USA Health physicians appointed chief medical information officers
Three physicians at USA Health will serve as liaisons between the health system’s information technology department and its care providers.
By Lindsay Lyle
lalyle@health.southalabama.edu
Three physicians at USA Health will serve as liaisons between the health system’s information technology department and its care providers.
Christine Fouty, M.D., Dean Naritoku, M.D., and Spencer Liles, M.D., have been appointed chief medical information officers (CMIO) for different areas of USA Health. In these roles, they will report to Steve Travers, Ph.D., chief information officer for USA Health.
Together, these three leaders will focus on optimizing the electronic health record to ideally suit the needs of our patients, providers and staff, and serve as advisors and change agents in all aspects of information technology as it pertains to the provision of healthcare within the health system.
Fouty, a hospitalist at University Hospital and an internal medicine physician with USA Health, will serves as the CMIO of inpatient services. As a practicing hospitalist within USA Health, Fouty is familiar with all aspects of the electronic health record as it relates to inpatient care. Naritoku, a neurologist with USA Health, professor and chair of neurology, and professor of pharmacology at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine, will serve as the CMIO of outpatient services. Naritoku has done extensive work optimizing the electronic health record in the outpatient setting. Liles, a surgical oncologist with USA Health and assistant professor of surgery at the USA College of Medicine, will serve as CMIO for surgical services. Liles has been involved with the development of the electronic health record since go-live at USA Health across the entire spectrum of surgical care.
Travers said the new organizational structure will give employees better access to the information technology department through these points of contact.
“These individuals will serve as a conduit between IT and the physicians and other providers,” Travers said. “This new approach stresses that the IT solutions we provide for the health system are patient-focused based on the clinical experience of these physicians. It ensures that we consider the clinical perspective as we develop programs and projects.”
Fouty, Naritoku and Liles were selected for the roles due to their previous experience of working with health information technology and electronic medical record software, Travers said. In addition, they will receive Cerner physician builder training to further their knowledge and capabilities within Cerner.
