Williams Named UK HealthCare Chief Transformation and Learning Officer

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 23, 2015) -- Dr. Mark V. Williams has been named chief transformation and learning officer (CTLO) for UK HealthCare as well as co-director of the newly created Office for Value and Innovation in Healthcare Delivery (OVIHD). He will co-direct OVIHD with Dr. Bernie Boulanger, chief medical officer, and foster innovative approaches to increasing the value of patient-centered care delivery.

By leveraging UK HealthCare’s growing information technology expertise and performance improvement efforts, Williams intends to collaborate with staff and leaders throughout UK HealthCare to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of care delivery through standardization across the health system. His office will also work to optimize care coordination, fostering a population health strategy to deliver the most effective patient-centered care in the most appropriate setting.
 
“The Office for Value & Innovation in Healthcare Delivery represents a superb platform to transform and improve the quality of care for our patients and the citizens of the Commonwealth of Kentucky,” Williams said. “I eagerly look forward to collaborating with the wonderfully talented members of the UK HealthCare team. It’s a new era in health care, and we must rapidly change to provide a patient-centered approach that efficiently provides the highest value care in the optimal setting.”
 
Working closely with co-director Boulanger, Williams will coordinate OVIHD efforts  that use analytics to both evaluate implementation of evidence-based practices and foster applied health services research at UK HealthCare. The intent is to become a learning health system.   
“We are fortunate to have Dr. Mark Williams at UK HealthCare,” Boulanger said. “Mark brings a wealth of knowledge and experience that will help transform our care delivery system for the benefit of our patients.  I look forward to working with him as we co-lead the new Office for Value and Innovation in Healthcare Delivery.” 
 
Williams is a nationally recognized leader in quality and patient safety with 25 years of experience leading clinical enterprises ranging from a medical emergency clinic with 65,000-visits-per-year to hospital medicine programs with 100-plus staff members. He has conducted seminal research in the fields of care transitions, hospital medicine, care delivery and health literacy.
 
“As chief transformation & learning officer, Williams will play a key role in navigating our transformation into a value-driven and efficient provider of high-quality care,” said Dr. Michael Karpf, UK executive vice president for health affairs. “This position is key to our ability to continue to deliver the most effective patient-centered care we can offer.”