Rich Pollack

In December 2005, Rich Pollack became the Vice President and Chief Information Officer for VCU Health System in Richmond. For two years prior to that time he had been the Chief Information Officer (ad interim) for Clarian Health Partners, A 2 billion-dollar health system in Indianapolis.At VCUHS, Rich’s responsibilities include setting out the vision for IT, supported by effective strategic and tactical plans that define the best practice use of IT in support of patient care and operational excellenceAccomplishments to date, have included:Ongoing successful installation of the Cerner EMR with 100% CPOE and physician notes in the inpatient setting.Selection and initiation of a new hospital billing system (IDX HPA) and ERP system (Lawson).Contributed to the development of a new all digital 15 story acute care tower utilizing layers of integrated technology (everywhere wireless, VoIP phones, bedside device integration, mobile access,) to facilitate effective communication and high quality care.Teaming up with the CMIO to craft a unique and robust “Office of Clinical Transformation”From 1999 until late 2003, he held IT leadership positions at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center (MDA) in Houston, Texas.  In this capacity, he oversaw a 500-person I.S. organization with projects totaling more than $100 million.  The Division of Information Services at MDA supported all of the clinical, academic, research and administrative functions. As such, Rich maintained close and effective oversight and working relationships with key leaders in these areas.  He joined MDA in June 1999 as Associate Vice President for Enterprise Applications and became CIO 16 months later. Rich has more than 30 years of health care management experience with 20 of those years working with clinical systems implementation and support.  Prior to moving to Houston, Rich served as Director of Information Systems for Nash Health Care Systems in Rocky Mountain, North Carolina.  In 1996 Rich and his Nash team successfully implemented a computer-based patient record system for the 450-bed, multi-hospital organization, which received special commendation as best industry-practice from JCAHO.  Rich holds an M.S. degree in medical biology.   He is a Fellow of HIMSS, member of CHIME, and a Certified Professional in Healthcare Information and Management Systems.