Dr. Bullock earned her medical degree from Meharry Medical College before completing her residency in Emergency Medicine as Chief Resident at the Medical College of Georgia. She practiced at Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune in North Carolina before joining Nashville General. Dr. Bullock works tirelessly in her pursuit to build and lead teams, develop collaborative relationships, mentor, and facilitate change within a landscape inclusive of public, private and academic stakeholders, while at the same time providing excellent patient care to a diverse and largely underserved population.---The BetterCare Podcast is produced by EvidenceCare.Sign up for email updates when new episodes are released.---Follow Dr. DeAnn BullockLinkedInFollow Nashville GeneralLinkedInFollow EvidenceCareLinkedInYouTubeTikTokX