Physician (DEPUTY CHIEF HEALTH INFORMATICS OFFICER)

Summary

The Robley Rex VA Medical Center ( RRVAMC) in Louisville, KY is recruiting for a full time Physician (DEPUTY CHIEF HEALTH INFORMATICS OFFICER) providing clinical informatics to improve health care delivery processes and outcomes through effective use of information and knowledge. The focus of this position is to optimize effectiveness of patient care delivery and systems management in support of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) mission and goals.

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Duties

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The Deputy CHIO provides facility-level informatics leadership to ensure that informatics knowledge, tools, and processes support high-quality, safe, and efficient patient care across the Robley Rex VA Medical Center. The position integrates clinical practice with informatics expertise to improve care delivery, support users of clinical information systems, and advance data-driven organizational performance. Clinical duties are anticipated to comprise up to 50% of the role, focused on maintaining clinical competency and ensuring clinical perspectives guide informatics work.

The Deputy CHIO supports the CHIO in advising facility leadership and acts on behalf of the CHIO when needed. The role requires understanding clinical workflows, organizational structure, and the connection between clinical processes and health information technology. The Deputy CHIO serves as a change agent, collaborator, and liaison across clinical, technical, and administrative areas.

Duties include but are not limited to:

Patient Care and Clinical Integration

• Improve the quality, accessibility, and transfer of clinical data.
• Support use of EHR tools and clinical decision support to ensure safe, effective, and timely care.
• Continuously assess EHR performance and recommend improvements.

Technology & Informatics Leadership

• Evaluate clinical computing systems and assess how technology impacts outcomes and workflow
• .Collaborate with end users to document needs, refine requirements, and prioritize system enhancements
• Support planning, implementation, and optimization of EHR-related tools, hardware, and software.
• Expand patient access to information and promote efficient use of clinical information systems.
• Lead communication and education efforts related to system updates and organizational change.

Collaboration & Stakeholder Engagement

• Participate in committees, councils, and work groups at the facility and VISN levels.
• Support research, scholarly work, and trainee education related to information systems.
• Maintain effective relationships with local and national informatics leaders.

Policy, Education & Leadership

• Implement local, VISN, and national informatics policies.
• Ensure clinical input into VHA business architecture and related processes.
• Oversee staff training related to EHR and informatics tools.
• Maintain personal clinical competency and participate in academic and teaching activities.
• Supervise and develop informatics staff, manage workflow, assign tasks, evaluate performance, and promote a productive, high-morale work environment.

Customer Service & Data Security

• Deliver services with patients, providers, and staff in mind.
• Protect sensitive information and adhere to all federal and VA data security requirements.

The Deputy CHIO advances informatics capabilities through:

• Application support
• Business architecture and workflow alignment
• Enterprise data management and data quality assurance
• Content and knowledge management
• System optimization and evaluation
• Requirements assessment and prioritization
• Change management and adoption support
• Partnership and stakeholder management
• Customer Service

VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package. VHA Physician Total Rewards.

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 $1,000 per year reimbursement (must be full-time with board certification)

Malpractice: Free liability protection with tail coverage provided

Contract: No Physician Employment Contract and no significant restriction on moonlighting

Work Schedule: 08:00-16:30, Monday-Friday

Requirements

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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 ( Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation.
• 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: Citizen of the United States (in accordance with section 7402 (c) to title 38, United States Code (U.S.C.) 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 allopathic 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 accrediting bodies for graduate medical education, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) or American Osteopathic Association (AOA), in the list published for the year the residency, or fellowship if applicable, was completed; OR
  • (2) One year of post medical school training (internship, first year of residency, or transitional year residency) approved by ACGME or AOA followed by two years of post-training independent practice (performing under a full and unrestricted license) in the United States; OR
  • (3) Non-US residency training programs followed by a minimum of three years of verified independent practice in the United States (performing under a full and unrestricted license) performing duties related to the position they are applying for (United States fellowships would be creditable towards this requirement), 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.
  • Exceptions:
    
    
    • 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 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.
    • In rare and unusual circumstances, the Facility Director can submit a memo to the VISN Director through the VISN Chief Medical Officer, who may approve requests for reasonable exceptions to the residency training requirement for Physicians whose composite record of experience, accomplishments, performance, and qualifications warrant such action.
• Proficiency in spoken and written English.

Preferred Experience: Ideal candidates bring at least two years of progressive leadership experience in healthcare informatics, demonstrating a proven ability to guide teams through complex digital transformation. They should have a strong track record in change management, process improvement, and successful execution of large-scale implementations. Recent hands-on experience with Cerner is highly desirable to support enterprise-level clinical and operational optimization.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit

Physical Requirements: Pre-placement and periodic physical evaluations are required for Title 38 occupations to ensure workers are placed in positions where they can perform the essential functions of their job considering their physical, mental and emotional capacities, without endangering their health or the health of their co-workers. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

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:

1. Schools of medicine accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) for the year in which the degree was granted.
2. Schools of osteopathic medicine approved by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) for the year in which the degree was granted.
3. For foreign medical graduates not covered in (1) or (2) above, confirmation must be made that the medical school meets (or met) Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) eligibility requirement for year 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.

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.

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