Chief Health Informatics Officer

UW Medicine has retained Kirby Partners to support its search for a CHIO.

UW Medicine is Washington state’s only health system that includes a top-rated medical school and an internationally recognized research center.

• • Airlift Northwest
  • Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
  • Harborview Medical Center
  • UW Medical Center
  • UW Medicine Primary Care
  • UW Physicians
  • UW School of Medicine

As the only comprehensive health system in the five-state WWAMI (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, Idaho) region, UW Medicine provides a higher degree of healthcare, ranging from primary and preventive care to the most highly specialized care for the most complex medical conditions. UW Medicine is a family of organizations (some public and some private nonprofit) that are operated or managed as part of an integrated health system.

Key Affiliates and Partners

• Bloodworks Northwest
• Husky Health Center
• MultiCare Health System
• Northwest Kidney Centers
• PeaceHealth
• Seattle Children’s
• Skagit Regional Health
• VA Puget Sound/Boise/American Lake

Integrated Networks

Wholly Owned:

• UW Medicine Choice Care, LLC

Partially Owned:

• Embright – Pacific Northwest Clinically Integrated Network

Contractual:

• UW Medicine Accountable Care Network
• UW Medicine Post-Acute Care Network

Partially Owned Organizations

• Children’s University Medical Group (with Seattle Children’s)
• LifePoint – UW Medicine LLC
• Trios Health, a UW Medicine Community Health Partner®

UW Medical Center is nationally ranked by U.S. News & World Report in three specialties: cancer care, in collaboration with the Fred Hutch Cancer Center, and rehabilitation and urology.

Read the full list of UW Medicine awards here.

UW Medicine shares in the ownership of Children’s University Medical Group. UW Medicine also has strong affiliations with Seattle Children’s, VA Puget Sound Health Care System, and Boise VA Medical Center.

Position Overview

UW Medicine is seeking a Chief Health Informatics Officer (CHIO) to provide strategic, clinical, and operational leadership at the intersection of patient care, technology, and innovation. The CHIO will serve as the executive leader for clinical informatics, ensuring that systems—particularly Epic—optimize clinical workflows, improve patient outcomes, support research and education, and advance UW Medicine’s mission of clinical excellence, discovery, and equity.

The CHIO will be a practicing physician who is deeply relationship-oriented, trusted by frontline clinicians, and skilled at translating clinical needs into effective digital solutions. This role will champion continuous optimization, data-driven care and decision making, and responsible adoption of emerging technologies, including  AI and advanced analytics, while maintaining a strong focus on patient safety, efficiency, clinician well-being, and regulatory compliance.

Key Responsibilities

Clinical Informatics & System Optimization

• Provide executive informatics leadership for the ongoing optimization and evolution of Epic and other clinical systems.
• Ensure technology enhances clinical efficiency, quality, safety, and patient and clinician experience across inpatient, ambulatory, and specialty care settings in alignment with UW Medicine strategic priorities.
• Lead governance structures for clinical content, decision support, order sets, documentation standards, and workflow design in partnership with clinical operational leaders.
• Educate the user community on the capabilities of the platforms already in use and help users maximize the usability and value of existing systems.
• Partner with clinical leaders to reduce documentation burden and burnout while maintaining regulatory and quality requirements.
• Ensure IT training is delivered efficiently, and curriculum and methodologies continuously adapt to meet the needs of a broad audience of learners in alignment with UW Medicine learning principles and in collaboration with UW Medicine Enterprise Learning.

AI, Innovation, and Emerging Technologies

• Collaborate with the Innovation Core group, other academic and research partners, and vendors to explore innovative solutions and translate innovation into clinical practice.
• Advocate for and guide the responsible adoption of AI, machine learning, and automation in clinical care, operations, and research.
• Evaluate, pilot, and scale AI-enabled tools that have been strategically prioritized by the organization (e.g., ambient documentation, predictive analytics, clinical decision support, population health tools).
• Ensure AI initiatives align with key strategic priorities, policies, ethical principles, equity goals, patient safety, and regulatory requirements.

Engagement & Relationship Building

• Establish and maintain a visible presence across clinical sites and serve as a trusted liaison between clinicians, clinical operational leaders, IT, and executive leadership.
• Actively engage frontline practitioners to understand pain points, solicit feedback, and co-design and champion solutions.
• Represent clinician perspectives in enterprise technology decisions and prioritization.
• Foster a culture where relationships are built on understanding and shared purpose, with transparency and a commitment to continuous improvement.

