Physicians working in Health IT here at #HIMSS13

Here at the 2013 HIMSS conference, I am surrounded by physicians working in health IT. Most of them work in hospitals and health systems. They are CMOs, CMIOs, and Medical Directors of Informatics. I am also surrounded by physicians working in health IT companies. These companies may be electronic health record (EHR) companies, mobile health startups, wireless providers like Verizon and AT&T, and a variety of computer and software companies. Did you know that Dell has a Chief Medical Officer? AT&T has a CMIO. Several physicians work at Microsoft.

HIMSS is a great networking conference. There are over 35,000 people here at this massive event, but there are plenty of networking events to connect with entrepreneurs and executives.

If you are here attending the HIMSS conference, I hope you'll join me at some upcoming networking events:

• HP & Intel Lunch on BYOD at #HIMSS13 http://bit.ly/XAFsMZ
• Search Health IT tweetup on Mon evening: http://tweetnmeet.eventbrite.com/
• HP tweetup on Tuesday: http://hptweetuphimss13.eventbrite.com/

If you didn't make it to HIMSS this year, I hope to see you next year.

HIMSS13 coverage is sponsored by HP. HP’s extensive portfolio of products, solutions, services and relationships can help your healthcare organization achieve quality business practices and provide quality patient care.

CMO and CMIO Jobs

Interested in a Chief Medical Officer (CMO) or a Chief Medical Information Officer (CMIO) job? Because both CMO and CMIO job titles include the words Chief, Medical and Officer, you're likely to see CMO jobs alongside CMIO jobs if you're searching for CMIO positions. Of course, you can also simply type "CMIO" into a job search engine (but then you may find some Cost Management Implementation Office (CMIO) jobs too).

You may also want to look for Director of Health Information jobs if you don't have formal CMIO experience.

Organizations currently hiring CMIOs include:

Deaconess Health System
Universal Health Services, Inc. (UHS)
Community Health Systems, Inc.  (CHS)
Advocate Health
And many others.

Find those CMIO jobs here on the NonClinicalJobs.com Job Board.

ZOMM Adds Chief Medical Officer

Dr. Stephen Gawey, M.D. Enhances ZOMM’s Position in 2012 as the Company Makes a Strong Push Into the Personal Safety Category

Tulsa, OK, December 14, 2011 --(PR.com)-- ZOMM, LLC (www.zomm.com), a global technology company and developer of the world’s first Wireless Leash for cell phones, announces Dr. Stephen Gawey, M.D. as Chief Medical Officer. As ZOMM further expands its reach to the emergency response and personal security markets in 2012, Dr. Gawey will serve as ZOMM’s ultimate authority on medical issues. A key link between ZOMM and the healthcare community, Dr. Gawey will be responsible for ensuring compliant policies and directives, while also providing insight into the most important personal health issues facing consumers around the globe.

From CMO to CEO of a hospital

Congratulations to Dr. Jeff Sperring who is the new President and CEO of Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health! Dr. Sperring (age 42) was formerly the Chief Medical Officer of Riley since 2009.

Here's a snippet from a recent press release:

As president and CEO, Dr. Sperring will be responsible for providing overall strategic direction and leadership for pediatric services throughout IU Health. This includes direct operational and strategic oversight of pediatric programs, services and facilities at Riley at IU Health, along with shared program oversight for pediatric programs based in the community hospitals. Dr. Sperring will serve on the senior executive team for IU Health. 

When Dr. Sperring first joined IU Health, he was appointed director of the Pediatric Hospitalist Program for Methodist’s Children’s Pavilion as part of the Riley Children’s Health Partnership. He led the expansion of the program to IU Health North in 2005 and then both IU Health West and Riley at IU Health in 2007. Later that year, Dr. Sperring was appointed associate chief medical officer at Riley at IU Health and assumed the position of chief medical officer upon the retirement of Dr. Richard L. Schreiner. 

Dr. Sperring is a graduate of Emory University and received his medical degree from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in 1995. He completed his pediatric residency at the Naval Medical Center San Diego and served as an officer in the United States Navy Medical Corps from 1995-2001. Prior to joining the faculty at Riley, Dr. Sperring was a community pediatrician at the Robert E. Bush Naval Hospital in Twentynine Palms, Calif., and New Castle Pediatrics in New Castle, Ind. He and his wife Amie, a graduate of Indiana University School of Nursing, reside in Noblesville, Ind.

The transition from CMO to CEO wasn't very common in the past, but we're seeing more of these transitions as physician executives demonstrate their exceptional ability to effectively lead complex hospital systems.

Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Jobs

Interested in being a Chief Medical Officer (CMO)? Do you want to work in a hospital, a health plan (managed care organization), a biotech or pharmaceutical company, or a consulting firm? That's where you'll find people who have the title "CMO." Let's also not forget the health information technology companies that generate electronic health records and other innovative technology solutions. Plus, there are education companies and clinical research organizations that have  Chief Medical Officer (CMO) positions available.

You can view various types of Chief Medical Officer jobs here.

Not finding what you're looking for? Try narrowing your search by focusing on specific industries such as pharmaceutical, hospital, consulting, etc.

Featured Physician Executive: Jeffrey A. Spaeder, M.D.

This week, our featured physician executive is Jeffrey A. Spaeder, M.D.

Recently, Quintiles announced the appointment of Jeffrey A. Spaeder, M.D., as its Chief Medical and Scientific Officer. He succeeds Dr. Oren Cohen who now leads Quintiles’ Phase I clinical research business.

