The University Health System recently appointed Dr. Michael Williams as its first chief medical information officer, a position geared toward bridging the health system's information technology and clinical personnel.
In his new role, Williams, a Harvard Medical School graduate, will assess how effective the University is in using information technology to identify and close any gaps.
“One of the main areas Dr. Williams will focus on is how to take advantage of all the clinical applications available to our clinicians to help them enhance patient care,” Health System spokesperson Eric Swensen said.
Williams will work as a practicing pediatrician, attending to patients one day a week, while serving as a liaison between IT providers and doctors the rest of the week.
Rick Skinner, the Health System's chief information and technology officer, collaborated with Chief Medical Officer Dr. Chris A. Ghaemmaghami to create the position.
Skinner said Williams was the most qualified candidate for the position, due to his previous experience as a chief medical information officer at the Medical Center of Central Georgia.
The medical field is increasingly dependent on technological and information-heavy advancements, Skinner said.
“[The future holds] more and more use of data to design and measure new care processes, treatments, [and] new ways of doing things," he said.
With today’s digitalized patient records, he said, it is easy to analyze data and use past experience and data to improve care.
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