Dr. Upton is the Acting Deputy to the Deputy Under Secretary for Health (DUSH) in the Veterans Health Administration as well as a practicing VA physician. He is board-certified in internal medicine and has additional expertise in patient safety, risk management, and healthcare quality improvement. He received his bachelor’s degree from Gannon University, obtained his medical degree from The University of Toledo College of Medicine, and completed his residency training at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania where he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania’s Healthcare Quality & Leadership residency track. He is also a graduate of the VA Chief Resident in Quality and Patient Safety (CRQS) program.
Prior to acting as the Deputy DUSH, Dr. Upton performed the duties of the Deputy to the Under Secretary for Health. In that role, he functioned as the chief operating officer for the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and was responsible for the integration of programs and policies across VA’s National health care
system and providing innovative and forward-looking fiscal investment planning, programming and budget execution oversight throughout VHA.
Prior to serving as Acting DUSH, Dr. Upton served in escalating leadership roles in VHA’s Office of Community Care, culminating in serving as Acting Assistant Under Secretary for Health for Community Care, where he helped lead VA’s efforts to develop and operate a high-performing network of community providers that meets the needs of our nation’s Veterans. He oversaw provider network development, VA’s contracts with third-party administrators, VA’s processing of community medical claims, revenue collection, and monitoring of quality and patient safety in VA’s community care programs.
Prior to joining VHA Central Office, Dr. Upton served as a Patient Safety Officer at the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center in Philadelphia, PA where he led patient safety and quality improvement efforts across the hospital. While in Philadelphia, Dr. Upton was also faculty at the Perelman School of Medicine (University of Pennsylvania) where he taught and mentored internal medicine residents, medical students, and fellows.
Dr. Upton is a fellow of the American College of Physicians as well as a member of the Society of Hospital Medicine and the American College of Healthcare Executives. He is also an active member of the National Academy of Medicine’s Action Collaborative on Clinician Well-being and Resilience and co-chairs VHA’s Reduce Employee Burnout and Optimizing Organizational Thriving (REBOOT) taskforce.