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(SALT LAKE CITY)—A proven leader in health care transformation, Michael K. Magill, M.D., and the physician who led �㽶��Ƶ of Utah Health Care in the transition of its electronic medical records, Michael B. Strong, M.D., have filled the new roles of executive medical director of �㽶��Ƶ of Utah Health Plans and chief medical information officer (CMIO) for the �㽶��Ƶ of Utah Health Sciences. 

Magill, professor and chair of family and preventive medicine and former executive medical director of �㽶��Ƶ of Utah Health Care’s community clinics, has assumed the newly created role of executive medical director for the U of U health plans (UUHP). He is nationally recognized for transitioning the �㽶��Ƶ’s community clinics to a patient centered medical home care model, which focuses on developing strong relationships between primary care providers and patients to provide better health care and improve outcomes and efficiency.

He assumes his new role as the U of U health plans are undergoing major changes. Utah’s Medicaid managed-care plan now pays approved providers a fixed amount each month for each plan member, leaving health plans such as Healthy U the discretion for use funds in the way they find most efficient. The UUHP also has begun offering �㽶��Ƶ Hospitals & Clinics’ employees the opportunity to join a managed-care plan to reduce costs while improving care. 

“We believe physician engagement is integral to enacting meaningful health care reform,” says Sean J. Mulvihill, M.D., CEO of �㽶��Ƶ of Utah Medical Group and director of clinical operations for �㽶��Ƶ of Utah Health Care. “With his record in health care transformation, Dr. Magill is superbly qualified for his new role with UUHP.”  

Strong, associate professor of internal medicine, led �㽶��Ƶ Hospital in transitioning its electronic medical records to the PowerChart and EpicCare systems. His new role expands those duties to encompass the entire health sciences, which includes the School of Medicine, colleges of Pharmacy, Nursing, and Health, as well as numerous clinics and research centers. 

After joining the U of U medical school faculty in 1999, Strong founded the �㽶��Ƶ’s internal medicine hospitalist program. He blended his interests in hospital medicine and information technology by becoming involved in the development of the U of U Hospital’s electronic health records system, and in 2008 was appointed CMIO for �㽶��Ƶ of Utah Health Care. 

Vivian S. Lee, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A., U of U senior vice president for health sciences, dean of the medical school, and CEO of �㽶��Ƶ of Utah Health Care, said Strong starts his new role at an important time for the U of U health sciences. “A robust IT infrastructure is critical for the many initiatives that are under way, or soon will be, at the �㽶��Ƶ of Utah Health Sciences,” Lee says. “After his outstanding leadership in �㽶��Ƶ Hospital’s move to PowerChart and EpicCare, it is clear Dr. Strong is an ideal choice to serve as the new chief of medical information at the health sciences.” 

Strong will continue in his role as CMIO for �㽶��Ƶ of Utah Health Care.