UVA hires first chief medical information officer

To help University of Virginia Health System care providers take full advantage of technology to enhance patient care, UVA has named its first chief medical information officer (CMIO).

Michael A. Williams, MD, FAAP, comes to UVA from North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System in New York, where he has served since March 2012 as the first regional CMIO for four hospitals in the 16-hospital system. Williams also served as the first CMIO at the Medical Center of Central Georgia from July 2008 through February 2012. He also has a bachelor of arts degree from UVA, where he completed an interdisciplinary major as part of the Echols Scholar program. He received his medical degree from Harvard Medical School.

As CMIO, Williams will be responsible for organizing and managing the medical information systems at UVA, including the EpicCare electronic medical record, as well as developing new systems that assist with both patient care and research. “His role includes supporting clinicians in their use of electronic systems and information to provide optimum patient care,” said Rick Skinner, UVA Health System’s chief information officer.

Williams’ experience in providing patient care and in establishing the role of CMIO makes him an ideal fit for the new position at UVA, Skinner said. ”As a practicing pediatrician, Dr. Williams understands the challenges physicians face today, not only in their use of electronic systems but also in their changing roles in healthcare,” Skinner said.

Part of Williams’ role is to serve as a translator between UVA’s information technology providers and its healthcare providers to ensure doctors and others have technology support that will aid them in exam rooms and operating rooms.

“We have an amazing array of clinical applications at our disposal to better monitor, track and share clinical data among healthcare providers at UVA,” Williams said. “The challenge I hope to assist with is how we can best apply these to patient care in a way that clearly improves patient care.”