Dr. Chris Baugh is an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. He recently concluded a five-year term as Vice Chair of Clinical Affairs and has devoted his career to advancing observation medicine and accelerated diagnostic protocols in emergency care.
Since becoming Medical Director of the Brigham’s ED observation unit in 2009, Dr. Baugh has led key initiatives in program expansion and systems redesign. He established a second remote complex observation unit in 2014 and directed a comprehensive renovation of the ED and observation platforms, resulting in new behavioral health and medical observation units in 2022.
Dr. Baugh is a nationally and internationally recognized leader in observation medicine. He has authored over 160 publications spanning clinical research, finance, health services, and operational innovation, with work appearing in The New England Journal of Medicine, Health Affairs, Annals of Emergency Medicine, JACEP Open, and Academic Emergency Medicine. He also authored the chapter on observation medicine in Rosen’s Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice with Dr. Lou Graff and has presented observation care models to audiences across North America, the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia. Dr. Baugh also previously served as a consultant and expert witness for the U.S. Department of Justice on Medicare observation policy.
Dr. Baugh is the former Chair of ACEP’s Observation Medicine Section and is an editor for JACEP Open’s Special Collection in Observation Medicine. He serves as Secretary/Treasurer on the Board of Trustees for the Emergency Medicine Foundation, and has been nominated to the Board of Governors for ACEP’s new observation unit accreditation program.
Dr. Baugh lives in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with his wife, Amy, and their four children: Sydney, Alex, Sam, and Shelby.
About This Award
The Lou Graff Award for Excellence in Observation Medicine recognizes emergency physicians who have made a significant contribution to the field of observation medicine within emergency medicine.
