Years in healthcare: 25
My journey into healthcare stemmed from my own personal experiences as a child who unfortunately became ill frequently. Living in a small rural town with limited access to healthcare services, catalyzed my desire to become a physician. My passion has always been around improving the care of those in need with empathy, compassion, and high quality. As the former Chief Digital Officer and Vice Chair of Medicine of the largest health system in South Carolina for almost two decades, my focus always remain singular, the patient. Modernizing how we deliver care using proven technology to keep people healthy and provide them with the right insights to keep them on the right path as part of their healthcare journey. Blending innovative technology and the betterment of healthcare delivery is what drives me every single day. I always keep in mind that one day we all will be patients and in that time of need, how would you like to be treated during your most vulnerable time.
Dr. Patel served as the inaugural Chief Digital Officer (CDO) at Prisma Health for three years and continues to serve as the Vice Chair of Primary Care in the Department of Medicine in South Carolina. He practiced as an internal medicine physician for the past eighteen years. As the CDO, he formulated a strong vision and strategy for the modernization of healthcare delivery. He managed the digital health team to implement chatbots, enhanced video visits, remote patient monitoring, automated campaigns, expanded bedside diabetic retinopathy screening and gave insight into Prisma’s CRM deployment. While at Prisma, he also led projects to bring virtual reality, and 3D printing utilization in care delivery. Dr. Patel has given multiple presentations around the country ranging in topics from digital transformation, governance, workflow enhancements, health equity, telehealth, AI, CRM and population health. He is well recognized as a thought leader in defining and articulating a unique vision on the utilization and development of technology in healthcare to remove barriers to care.
Because of his industry contributions, he currently serves on multiple healthcare advisory boards including HP Inc., University of South Carolina College of Engineering and Computer Science, Kyruus, Conversa, Perfect Serve, Enlyt Health, GAVS technology, Upfront, CloudmedX and Tytocare. He currently holds a clinical faculty position at the USC School of Medicine department of internal medicine as Vice Chair and USC School of Engineering and Computing. As Vice Chair of primary care, he grew the division threefold, enhanced provider contracts, gave insight into practice redesign, and sustained a net positive operating margin.
He is one of two physicians in the world who have been awarded Microsoft’s Most Valuable Professional Award. Dr. Patel is a frequent contributor to Becker’s Hospital Review; they named him Top 20 Chief Digital Officers to know in 2020 and Top 35 in 2022 in addition to their Top 50 Digital Innovators in 2022. Fierce Healthcare also recognized him as one of their 2021 Most Influential Minority Executives in Healthcare.
We’re a healthcare company leveraging technology, not the other way around. Upfront leans on its deep healthcare expertise and client relationships to maximize the impact of our technology, delivering a next-generation patient experience.