During medical school, Anjali Rao, MD, developed a keen interest in the complex systems that underpin the delivery of high-quality patient care — a passion that ultimately guided her toward hospital leadership.
In March, after more than 15 years of leadership service at Redwood City, Calif.-based Dignity Health Sequoia Hospital, Dr. Rao was named its chief medical officer. She began her clinical OB-GYN practice at the 208-bed hospital in 2006 and went on to establish its OB hospitalist program.
In a recent interview with Becker’s, Dr. Rao discussed her leadership journey, the importance of aligning physicians with administrative goals and her initial priorities as CMO.
Question: You’ve spent more than 15 years at Sequoia Hospital in both clinical and leadership roles. What initially sparked your interest in hospital leadership?
Dr. Anjali Rao: My interest in hospital leadership began during medical school when I pursued a joint MD/[master of public health] degree. Through my public health education, I was exposed to various aspects of healthcare beyond the exam and operating room — elements that complement direct patient care. I became fascinated by the complex systems that must work together to deliver high-quality medical care. This sparked my interest in hospital initiatives aimed at ensuring patient safety and improving health outcomes.
During my OB-GYN residency at Stanford, I was honored to be selected as the administrative chief resident, marking my first experience as a physician leader. It was incredibly rewarding to represent my colleagues and have a voice in shaping our service line. After starting my clinical OB-GYN practice in 2006, I actively sought opportunities to join committees and volunteered for leadership positions.
At Sequoia Hospital, I have been involved in numerous projects over the years, including developing and expanding an OB hospitalist program. I also served as OB-GYN department chair, played a key role in establishing our multidisciplinary peer review committee, and remained actively engaged for years. These leadership experiences not only strengthened my skills, but also helped me earn the trust and confidence of hospital leaders, ultimately leading to my selection as CMO.
Q: As CMO, you serve as a liaison between hospital leadership and physicians. What do you see as the biggest challenge in aligning administrative goals with frontline physician needs, and how do you plan to address it?
AR: Frontline physicians are primarily focused on meeting the needs of their patients, which can sometimes make it challenging to convey how the hospital’s and health system’s administrative goals align with delivering high-quality care. For example, certain quality metrics are designed to drive continuous improvement and reduce errors, yet they are sometimes misunderstood as purely financial incentives or as measures that do not directly impact patient care. My goal is to engage physicians in achieving these objectives by helping them understand the purpose behind them and how they ultimately contribute to better patient outcomes.
Q: In their annual report, the Emergency Care Research Institute identified dismissing patient, family and caregiver concerns as the top threat to patient safety in 2025. How should leaders be responding to this issue, based on your experience?
AR: At Sequoia Hospital, we continuously strive to enhance the patient experience — from the parking valet and patient registration to the nurses, providers and care team. We emphasize the importance of listening to patients as the foundation for building trust with them and their families. In fact, during this month’s new employee orientation, one of our speakers highlighted the critical role of actively listening to patients and visitors, reinforcing how essential this skill is to delivering an exceptional patient experience.
Q: What’s one quality improvement initiative you’re planning to lead at Sequoia Hospital to improve patient care?
AR: I have plans to enhance our OB hospitalist system to further improve maternal health outcomes, and I will be working closely with our cardiac service line to increase availability of certain cardiovascular specialty care/surgery services to our patients.
Q: Despite growing awareness of health equity, significant disparities in maternal health outcomes persist. What do you see as the biggest barrier to improving maternal health equity, and how can hospitals take meaningful steps to close these gaps?
AR: One of the key steps in addressing health disparities is increasing awareness and education around health equity. While this remains a challenge, we are making progress in engaging our community. Sequoia Hospital has established a health equity committee dedicated to this important work, and I look forward to actively contributing to their efforts to drive meaningful change.
