UM News

Dipen Parekh, M.D.

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (September 1, 2017)—Dipen J. Parekh, chair of the Department of Urology and director of robotic surgery, has been named chief clinical officer of the University of Miami Health System.

“Dr. Parekh is one of the world’s most experienced and innovative surgeons in robotic-assisted urologic oncology, and the perfect person to continue the critically important process of building and enhancing our medical practice,” Edward Abraham, acting executive vice president for health affairs and CEO of UHealth, said in his announcement last week.

As Abraham, who is also dean and chief academic officer of the Miller School of Medicine, noted, Parekh brought the da Vinci Xi robotic surgical system to UHealth, leading it to the spectacular milestone this month of the 5,000th da Vinci procedure performed at University of Miami Hospital. Among the benefits of these procedures, Abraham said, are greater precision, smaller incisions, shorter recovery times, and improved patient outcomes.

Since joining the Miller School in 2012, Parekh, who holds the Victor A. Politano Endowed Chair in Urology and is a member of Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, has restructured the clinical, operational, and financial management of the Department of Urology, significantly increasing patient access to urology services while enhancing patient satisfaction.

His internationally acclaimed research is advancing treatment on many fronts, and he has shared those advances with surgeons around the world.

As chief clinical officer, Parekh will be in charge of all UHealth outpatient and inpatient services, and will work closely with all the chairs and clinical faculty to enhance the clinical enterprise.

His appointment, Abraham said, will give Thinh Tran, M.D., UHealth’s chief operations officer, more time to focus on the health system’s extensive operational issues.

“Working together, and with all of us, Dr. Parekh and Dr. Tran will accelerate our transformation to the health system we need to be in today’s rapidly changing environment,” Abraham said.