Patient Safety, Quality, and Data

• Partner with quality, safety, and population health leaders to leverage validated clinical data for outcomes improvement, equity, and value-based care.
• Support the development and use of clinical dashboards, registries, and analytics tools.
• Ensure informatics solutions support accreditation, regulatory compliance, and quality reporting.

Leadership & Strategy

• Develop and own the clinical informatics strategy and contribute to UW Medicine’s  IT and digital health strategies and approach.
• Develop close relationships and collaborate with the Chief Medical Officers, Chief Nursing Officers, clinical leaders, operational executives, other leaders involved in innovation initiatives, Chief Information Officer, and peers within  IT Services.
• Participate in the development and evolution of an enterprise-wide strategy and vision in the area of AI and innovation.
• Mentor, develop, lead and delegate goals and tasks to the physician and nursing informaticist leaders and teams.
• Understand the market and be involved and a thought leader in national vendor, informatics, and academic forums, representing UW Medicine externally.

Clinical Practice

• Maintain an active clinical practice  (typically 10–20% FTE)  within UW Medicine to remain grounded in frontline care and workflows.
• Use clinical experience to inform system design and prioritization.
• Clinical practice should provide firsthand insight into system usability and clinician needs.

Reporting Relationships

• Position reports with a solid line to the CIO and a dotted line to the enterprise CMO.
• Three (3) Associate CHIO positions report directly to the CHIO covering the areas of inpatient, ambulatory, and nursing informatics.
• There are 8 partially funded Assistant CHIO positions, from 0.10 to 0.20 FTE, spread across key clinical departments.
• Additionally, there are approximately 35 Informaticists and 32 Training/User Adoption staff.

Faculty Appointment

The CHIO position is a full-time position that will have a faculty appointment in one of the UWSOM departments appropriate for background and experience. This position is not eligible for tenure. This position will also have a small portion of time dedicated to clinical effort. This is a 12-month service period position (July – June) with an anticipated start date in Fall 2026. All University of Washington faculty engage in teaching, research, and service.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• MD or DO with board certification in a clinical specialty.
• Eligible for or holding Washington State medical licensure.
• Extensive experience in  leading clinical informatics teams  within a complex health system.
• Deep working knowledge of  Epic EHR, including optimization, governance, and clinical workflows.
• Demonstrated ability to lead change, build consensus, and influence without authority.
• Strong communication skills with clinicians, executives, and technical teams.

Preferred Qualifications

• Formal training in informatics (e.g., Clinical Informatics board certification, master’s degree, or fellowship).
• Experience in an academic medical center or research-intensive health system.
• Demonstrated leadership in  AI-enabled clinical tools or digital health innovation.
• Record of improving clinician experience, quality, or operational performance through informatics.
• Experience supporting  teaching, research, and population health initiatives.

About Seattle, Washington

Urban amenities, natural beauty

Seattle is located on Puget Sound in Washington, 113 miles from the U.S.-Canadian border. With Puget Sound to the west, Lake Washington to the east, and the Cascade and Olympic Mountains as its backdrop, Seattle is a dynamic city with stunning views of land and sea.

Vibrant downtown culture

The Seattle Center, site of the 1962 World’s Fair, is home to the city’s landmark Space Needle. Seattle is recognized for its award-winning restaurants, eclectic music and arts scene, museums, and galleries. Pike Place Market is a popular downtown spot featuring restaurants, a farmers’ market, and local artisan craft booths.

Year-round outdoor enjoyment

Nicknamed the “Emerald City” for its lush, green spaces, there is a variety of opportunities for year-round outdoor activities in any of the state’s three national parks: Mount Rainier National Park, North Cascades National Park, and Olympic National Park. Discovery Park, just northwest of downtown, has a 2.8-mile-long hiking trail that offers spectacular views of the Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains. Mount Si, 30 miles east of Seattle, has an eight-mile trail that gains 3,100 feet in elevation with scenic views. Magnificent gray and humpback whales, as well as giant black-and-white Orcas, weighing an average of eight tons, thrive year-round in Puget Sound and make for exciting whale watching adventures.

Procedure for Candidacy

Applications will only be accepted via Interfolio.

Applications should include the following materials:

• A cover letter of no more than 2-3 pages detailing your interest in the position, relevant qualifications, and experiences.
• A curriculum vitae.
• Applicants should articulate how their past experiences and/or future plans in research, teaching, mentoring, patient care, and/or service promote a sense of belonging and foster a welcoming and inclusive environment.

Eligible candidates should expect two interviews with Kirby Partners recruiters (including a video conference interview). You may be asked to complete our “Executive Profile” and submit references to be considered for presentation to the search committee.

The position will remain open until filled.

This position is not eligible for visa sponsorship.