UL Hospitals Group has announced the appointment of Dr Naro Imcha as Chief Clinical Information Officer (CCIO).
Dr Imcha is a Consultant Obstetrician/Gynaecologist with a significant research interest in health informatics and digital medicine
Chief Clinical Information Officers (CCIOs) are a developing role in healthcare globally and Dr Imcha is the first to be appointed to a hospital group in Ireland. As such, she will provide clinical leadership in realising the huge potential of digital technology to transform patient care for the better. This will be achieved through developing systems to help clinicians make better informed care decisions and harnessing the potential of digital technology to drive quality improvements and to provide the data to build a more patient-centred and more efficient service.
In her role at UL Hospitals Group, Dr Imcha will garner the support of frontline staff to bring their unique perspective on how the rapidly evolving field of technology can be used to benefit the patients and the public. In a multidisciplinary approach, she will be collaborating with the eHealth Division to prudently plan the optimal allocation of digital resources to those clinical areas which can benefit the most. She will also be spearheading the introduction and adoption of best practices in health informatics. Dr Imcha, who is an enthusiastic advocate of evidence-based care, will be instrumental in ensuring that the knowledge acquired through the efforts in this domain are suitably disseminated locally, nationally, and internationally, thus establishing UL Hospitals Group as a centre of research excellence.
Commenting on her appointment, Dr Imcha added “We are on the cusp of a new revolution in the practice of medicine which has the potential to fundamentally alter the patient experience for the better. Momentous opportunities lie ahead of us spanning the world of medicine and technology. While the cloud, virtual machines, robotic tools, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things can greatly augment our medical care, we have to proceed with caution as they also test our vulnerabilities. We must always remember that we are working with people to improve their physical and emotional wellbeing. Technology needs to be designed and implemented with the service user at its core. I am privileged to take on the role of CCIO at UL Hospitals Group and I look forward to serving our community in this capacity”.
The creation of the CCIO role at UL Hospitals further aligns the Group to the national structures within the HSE. Ms Yvonne Goff was appointed Chief Clinical Information Officer to the HSE in 2015.
Nationally, the eHealth Ireland strategy involves the integration of all information and knowledge sources involved in the delivery of healthcare via information technology-based systems.
The eHealth Division in UL Hospitals Group consists of three departments: ICT, HIPE and Planning, Performance & Business Information. Together they provide consolidated technical and information services for the group to perform its day-to-day functions and a structure for the UL Hospitals Group to move forward with its own eHealth ambitions.
Brian McKeon, Group Director of Informatics, Planning & Performance, UL Hospitals Group, said: “We are delighted to be the first hospital group in the country to appoint a CCIO. Dr Imcha also chairs our Quality Committee and that creates a synergy which will be very powerful in driving improvements in patient care.
Working in conjunction with the eHealth Division, Dr Imcha has a broad remit to provide clinical digital leadership across all specialties and the six hospital sites in the UL Hospitals Group. However, we are particularly fortunate at this time that Dr Imcha is a Consultant Obstetrician/Gynaecologist as we move this year towards implementing the MN-CMS project, which will be a completely digital medical chart for mothers and babies in University Maternity Hospital Limerick.” Mr. McKeon concluded.
More about health here.
