Thomas Yackel, M.D., MPH, M.S., has been appointed vice president and chief clinical integration officer for OHSU Healthcare and associate dean for the clinical practice in the OHSU School of Medicine. This new position was developed to support OHSU clinical enterprise strategic goals related to care coordination, population health and clinical quality.

As CCIO, Dr. Yackel will lead the integration of care coordination workflows and information in both ambulatory and inpatient settings, working with OHSU providers to advance organizational goals. In addition, he will participate in the design of provider compensation models to support value-based care and help build the capacity of OHSU primary care to provide population management for common chronic health conditions.

“OHSU is positioned to be a leader in effective population health, and Dr. Yackel is well qualified to represent OHSU as we work with other health care organizations to develop strategies for meeting both the health needs of our community and cost and quality goals,” said Peter Rapp, executive vice president, OHSU and executive director, OHSU Healthcare. “I look forward to his leadership in this new position.”

“Organizations that can demonstrate their value will be successful in the next era of health care. I’m confident that Dr. Yackel will be an effective leader as we seek to redesign care models and develop programs to support our faculty clinicians during this time of change,” said Mark Richardson, M.D., MBA, dean, OHSU School of Medicine and president, Faculty Practice Plan. 

Dr. Yackel will also lead OHSU’s efforts within the Population Health Alliance of Oregon, a population health management organization made up of seven health systems and a health plan. These organizations will pool intellectual property, technology and care management services to better equip Alliance member organizations to succeed in population health management.

“I’m honored to step into this new role and look forward to working with my OHSU colleagues in innovative ways to achieve high quality, effective clinical integration at OHSU and in the community,” said Dr. Yackel.

Dr. Yackel came to OHSU to complete a fellowship in medical informatics and became associate professor in the Departments of Medical Informatics and Clinical Epidemiology and Medicine in 2002. In 2008, he became chief health information officer. He will continue to oversee the clinical informatics department and Michael Lieberman, M.D., assistant professor of medicine, OHSU School of Medicine, has stepped into the role of acting chief health information officer at OHSU. Dr. Yackel will also serve as associate program director for the new School of Medicine clinical informatics fellowship program.