Professor Emeritus (2016), Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery
Chair of the Board for Interior Health
Boards of the BC Academic Health Sciences Network and Canuck Place Children’s Hospice
Co-chair of the BC Medical Quality Initiative
Summary
Dr Cochrane obtained his medical degree from the University of Toronto, graduating in 1975 followed by training in Neurosurgery at the University of Calgary. A pediatric neurosurgery fellowship at the Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto was completed in 1981. Following his training, Dr Cochrane was appointed as neurosurgeon at the Calgary General Hospital, Foothills Provincial Hospital, Tom Baker CancerCenter and Alberta Children’s Hospital and served these facilities until 1986. During this time he held an appointment as Assistant Professor of Neurosciences, University of Calgary.
In 1986, Dr. Cochrane was appointed as a staff neurosurgeon, at British Columbia’s Children’s Hospital and Sunnyhill Health Center for Children. He served as the Head of the Section of Surgery and Surgeon-in-Chief, British Columbia’s Children’s Hospital and Children’s and Women’s Health Center of British Columbia 1991-2001, Vice President of Medicine for Children’s and Women’s Health Center of British Columbia 2001-2003, Vice President of Medical Affairs, Risk Quality and Safety for Provincial Health Services Authority and the Chair of the British Columbia Patient Safety Task Force 2003-2008. Subsequently he was appointed as the Provincial Patient Safety and Quality Officer for British Columbia and the Chair of the BC Patient Safety and Quality Council. He has served on the Board and has chaired the Canadian Patient Safety Institute
Clinical Interests
- Pineal region tumors.
- Central nervous system anomalies affecting the fetus.
- Multimodality neuro imaging both structural and functional
- Patient safety policy and accountability mechanisms, risk assessment, evaluation and mitigation.
- Clinical information system development and implementation.
Research Interests
- Use of central nervous system imaging technologies to define physiological parameters or relevance to the treatment of children with hydrocephalus
- Health care systems development and change, focusing on the development of skills in providers through the analysis of risk and safety during surgical care.
- Spinal cord disorders affecting children including spina bifida and occipital-cervical cord compression.
- Team behaviours in the Operating room
Current Projects
- The determinants of health in children with hydrocephalus
- Surgical safety and team behaviors
- The use and benefits of NSQIP in BC
- Large scale change in health care in BC
- Professional accountability
Perform a PubMed Search of Dr. Cochrane’s selected publications.