Director-digital Practice/chief Clinical Informatics Officer

Position: Director, Digital Practice & Chief Clinical Informatics Officer (CCIO)

Position Vacancy: PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE - DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

Work Type: Full Time

Shift: Non Union; Monday to Friday; Days

Home to seven regional programs and comprehensive health-care services, Waterloo Regional Health Network (WRHN, pronounced wren) is committed to meeting the current and emerging needs in Waterloo-Wellington and beyond.

WRHN is redefining the health-care experience through collaboration and innovation, addressing barriers to access, advancing care delivery, and setting new standards in compassionate, empowered community-driven health care.

At WRHN, every patient is at the centre of everything we do as we strive to improve lives, inspire healing, and build healthier, stronger communities. By listening to patients and partners, we strive to connect communities to the right care, at the right place, and at the right time.

Position Summary: Reporting to the Vice President, Patient Care, KW Lead & Chief Nursing Executive, the Director, Digital Practice & Chief Clinical Informatics Officer (CCIO) will provide strategic leadership in the development, optimization, and continuous enhancement of the organization’s health information systems, ensuring alignment with both clinical and operational goals. In collaboration with the Chief Medical Information Officer (CMIO), Chief Innovation Officer, Director, Clinical and Corporate Applications, Director, Professional Practice and Senior Leadership, the Director, Digital Practice & CCIO will ensure that digital health strategies align with clinical and operational objectives to improve patient care. The Director, Digital Practice & CCIO will oversee the Digital Practice Leads, supporting nursing, health disciplines, pharmacy, laboratory, radiology, and other support services. Additionally, they will work closely with the CMIO to support physician informatics priorities, ensuring that physician-related hospital information system needs are well coordinated and effectively addressed. Serving as a liaison between clinical leadership and IT departments, the Director, Digital Practice & CCIO must have a deep understanding of how clinical workflows and hospital systems integrate to ensure that informatics solutions are clinically relevant, operationally feasible, and aligned with best practices. This role requires expertise in clinical informatics, strategic planning, change management, and leading multidisciplinary teams to facilitate the adoption and integration of healthcare technologies.

**Responsibilities**:

- Chair meetings with clinical program dyads, executive leaders, and informatics teams to gather and prioritize system needs, ensuring high
- quality patient care.
- Work with clinical leaders to ensure seamless integration of workflows and that digital transformation aligns with clinical objectives and operational needs.
- Develop and implement change management strategies to facilitate smooth adoption and ensure the successful integration of electronic health records and other digital tools.
- Working with clinical and operational leadership to evaluate the effectiveness of technology and workflows in supporting positive patient outcomes.
- In collaboration with CMIO, support physicians to implement and optimize digital workflows, clinical documentation, and decision support tools.
- Build and maintain strong relationships with clinical leadership, informatics teams, and key stakeholders to ensure alignment between digital strategies, clinical practice and operational needs.
- Act as a key change agent in order to facilitate clinical adoption and implementation of new processes and/or clinical standards.
- Liaise with counterparts at other organizations (public and private) at the regional, provincial, national, and international levels to share best practices and industry trends and to establish regional strategies, e.g., regional partner hospitals, Ontario Health, etc.
- Lead continuous improvement efforts, working with clinical leaders and staff to resolve system usability challenges, standardize clinical workflows, and identify inefficiencies using data analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning.
- Participate in, and if required oversee, the development of strategic plans, goals, and outcomes related to health IT procurement, implementation, and optimization.
- Foster a culture of evidence-informed practice, knowledge transfer, and continuous improvement, and support working groups focused on clinical and business process redesign.
- Advocate for the advantages of effective health information technologies, promoting their use to improve patient care and streamline clinical operations.
- Design changes in clinical processes that improve outcomes, increase efficiencies, and reduce costs, using informatics tools to drive better clinical decision-making and patient outcomes.
- Facilitate the adoption of new processes and clinical standards,