Rustan Sharer

Dr. Rustan Sharer is a dedicated physician educator and informatics leader with expertise in internal medicine, quality improvement, and clinical informatics. He currently serves as the Associate Program Director for the Internal Medicine Residency and Core Faculty for the Clinical Informatics Fellowship at HonorHealth. Additionally, he is the Medical Director of Ambulatory Informatics for HonorHealth Medical Group, where he integrates technology and data-driven solutions to enhance patient care and healthcare delivery. 

Education and Training 
A Phoenix native, Dr. Sharer earned his undergraduate degree in Biomedical Engineering from Arizona State University before obtaining his M.D. from the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix. He completed his internal medicine residency at Banner – University Medical Center Phoenix, where he was retained as Clinical Assistant Professor and served as Outpatient Chief Resident in Quality & Patient Safety at the Phoenix VA Healthcare System. There, he trained in formal process and quality improvement methodology. He maintains Internal Medicine as well as Clinical Informatics board certification, having achieved the latter through the ‘Practice-Pathway’ track while working at HonorHealth. 

Clinical Expertise and Interests 
Dr. Sharer has a strong clinical background in training professional learners in internal medicine with a particular focus on quality improvement, patient safety, and healthcare technology. As a physician informaticist and Epic-Certified Physician Builder, he collaborates closely with analytics and applications teams to optimize HonorHealth’s outpatient electronic medical record system (Epic). His work has been recognized in Epic’s Physician Builder Spotlight Series, highlighting his innovative contributions. 

His informatics interests span a broad spectrum, including telehealth, perioperative standardization, usability heuristics, social determinants of health and equity, as well as safety-based initiatives in opioid prescribing and vaccine/medication administration. 

Teaching Philosophy and Approach 
With a passion for medical education and innovation, Dr. Sharer has developed a unique, learner-driven quality improvement and patient safety curriculum. His teaching philosophy integrates engineering principles such as Lean and Six Sigma with informatics-driven clinical solutions, equipping future physicians with the skills to navigate and shape an increasingly digital healthcare landscape. As Director of Quality Initiatives for the Internal Medicine Residency, he emphasizes real-world problem-solving and process improvement to drive meaningful changes in patient care. 

Research, Grants and Scholarly Interests 
Dr. Sharer’s research and scholarly contributions reflect his dedication to improving healthcare through informatics and quality improvement. He has been involved in grant-funded projects on telehealth expansion using predictive analytics, and system-wide safety initiatives, contributing to the advancement of evidence-based clinical workflows and healthcare efficiency with a focus on big-data. 

Professional Memberships 
Dr. Sharer is an active member of professional organizations, including the American College of Physicians (ACP), Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine (AAIM), and the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA). Through his affiliations, he remains committed to advancing medical education, informatics, and healthcare innovation.