Physician - Chief Health Informatics Officer

Summary The Northern Arizona VA Health Care System is recruiting for a Physician - Chief Health Informatics Officer (CHIO). The incumbent is the expert in health informatics and steward of the intersection between health IT, health informatics, and clinical practice. Serving as the primary advisor to the executive leadership team, the CHIO is a strong agent for change, understands the needs of their professional counterparts, and the role informatics plays across the organization. Learn more about this agency Duties Steeped in Western history, featuring a vibrant downtown with over 800 registered historical buildings, year-round access to a variety of outdoor activities, stunning natural landscapes, and home of the "World's Oldest Rodeo," come discover why Prescott is not just a great place to visit but also the perfect place to call home! The Northern Arizona VA Healthcare System is one of the leading health care systems serving Veterans in the VA Desert Pacific Network, within the Veterans Integrated Service Network 22. VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package. VHA Physician Total Rewards. Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): May be available for highly qualified candidates. Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): May be available for highly qualified candidates. Pay: Competitive salary, annual performance bonus, regular salary increases Paid Time Off: 50-55 days of paid time off per year (26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year and possible 5 day paid absence for CME) Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Licensure: 1 full and unrestricted license from any US State or territory CME: Possible $2,500 per year reimbursement (must be full-time with board certification). Up to $1,000 without Board Certification. Malpractice: Free liability protection with tail coverage provided Contract: No Physician Employment Contract and no significant restriction on moonlighting Major duties include, but are not limited to: Evaluates content quality and assures access to knowledge resources, eliminating redundancy in duplicate data sources, and improving information interoperability across the organization. Plays a pivotal role in leveraging the capabilities of VA clinical information systems to empower practitioners in delivering timely and appropriate care to the appropriate patients. Enables EHR health care capabilities and the evolution of technology to deliver quality care by developing, implementing, monitoring, maintaining, and optimizing HI solutions and access to them. Evaluates and identifies necessary changes to optimize clinical workflows and the health IT system, certifying that the VHA EHR operates in a way that improves patient care, ensures patient safety, and meets the needs of providers through continuous evaluation, testing and improvement of the system. Enables healthcare capabilities and the evolution of technology adjoined to the EHR to deliver quality care by developing, implementing, monitoring, maintaining, and optimizing informatics tools and access to them. Evaluates, documents, analyzes, prioritizes, and recognizes requirements for the improvement and/or re-engineering of health care processes for the EHR and other systems in collaboration with the end-user. Contributes to the planning and execution of computer hardware/software development to meet patient care needs and ensure optimal computer use. Effectively creates, integrates, disseminates, and manages data for enterprise applications, processes and entities requiring timely and accurate data delivery. Executes the entire standards lifecycle from problem definition to solution development and eventual retirement. The preponderance of standards management effort in support of Enterprise Data Management is devoted to operational implementation and maintenance of data standards in HIT systems for the collection, analysis, and exchange of data. Utilizes innovative practice patterns and specializations to continuously develop the informatics role and associated competencies, aligning it with the strategic needs of the organization. Evaluates, documents, analyzes, prioritizes, and recognizes requirements for the improvement of the EHR and other systems in collaboration with the end-user. Oversees strategic planning, resource allocation, policy implementation, and decision-making methods within the health informatics service line (e.g., via co-chair role of the HI Integrated Governance Body). Reports key milestones, metrics, results of VA medical facility informatics related needs assessments and monitoring of fulfillment of informatics-related needs to VISN HI Integrated Governance and VA medical facility HI Integrated Governance as specified by VISN HI Integrated Governance. Responsible for setting goals and priorities for HI operations that are aligned with the broader objectives of the organization (e.g., via co-chair role of the HI Integrated Governance Body). Is accountable for delivering organizational benefit to the VA medical facility from HI service operations: HI personnel, methods, and tools. Acts as liaison for frontline staff for training and implementation initiatives related to EHR. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm Requirements Conditions of employment U.S. Citizenship; non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959. Must be proficient in written and spoken English. Subject to background/security investigation. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. Must pass pre-employment physical examination. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). You may be required to serve a probationary period. Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement. Qualifications To qualify for this position, you must meet the basic requirements as well as any additional requirements (if applicable) listed in the job announcement. Applicants pending the completion of training or license requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met. Currently employed physician(s) in VA who met the requirements for appointment under the previous qualification standard at the time of their initial appointment are deemed to have met the basic requirements of the occupation. Basic Requirements: United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. Degree of doctor of medicine or an equivalent degree resulting from a course of education in medicine or osteopathic medicine. The degree must have been obtained from one of the schools approved by the Department of Veterans Affairs for the year in which the course of study was completed. Current, full and unrestricted license to practice medicine or surgery in a State, Territory, or Commonwealth of the United States, or in the District of Columbia. Residency Training: Physicians must have completed residency training, approved