Industry Spotlight: William H. Tettelbach, MD, FACP, FIDSA, FUHM, CWS, Associate Chief Medical Officer, MiMedx Group, Inc

Please provide a short description of your background, training, and experience.

After graduating from the University of Tennessee School of Medicine, I completed my Internal Medicine residency and Infectious Diseases fellowship, as well as formal training in Biomedical Informatics, at the University of Utah. I am also board certified in Undersea & Hyperbaric Medicine, Infectious Diseases, Internal Medicine, and retain an academic appointment at Duke University School of Medicine.

I served as acting Medical Director of Would Care and Hyperbaric Medicine outpatient/inpatient services at Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare in Memphis and successfully opened the system’s first wound care center that offered hyperbaric oxygen therapy. I returned to Utah to serve as Medical Director of Wound and Skin Care for the Intermountain Healthcare Salt Lake Valley hospitals and wound clinics, and eventually became the acting System Executive Medical Director of the Wound and Hyperbaric Medicine Clinical Service Line. In 2013, I established the Undersea & Hyperbaric Medicine Fellowship at Intermountain Healthcare through a cooperative agreement with Duke University. This Fellowship provided hyperbaric medicine, wound care, and infectious diseases training to podiatry residents rotating through the Intermountain wound care clinics. In 2015, I established a telehealth wound care outreach program focused on improving wound-related outcomes in rural hospitals and home care settings.

In the spring of 2018, I chose to step down as Executive Medical Director of Hyperbaric Medicine and Wound Care Clinical Services with Intermountain Healthcare and joined the MiMedx Group. Currently, I serve as their acting Associate Chief Medical Officer.

What should readers know about your company (vision, mission)?

MiMedx is a leading biopharmaceutical company that is focused on developing and marketing regenerative and therapeutic biologics utilizing human placental tissue allografts with patent-protected processes for multiple sectors of health care. “Innovations in Regenerative Medicine” is the framework behind the Company’s mission to give physicians products and tissues to help the body heal itself. The Company processes the human placental tissue utilizing its proprietary PURION® Process methodology, among other processes, to produce safe and effective allografts by employing aseptic processing techniques in addition to terminal sterilization. MiMedx has supplied over 1.3 million allografts to date for application in the wound care, burn, surgical, orthopedic, spine, sports medicine, ophthalmic, and dental sectors of health care.

What is the biggest challenge you face working in the realm of wound care?

The lack of formalized training within the field of wound care is one of the biggest hurdles. This causes a broad variation of clinical practice habits. Another challenge is the lack of executive administrative support of wound care as a specialty within health care institutions. These challenges ultimately result in suboptimal patient care and outcomes, as well as a negative financial impact on healthcare.

What attracted you to this company? 

I was attracted to MiMedx by the vision of the company and its commitment to establishing evidence-based medicine with regenerative biologics. The Company’s focus on regenerative medicine and its potential future impact on a broad array of medical and surgical specialties is very exciting, and I am glad to be part of this cutting-edge technology.

What do you like most about working at this company?

I enjoy working in an environment that supports individuals who are passionate about improving the lives of patients through the advancement of regenerative medicine.

How do you ensure a work-life balance?

I spend any free-activity time with my wife and children. Each year, I set aside family time for medical volunteer work through Amanaki Fo Ou, which is a foundation that I am honored to have cofounded with several other colleagues in order to help aid in reducing the complications of diabetes through medical education of medical professionals and those at risk in the community.