Vishal Bhatia, MD, MBA, has been appointed Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Information Officer (CMIO) for Capella Healthcare, effective January 1, according to Michael Wiechart, President and Chief Executive Officer.
Bhatia has served as a consultant and physician advisor for Capella since 2014, leading the development of the company’s evidence-based order set templates and physician documentation templates as well as assisting with implementation of Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE) and Electronic Medical Records (EMR). A board-certified internist, Bhatia has been in practice at Capella’s Willamette Valley Medical Center in McMinnville, OR, since 2006. He served most recently as medical director of the hospitalist program and has held numerous leadership roles at the hospital, including chair of the department of medicine.
Bhatia also serves on the Board of Willamette Valley Health Solutions, an accountable care organization, and is Clinical Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine with Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, CA. He earned his doctor of medicine degree from Tver State Medical Academy in Tver, Russia, followed by an internship at Northern Railway Central Hospital in New Delhi, India. He completed a residency in internal medicine at The University of Tennessee in Chattanooga, TN. Since then he has earned an MBA with a focus on healthcare from George Washington University in Washington, DC.
Bhatia has the unique experience of having successfully navigated healthcare systems in three culturally diverse countries. He is fluent in English, Russian and Hindi.
As CMIO, Bhatia will work with Capella’s corporate leaders as well as hospital leaders and physicians to support the efficient design, implementation and use of healthcare technology to help improve the quality of patient care. He will also lead the company’s physician engagement and physician leadership development efforts including the National Physician Leadership Group and the Physician Leadership Academy.
Bhatia will be moving to middle Tennessee with his wife Lavi and their two daughters, Aanya, 11, and Kaya, 6.
About Capella Healthcare
Capella Healthcare partners with communities to build strong local healthcare systems that are known for quality patient care. Based in Franklin, Tennessee, Capella operates 10 acute care and specialty hospital facilities in five states. With the philosophy that all healthcare is local, Capella collaborates with each hospital’s medical staff, board and community leadership to take care to the next level. A private company, Capella has access to significant leadership and financial resources, investing 100% of its net cash flow in its family of hospitals to strengthen and expand services and facilities.
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