BCBS of Louisiana Taps Vindell Washington as Chief Medical Officer

Vindell Washington, M.D., recent National Coordinator for Healthcare IT, has joined Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana as the organization’s chief medical officer.

According to an announcement from BCBS of Louisiana, Washington brings to the state’s largest health insurer extensive experience in leading clinical teams and in health IT, given his most recent position at the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC). Washington served as National Coordinator for just a few months before stepping down as the Presidential administration turned over to Donald Trump.

Prior to that, Washington was at the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System in Baton Rouge, La. for more than seven years, leaving as president of the medical group, which includes more than 500 medical providers and 1,400 employees. While at the health system, he also served as vice president of performance excellence and technology and chief medical information officer (CMIO).

According to his ONC bio, during his tenure at Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System, the health system became an early adopter of technology including solutions including the integration of medical device information into the electronic health record (EHR), and the widespread deployment of clinical decision support within the provider documentation workflow.

Washington is also a board-certified emergency medicine physician. Before coming to Baton Rouge, he served as chief executive officer of Piedmont Emergency Medicine Associates, a large private group in Charlotte, North Carolina.