Physician Informaticist
May 2023 - Present
The Veterans Health Administration is America's largest integrated health care system, providing care at 1,380 health care facilities, including 170 medical centers and 1,193 outpatient sites of care of varying complexity (VHA outpatient clinics), serving 9.1 million enrolled Veterans each year.
This role serves as Veterans Health Administration's subject matter and policy expert on foundational methods and capabilities to support patient safety and health information systems for the delivery of healthcare. This position supports and collaborates with clinicians, researchers, educators, technical staff, and administrators in other VA Central Office programs, VA field facilities, other federal agencies, and the private sector.
- Participated in the creation of a dashboard to assess provider order alerts
- Contributed to multidisciplinary team in assessing orphan codes in the EMR
Chief Medical Officer
November 2018 - March 2019
With both Hahnemann University Hospital and St Christopher Hospital, AAHS was a premier inner city academic medical center in the heart of Philadelphia. My departure from this organization was a result of the primary hospital closing operations.
Responsible for quality/safety and medical staff affairs. In addition, had direct leadership over multiple departments including Information Technology, Case Management, and Health Information Management.
- Served as an interim CIO during an IT transition
- Responsible for Physician Advisor Program for Revenue Cycle, seeing an improvement in documentation leading to CMI increases (1.4 to 1.7) through realigning UR program/partnering with physicians
- Served as liaison between medical staff and hospital leadership
CEO/Consultant
May 2016 - May 2023
This company was created by me to provide executive/consultative services to various clients.
As CEO and consultant, I provided services to a variety of clients. Client names are available on request. Various interim roles include CMO, CIO, COO, Physician Advisor, Informaticist, Regional President, and Medical Director.
Quality/Safety/Service
- Responsible for assessing the status of quality/service and developing a plan to improve national standings
- Focused engagement for developing the strategy and 3 use cases for the healthcare vertical of a technology company using wearable technology
- In-kind Medical Director for community-based business coalition promoting healthy lifestyles (HealthyKingsport.org)
- Worked with major theme park on COVID reopening strategy
- Deployed a Continuous Improvement initiative in partnership with the parent organization
- Assessment of quality/service and communication/leadership development supporting physician and administrative leaders in large academic hospital
Leadership Development/Contracting
- Developed comprehensive physician engagement and communication plan for multiple medical staffs
- Creation of mortality review program/sepsis care improvement program
- Physician Advisor for leadership development, clinical and technology solutions review, medical analytics
- Led recruitment efforts signing 8 hospitalists, 3 medical directors, and 4 ER physicians
- Conducted physician contract overhaul resulting in savings close to $1 million dollars
Operations/Revenue Cycle
- Service line strategic development including hospitalist, ER, vascular surgery, interventional radiology, primary care, behavioral health, and virtual health
- Throughput assessment and execution improving aLOS from 5.9 to 5.1 utilizing Clinical Documentation Improvement (CDI) program development
- Significant increase in provider revenue through improved contract management and productivity gains; Cost-savings of greater than $1 million through restructuring over 1st year
- Company-wide Revenue improvement using A3/Six Sigma
- Implemented data governance and analytics strategy
- Interim COO/CMO responsible for bankruptcy navigation and corporate integrity agreement compliance, while optimizing operations, contracting, and supply chain
Executive Vice President, Chief Medical Officer
September 2014 - October 2015
Capella had emerged as a national leader in the development and operation of rural and community healthcare facilities across the United States with 12 acute care facilities as well as several outpatient operations across 7 states. My choice to leave this organization was the result of it being acquired.
This role, reporting to the System CEO, had responsibility for all quality and service excellence initiatives as well as ensuring that physician leaders are continuously involved in shaping the company's vision and future strategies.
- Led the development of the corporate strategy of quality and safety with the National Physician Leadership Group, which was the platform of physician engagement across the spectrum of the hospitals
- Developed and deployed a national physician leadership development program
- Led multiple performance improvement initiatives resulting in over $200,000 of savings and better care
- Served on oversight committee of (Medical Univ South Carolina) MUSC-Capella Network, charged with improving regional care via population health strategies, service line development strategies, and Quality Improvement Strategies, integrating medical staff into the newly formed academic-private relationship
- Responsible for deploying the use of Crimson data to drive improvement efforts across many opportunities. Managed the Advisory Board contract along with a Performance Improvement Program across all hospitals
System Vice President, Chief Quality and Medical Information Officer
March 2010 - September 2014
Wellmont is an integrated health care delivery system providing inpatient, outpatient and other health care services at multiple locations in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia, ranking consistently in best of class in CareChex and as BlueCross Blue Shield Distinction Centers.
This role, reporting to the System COO, had responsibilities including operations in quality, safety, service, education, and information technology. Managed a budget of ~$5 million dollars and 55 FTEs.
- Developed governance structure around change management used for system-wide decision-making for 7 hospitals and 5 medical staffs
- Multiple process improvement projects, including the overhaul of the root cause analysis process which resulted in ~7% reduction in safety events system-wide
- Enterprise optimization and deployment of 2 EMRs (McKesson and Epic), resulting in maximum incentive dollars totaling > $40 million dollars
- Contract/vendor management to include numerous software vendors (Epic, Press Ganey, and Comparion)
Chief Medical Officer, Hospital and Clinic
July 2006 - March 2010
The 84-acre campus includes 4 schools, 3 institutes for advanced study, a major medical library, a network of hospitals and clinics that provide a full range of primary and specialized medical care.
My role covered both the hospital and clinic operation of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice/Correctional Managed Care (TDCJ/CMC) Campus.
- Created a 12 doc/4 midlevel provider group that managed hospital and skilled nursing patients
- Developed and managed, including the budget, the skilled nursing and obs units
- Oversaw robust UR program as well as multiple quality and safety projects
- Most specialties represented with ~40,000 visits per year (includes ~6 to 7k visits annually of telehealth) delivering about $14 million in revenue to the Faculty Group Practice
- Focused on workflows within the clinic, coordination with Hospital operations and PCPs in the prison facilities, subspecialty UR Program, relationship management with chair/chiefs of all departments
- Focused on quality outcomes of delays in care, reduction in unnecessary visits, and provider satisfaction
- ~150,000 lives covered in an early ACO-like model
- Disaster Preparedness, including the transitioning of the location of operations of Hospital and Clinics in the wake of Hurricane Ike