In this role, Dr. Spaeder will serve as Quintiles' lead medical expert, representing the company's position on a wide variety of governance, ethical and scientific issues. As Chief Medical and Scientific Officer, Dr. Spaeder will provide leadership in the ethical conduct of studies. He will chair Quintiles’ Drug Safety Committee and serve as vice-chair of Quintiles’ Council on Research Ethics. Additionally, Spaeder will provide guidance on strategic scientific initiatives.

CMO = Chief Medical Officer or Chief Marketing Officer

When you see someone who has the title CMO, what do those three letters mean to you? To physicians, we interpret CMO to mean Chief Medical Officer. To the rest of the world, CMO means Chief Marketing Officer.

We all know CEO, COO, and CFO. The C-suite can be an interesting place when you have a CMO as well. Hospitals may also have a CMIO or Chief Medical Information Officer.

Here's what Wikipedia has to say about the C-suite:

The highest level executives are usually called "C-level" or part of the "C-suite", referring to the 3-letter initials starting with "C" and ending with "O" (for "Chief __________ Officer"); the major traditional such offices are Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Operations Officer (COO), and Chief Financial Officer (CFO). In technology companies, a Chief Technology Officer (CTO) is also central, and for companies with a strong IT capacity a Chief Information Officer (CIO) is also significant. (Most other C-level titles are not universally recognized, and tend to be specific to particular organizational cultures or preferences.)

ACPE 2010: Leadership Summit

Here at the 2010 ACPE (American College of Physician Executives) Annual CME Conference, one track is the "Leadership Summit."

Today, the following breakout sessions took place in the morning and in the afternoon:

• The Role of Information Technology
  Join Harry G. Greenspun from Perot Systems, for a look at how information technology will be used to make health care reform a reality.
• Quality and Patient Safety: Working as a Team
  What can health care learn from aviation and engineering? ACPE CEO Barry Silbaugh will moderate a lively discussion on the value of teamwork with Jeff Skiles, co-pilot of US Airways Flight 1549, when it crashed into the Hudson River in New York, and Rollin “Terry” Fairbanks, University of Rochester.
• How Quality Improves the Bottom Line: CFO and CMO Working Together Reduces Costs and Increases Value
  John Byrnes, MD present a case study on two Michigan hospitals where a partnership between cardiology, nursing, and quality leaders resulted in significant financial savings.

Tomorrow there's a workshop session titled, "Complexity Science" with Dave Snowden. A leader’s framework for decision-making, complexity is poised to help current and future leaders address the challenges and opportunities they face. Tomorrow afternoon, there's a trip to the National Museum of Health and Medicine at Walter Reed Army Hospital.

Click here for highlights from ACPE 2010.

This coverage of ACPE is sponsored by Practice Fusion EMR. Practice Fusion’s Electronic Medical Record system includes charting, scheduling, e-prescribing, secure messaging and lab connections – all at no cost. Join the fastest growing EMR community today!

Jobs for physician executives

Where can you find jobs for physician executives who want to focus on medical management? I'm talking about positions like:

• Chief Medical Officer or CMO
• Chief Medical Information Officer or CMIO
• Vice President Medical Affairs or VPMA
• Executive Vice President or EVP

The American College of Physician Executives (ACPE) is a great resource for these types of jobs and you can find several physician executive jobs posted on LinkedIn.

Make sure to join our LinkedIn Group

Epocrates has a new CMO and EVP of Product Development

Epocrates has a new Chief Medical Officer (CMO) and Executive Vice President (EVP) of Product Development.

Geoffrey Rutledge, MD, PhD
CMO, EVP of Product Development, Epocrates

Dr. Rutledge has been in clinical practice for over 20 years as a physician, board certified in internal and emergency medicine. While practicing at San Mateo Medical Center, he was responsible for the strategy and implementation of highly successful outpatient and emergency department clinical information systems. As a medical executive at WebMD and Wellsphere, he developed two of the most popular online consumer health information services. Previously, he taught and practiced clinical medicine at Stanford University and Harvard Medical Schools, where he was principal investigator on NIH-supported research in clinical applications of medical information systems. He graduated from McGill medical school, completed a residency in internal medicine at UCSD Medical Center, and earned a doctorate in Medical Information Sciences from Stanford University.

What does CMO mean to you?

In the world of business, CEO, COO, CFO, and several other acronyms for C-level executives have established meanings. You don't have to ask, "what does CEO stand for?" We all know that it generally stands for Chief Executive Officer.

CMO is an acronym that means one thing (Chief Medical Officer) in the world of healthcare, but outside that world, it can mean all sorts of other things. Let's look at a few examples:

• Chief Marketing Officer
• Chief Military Observer
• Chief Maintenance Officer
• Chief Monitoring Officer

So, if your business card says "CMO," you may want to have it spelled out the next time you go to get your cards printed. Otherwise, people may think that you're in charge of marketing.

How Much Does a Chief Medical Officer Make?

You can be a CEO overnight if you start your own business. However, you can't be a CMO overnight. According to Sullivan, Cotter and Associates, Inc., a Chief Medical Officer (CMO) has a median base salary of $373,000 if you work in a healthcare system and a median base salary of $286,000 if you work in an individual hospital. That's just the base salary. Once you include other compensation figures, that number can be significantly higher. Are these numbers accurate? Surprising? What do you think?

I'm putting together something that will address some of the salary figures that are commonly found in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry, so stay tuned.