Rate My Professor Anne Duggan

Conjoint Professor Anne Duggan is a gastroenterologist and prominent leader in healthcare quality and safety, serving as Honorary Professor in the School of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Newcastle. She holds qualifications including BA(Hons), BMed, MHP, PhD, FRACP, FRACMA, and GAICD. Her career encompasses extensive clinical practice at John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle, research in clinical epidemiology and gastroenterology, and senior executive roles in health administration. Prior to her national leadership positions, Professor Duggan was Director of Clinical Governance at Hunter New England Local Health District. In 2014, she joined the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC) as Clinical Director, advancing to Chief Medical Officer from 2021 to 2023, and was appointed Chief Executive Officer in March 2023. As CEO, she oversees national initiatives to improve patient safety, reduce unwarranted clinical variation, and enhance healthcare appropriateness, working closely with jurisdictional stakeholders, professional colleges, and peak bodies.

Professor Duggan's academic contributions include research on upper gastrointestinal conditions, medication safety, and healthcare delivery. Notable publications are 'Alcoholic liver disease - assessment and management' (2011, Australian Family Physician, with J.M. Duggan), 'Characteristics and outcomes of upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage in a tertiary referral hospital' (2010, Digestive Diseases and Sciences), 'Gastrointestinal adverse effects of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs' (2005, Expert Opinion on Drug Safety, with S. Peng), 'Diagnostic accuracy of coeliac serological tests: a prospective study' (2006, European Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology), 'Variation in dispensing of opioid analgesics in Australia' (2017, Internal Medicine Journal, with C. Hayes), and a chapter 'Epidemiology of Common Tropical GI Diseases' (2014, in GI Epidemiology, with M. Halland and R. Givney). She leads the development of the Australian Atlas of Healthcare Variation series, chairs the Medicare Benefits Schedule Review Advisory Committee since September 2021, and serves on the expert panel for the Independent Review of the Regulation of Medical Practitioners Who Perform Cosmetic Surgery. Her expertise has profoundly shaped national policies on clinical governance, safety standards, and quality improvement in Australian healthcare.