Carl Couch MD MMM FAAFP

Carl E. Couch, MD, MMM, FAAFP is a Board-Certified Family Physician, Diplomat of the American Board of Family Practice, and Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians. An active family physician for nearly 40 years, he founded Family Medical Center at Garland, Texas, the first group practice acquired by Baylor Healthcare System in 1993.

Dr. Couch was the Founding Director and 13-year Chairman of the Board of HealthTexas Provider Network (HTPN), a multi-specialty medical group comprising over 850 providers practicing in 250 care delivery sites across North Texas. He was also Founder and Executive Director of ABC Baylor (now called STEEEP Academy), the BSWH training course on rapid-cycle quality improvement organized around the six domains of STEEEP care: safety, timeliness, efficacy, efficiency, equity, and patient centeredness. Dr. Couch served as Vice President of Health Care Improvement for Baylor Health Care System (BHCS) before it joined with Scott & White Healthcare in October 2013 to form BSWH. Additionally, Dr. Couch served as Co-Chairman of the quality-focused Best Care Committee from 2005 through 2011 and was Director of Physician Leadership training within BSWH for over eight years.

From 2011 through June 2015, Dr. Couch served as President of Baylor Scott & White Quality Alliance, a clinically integrated accountable care alliance of over 4,000 primary and specialty care physicians, 46 hospitals, 29 post-acute care facilities, retail pharmacy clinics, and other providers aligned with Baylor Scott & White Health (BSWH), the largest not-for-profit health care system in Texas.

Dr. Couch’s interests as a physician leader include accountable care, physician group dynamics, group practice organization and function, physician compensation, physician leadership development, systematic quality improvement, and medical informatics. As the founding president of a large, successful accountable care organization (ACO), Dr. Couch is a recognized authority in ACO formation, development, and management.

Dr. Couch was an Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) graduate of the University of Florida College of Medicine, did post-graduate training at Parkland Hospital in Dallas, and earned his Masters of Medical Management degree from Tulane University in New Orleans.

Dr. Couch has been happily married for 50 years to his wife, Jo Anna, who is a certified Personal Life and Executive Coach. They have two children, Kimberly McMillin, MD (who is also a Family Physician in HTPN and who has two daughters), and Dr. Christopher Couch, PhD, an executive of Lear Corporation in Detroit, who has a son and daughter. Dr. Couch enjoys golfing, boating, and travel, and is actively involved with his wife as co-teachers in adult education at Heights Baptist Church in Richardson, Texas, where he serves as a deacon.