Jim Jirjis, M.D., M.B.A.
Neal Patel, M.D., M.P.H.
Jim Jirjis, M.D., M.B.A., and Neal Patel, M.D., M.P.H., have been named chief medical information officers for the Informatics Center and Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
In these part-time roles, the two will serve as clinical informatics liaisons between the Informatics Center and Vanderbilt's hospitals and clinics — Jirjis for outpatient areas, Patel for inpatient areas. They'll assist strategic planning for clinical information systems and help promote adoption of information technology by clinical teams. The two physicians are the first to hold the new posts.
“The CMIOs are key to our future success,” said John Doulis, M.D., assistant vice chancellor and Informatics Center chief operations officer.
Patel, associate professor of Pediatrics, Biomedical Informatics, and Anesthesiology and co-medical director of Pediatric Critical Care Services, has served as the medical informatics officer for the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt for the past two years.
He is currently working with the Informatics Center to streamline several applications, including Horizon Expert Documentation, Horizon Expert Orders and Star Panel.
His research interests include evaluating information technology in the prevention of medical errors.
Jirjis, professor of Biomedical Informatics and Medicine, director of the Adult Primary Care Center and assistant chief medical officer for electronic medical records, has helped to lead the development of the electronic medical record applications StarPanel and StarTracker, as well as the patient Web site, MyHealthatVanderbilt, which has grown to 19,000 enrollees.