When the world calls for emergency services, who answers? A surgeon general’s perspective on running a high performance health services organization

Abstract

This article records an interview by the author with Vice Admiral (retired) Matthew L. Nathan, 37th surgeon general of the United States (U.S.) Navy and chief of the U.S. Navy’s Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. The interview provides insights into developing a globally dispersed yet highly integrated health system managed and operated by an agile, mission-focused team of devoted professionals whose credo is to deliver “World-Class Care…Anytime, Anywhere.” We examine characteristics of Navy Medicine that align with evidence-based factors of high performance organizations (HPOs) to determine whether the system itself should be classified as an HPO. In conclusion, we summarize key implications for practice.