Vatsala Goyal, M.D.

Biography

Vatsala Goyal, M.D., is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center and a member of its Division of Hospital Medicine.

Originally from Dehradun, India, Dr. Goyal holds a bachelor's degree in biochemistry and cell biology from Rice University in Houston. She earned her medical degree at UT Southwestern Medical Center and completed internal medicine residency training at the University of Illinois-Chicago, where she received multiple distinctions, including Resident of the Year for Excellence in Teaching and the Resident of the Year Award from the American College of Physicians.

Certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine, Dr. Goyal joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 2018.

At UT Southwestern, Dr. Goyal has established herself as a clinical leader with a strong commitment to documentation accuracy, utilization management, and high-value care. She serves at UT Southwestern's Lead Physician Advisor for Clinical Documentation Integrity (CDI), as well as Physician Advisor for Utilization Management.

Dr. Goyal's committee service advances institutional goals related to improving quality, safety, and patient outcomes. She contributes to key hospital committees where her expertise in documentation integrity supports system-wide improvements in risk-adjusted mortality assessment and defensible clinical reporting.

Her educational and curriculum development work further strengthens her role in CDI leadership. She has developed and delivered targeted curricula for faculty, advanced practice providers, and physician advisors on topics such as sepsis documentation, anesthesia and neurology documentation best practices, risk adjustment methodology, and the role of CDI in utilization review. These programs enhance clinical understanding of documentation requirements while promoting accuracy, clarity, and compliance across multiple specialties.

Personal Note

Outside of medicine, Dr. Goyal enjoys spending time with family, traveling, and reading.