CALTCM Continuing Education Series Biographies

James Mittelberger, MD, MPH, CMD, FACP
Chief Medical Officer, Øptum Palliative and Hospice Care

Dr. James Mittelberger has served as Chief Medical Officer of Optum palliative and hospice care business since 2010. During this time, the organization has achieved CHAP accreditation and expanded its palliative care programs.He serves as a thought-leader for palliative care development within UnitedHealth Group organizations.

Dr. Mittelberger's current community service roles include: Immediate Past-President of the California Association of Long Term Care Medicine and Chair of the California State POLST(Physician Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment) Coalition. With more than 25 years of active practice, Dr. Mittelberger has spent the majority of his career focused on the care of patients facing complex illness. He served as West Region Chief Medical Officer for UnitedHealthcare Medicare & Retirement's west region (including Evercare) for several years. Previous to that, he was Chief of the Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Care at the Alameda County Medical Center for 20 years,
Medical Director of a Geriatric Community Clinic and nursing home medical director.

Dr. Mittelberger is Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Geriatrics, and Hospice and Palliative Care Medicine. He is Certified Medical Dire
ctor (CMD) for Long Term Care and has completed a Master's Degree in Public Health (MPH.) He completed his MD degree at the University of California - San Diego, Internal Medicine Residency at the University of Washington, and fellowship training in Health Care Leadership, Quality Improvement and Clinical Ethics. He is a Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University
of California - San Francisco School of Medicine.

 

Peter P. Patterson, MD, MBA, FCAP
Medical Director, Arizona and San Diego Diagnostic Laboratories & Radiology
Dr. Patterson is a third-generation physician broadly trained in both medicine and business management.  He is an experienced physician-executive with extensive background in medical quality improvement, clinical microbiology and infection prevention.   Previously, Dr. Patterson worked for a Fortune 500 healthcare manufacturing company, where he was trained in the principles and methods of continuous quality improvement.  He is a former chairman of hospital-wide quality assurance and is board-certified in medical quality assurance.  He brings the perspectives of a practicing physician-manager to his current work as Arizona medical director for Diagnostic Laboratories & Radiology.