by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs in an accredited core specialty training program leading to eligibility for board certification. (NOTE: VA physicians involved in academic training programs may be required to be board certified for faculty status.) Approved residencies are: (1) Those approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), b) OR (2) Those approved by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA),OR (3) Other residencies (non-US residency training programs followed by a minimum of five years of verified practice in the United States), which the local Medical Staff Executive Committee deems to have provided the applicant with appropriate professional training and believes has exposed the physician to an appropriate range of patient care experiences. Residents currently enrolled in ACGME/AOA accredited residency training programs and who would otherwise meet the basic requirements for appointment are eligible to be appointed as "Physician Resident Providers" (PRPs). PRPs must be fully licensed physicians (i.e., not a training license) and may only be appointed on an intermittent or fee-basis. PRPs are not considered independent practitioners and will not be privileged; rather, they are to have a "scope of practice" that allows them to perform certain restricted duties under supervision. Additionally, surgery residents in gap years may also be appointed as PRPs. Proficiency in spoken and written English. Preferred Experience: Advanced clinical background with current or recent direct patient care experience and strong understanding of care delivery in an acute and ambulatory setting. Prior leadership experience in a complex healthcare system, ideally within VHA or another large integrated delivery network, with familiarity with VA organizational structure and mission. Demonstrated ability to partner effectively with medical staff, nursing, pharmacy, and ancillary services to improve care delivery and patient outcomes. Health Informatics and EHR expertise Significant experience leading optimization and configuration of an enterprise EHR (e.g., VA EHR ecosystem/Oracle Cerner), including clinical decision support, order sets, and documentation workflows. Previous hands-on involvement in clinical workflow analysis, redesign, and process improvement projects that span multiple services or departments. Experience with application support and implementation of health IT tools, including testing, change control, and post-go-live stabilization. Proven ability to use data (metrics, dashboards, reports) to drive quality, safety, and access improvements, including visualizing and communicating complex data to clinical and executive audiences. Experience with population health analytics, clinical quality measures, and/or leveraging data for enterprise or service-line performance improvement. Familiarity with advanced analytics methods (e.g., statistical techniques, basic machine learning concepts, or AI-enabled decision support) in a clinically meaningful way. Experience in governance, change management, and education. Prior leadership of, or active participation in, informatics or EHR governance bodies, including developing policies, standards, and change control processes. Demonstrated success leading large-scale change management efforts related to clinical systems (e.g., new EHR functionality, major workflow changes, or enterprise rollouts). Experience designing and delivering provider-facing education and training programs that improve user adoption and satisfaction with clinical systems. Background in data governance, data integrity, privacy, and security principles, including stewardship of clinical information across multiple systems. Experience aligning informatics with regulatory/accreditation requirements and institutional policies related to documentation, data use, and patient safety. Track record of developing and executing a strategic vision for informatics or digital health that aligns with organizational goals. Strong history of collaboration with IT/OIT, quality/safety, finance, and other administrative leaders to plan and prioritize informatics initiatives and resources. Demonstrated ability to work in a matrixed environment, influence without direct authority, and build credibility with executive leadership and front-line staff. Experience leading multi-disciplinary project teams using formal project management methods (e.g., planning, implementation, evaluation of informatics projects). Prior supervisory experience over professional and/or technical staff, including responsibility for performance management, workforce development, and succession planning. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. Physical Requirements: VA Handbook 5019/1, Part II, Pre-Placement Physical Examination and Evaluation. Education Degree of Doctor of Medicine or an equivalent degree resulting from a course of education in allopathic medicine or osteopathic medicine. The degree must have been obtained from an institution whose accreditation was in place for the year in which the course of study was completed. Approved schools are: Schools of medicine accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) for the year in which the degree was granted, or Schools of osteopathic medicine approved by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation of the American Osteopathic Association for the year in which the degree was granted. For foreign medical graduates not covered in (1) or (2) above, facility officials must verify with the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) that the applicant has met requirements for certification, and must obtain a copy of the ECFMG certificate, if claimed by the applicant. [If the applicant does not claim an ECFMG certificate, facility officials must still confirm that the medical school meets (or met) ECFMG eligibility requirements for the year the candidate graduated.] NOTE: The Under Secretary of Health or designee in the VHA Central Office may approve the appointment under authority of 38 U.S.C. 7405 of a physician graduate of a school of medicine not covered above if the candidate is to be assigned to a research, academic, or administrative position with no patient care responsibilities. The appointment will be made only in exceptional circumstances where the candidate's credentials clearly demonstrate high professional attainment or expertise in the specialty area. Additional information This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment. This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status. VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act. Expand Hide  additional information Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution. Benefits A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits. Review our benefits Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.