Chief Medical Officer & Chief Medical Information Officer, Thomas Health
Photo by Rick Lee.
By Brittany McClung
According to Matthew Upton, M.D.—chief medical information officer (CMIO) and chief medical officer (CMO) for Thomas Health—the three most important ingredients in the formula for success are organizational skills, communication skills and a sense of humor. Upton also recommends being honest, sticking to your word, giving credit to others and owning up to your mistakes.
When Upton began his career in internal medicine, he was interested in treating the full spectrum of adult medical conditions. However, as his career progressed, the business and technological side of medicine caught his eye. The ability to leverage the power of electronic medical records into the physician and patient experience, while minimizing its intrusion into the doctor’s workflow, piqued an interest for Upton that would pave the way and lead him to where he is today.
A West Virginia native, Upton received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Washington and Lee University and then went on to attend the West Virginia University School of Medicine. After completing his residency in internal medicine at Charleston Area Medical Center, Upton joined Dunbar Medical Associates, PLLC and was a partner there for 20 years before embarking on his career with Thomas Health.
Upton credits gaining his unique perspective on technology and learning how to minimize physician and staff disruption to his 20 years in private practice. He says he is very lucky to have begun his career at Dunbar Medical Associates, PLLC and might have had a different career path if it were not for his experiences there early on in his career.
In his current role as CMIO, Upton works closely with the chief information officer and information technology department as a liaison to incorporate new technology, improve existing technology and address the medical staff’s concerns surrounding the technology.
“I find satisfaction when I can marry the technology with clinical practice to improve both the physician and staff engagement along with the patient experience,” says Upton.
As CMO, he oversees all aspects of the medical facilities, including providing safe and effective medical services, budgeting, physician recruiting and updating the medical staff on changing regulations.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought on many challenges and changes for those in health care, including Thomas Health, which faced financial struggles that resulted in some very difficult years and left the hospital searching for a partner to unify with—one that reflected its culture and goals as an institution. Over the past year, Thomas Health has become an affiliate of WVU Medicine and the two have worked together to improve the health care of the region and the state of West Virginia.
In a further attempt to improve West Virginia’s health care, Upton is currently preparing to switch Thomas Health’s electronic medical records to allow the hospital to fully integrate into the WVU Medicine statewide network of hospitals and physicians—which will allow patients’ records to be available to any physician or provider in the WVU Medicine network. Overall, this will improve access, reduce duplication of services and allow for the further development of population health initiatives.
Upton hopes to secure the future of Thomas Health and Saint Francis Hospitals as they merge with WVU Medicine.
“Being able to merge our culture, patients, physicians and staff into their network will bring levels of care to our community that we have not been able to offer in the past,” says Upton.
His goal is to see that their hospitals are secure so they can grow and thrive into the future.
Separate from his work with Thomas Health, Upton served as a board member for the West Virginia Board of Medicine from 2013 to 2018 and was a past Potentate for the Beni Kedem Shriners in 2008.
As a lifelong resident of West Virginia, Upton says his family has benefitted from the services of the local hospitals and physicians in the Mountain State. In addition to staying in West Virginia to be close to family, Upton and his wife, who is a fellow physician, stay to contribute to the health and well-being of their community.
“West Virginia faces many challenges when it comes to health care, and working together to improve the health of our state is very important to me,” says Upton.
Thomas Health Merges with WVU Medicine
Thomas Health has always shown dedication when it comes to caring for the people in its communities, even through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent bankruptcy it faced during that time. There were several contributing factors when it came to Thomas Health addressing its financial situation—declining population in West Virginia, reduction in commercial payers, socioeconomic challenges and more—according to Chief Medical Information Officer and Chief Medical Officer Matthew Upton, M.D. In the end, the health system emerged as an independent entity, stronger and determined to find a partner that had a similar culture and goals. Thus, Thomas Health became an affiliate of WVU Medicine in anticipation of improving West Virginia’s health care.
“Our new affiliation with West Virginia University Health System allows us to take that care even further as we expand and share access to even more services and subspecialized care in the future,” Upton says. “As one, we will continue to serve our community, the region and the state of West Virginia today and tomorrow as we work to be West Virginian’s first choice for medical care.”
Patients and employees have already been seeing the benefits of the partnership. Some of the biggest benefits are increased access to care, the addition of physicians who will provide new services and even the elimination of the cost to park at Thomas’ hospital campuses.
As health care continues to be ever-changing, institutions like Thomas Health, an affiliate of WVU Medicine, will choose to evolve in order to meet the needs of their community.
