When he arrived in Omaha earlier this spring, Michael Ash, M.D., joined a clinical enterprise immersed in change, with a job title of chief transformation officer. It’s no small job, but Dr. Ash is excited for the opportunities that lie ahead.
“I am excited to join this visionary and talented team,” he said. “It’s an honor to be given this opportunity to influence how care will be delivered.”
Dr. Ash, an internal medicine physician, has spent the last decade working for Cerner, a health information technology company that serves health care facilities all over the world.
“We’re very fortunate to have Dr. Ash in our organization,” said Bradley Britigan, M.D., president of the clinical enterprise and dean of the UNMC College of Medicine. “He has the experience and the vision to help integrate our clinical programs and prepare them to be leaders in the future.”
In his new position here, he expects his experience in health care information technology to serve him well.
“In health care, information technology provides the automation to make health care safer, more efficient and higher quality,” he said. “I have committed my professional life to improving the delivery of health care. The way in which we access, administer and reimburse care is changing rapidly.
“More care will be delivered at nursing facilities, clinics and within the patient’s home and all of it needs to be coordinated. As chief transformation officer, the question is how do you pull all of this together to ensure high quality, efficient health care?”
Dr. Ash understands that doing this will have its challenges.
“Most clinicians did not imagine using an electronic health record (EHR) when they were in medical school,” he said. “This is a big change in how they practice medicine, especially if they have spent the last several decades optimizing how they work. We have to be respectful of the impact these changes can have, both good and potentially disruptive.”
“In the next few years, we plan to be the region’s leading health system, comprised of nationally-recognized academic and community-based providers, aligned and integrated to optimize the health of our patients in the next years,” said Bill Dinsmoor, CEO of the clinical enterprise. “This will require us to transform the way we deliver care to our patients and Dr. Ash’s leadership and experience will be integral to that.”