Bruce Hall highlights quality, AI, research at national conference

Chief Clinical Officer Bruce Hall last weekend continued his leadership role with the American College of Surgeons by participating in and leading four different presentation sessions at the ACS Quality Safety and Cancer Conference 2026.

The 22nd annual conference—the first in combination with national cancer leaders—took place from July 30 to Aug. 2 at the Hyatt Regency in Orlando, Florida.

Hall has helped lead ACS team efforts for 26 years. Also representing UC Davis were physicians Rachael Callcut, who led a session at the conference, and Amanda Whitaker, who added perspectives to a number of conference discussions.

The event drew more than 1,500 attendees, including several from the UC Davis Health team (School of Medicine, Orthopedics, Children’s, Children’s Verification), UC Health, UCLA Health and Medical Center, UCSF’s Benioff Children’s Hospital, UCSF Health, and Shriners Children’s Northern California hospital.

Altogether, the conference featured more than 50 educational sessions, over 275 expert speakers, and more than 800 abstracts and scientific posters spanning 11 ACS quality programs.

AI, quality improvement

Hall spoke first in a session on the application of AI to quality improvement (representing content developed with fellow faculty physician Jason Adams), which Callcut moderated. A subsequent session specifically examined how quality improvement plays into executive suite decision-making.

Hall participated in other sessions focused on the impact of national policy changes, and how advanced analytics can be applied to minimally invasive surgery and cancer care.

He also joined breakfast discussions with learners and trainees, and helped judge more than 800 research abstracts and posters.

“As academicians and as faculty representing a true academic medical center, school of medicine, school of nursing, and health system, this represents what we do and who we are,” he said.

He noted, “We work incessantly to advance knowledge and understanding on every relevant front. It has been my absolute privilege to be able to play a role like this for our university, for the American College of Surgeons, for our profession, and for the patients and families we serve, for more than a quarter century.”

Research benefits society

An internationally recognized researcher and surgeon, Hall has published more than 200 academic research articles in his career. He continues to examine aspects of quality assessment, improvement, and health system functions in collaborative research publications every year.

Throughout his career, Hall has championed the idea that research should not remain confined to journals or laboratories, but instead should directly improve the care patients receive every day.

He added, “As leaders representing our entire university and health enterprise, it is critical that we continue to advance discovery, innovation, and education broadly and deeply, and keep all of this in the public eye.”

For Hall, the conference reinforced the critical connection between research and quality improvement. Clinical research provides the evidence needed to guide better decisions, reduce complications and improve patient outcomes.

That philosophy aligns closely with UC Davis Health’s academic mission of integrating patient care, education and research so discoveries can rapidly improve care at the bedside.

The event marked the first time the American College of Surgeons combined the annual ACS Quality and Safety Conference and the ACS Cancer Conference into a single unified event.