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Dr. John E. Heffner is the Garnjobst Chair at Providence Portland Medical Center and professor of medicine at the Oregon Health and Sciences University, Portland, Oregon. He has served as the president of the American Thoracic Society, chair of the Pulmonary Board of the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM), and member of the ABIM Executive Committee.

During 8 years as medical director of the Medical University of South Carolina's University Hospital (1998-2006), he introduced innovative intranet-based programs to improve patient safety and efficiency through standardized order sets for more than 500 conditions. Interests in patient safety led to his success as principal investigator on a statewide grant that brought an integrated quality improvement and medical simulation program to South Carolina's academic medical centers.

Dr. Heffner has broad interests in pleural disease with special emphasis on critical appraisal of pleural diagnostic tests, airway management, end-of-life care, patient safety, and quality improvement. His greatest interest is in teaching and mentoring young physicians and improving systems of care. He has authored over 270 journal articles, 70 chapters and 20 editorials, and also authored or edited 19 books on a broad range of pulmonary and critical care topics.