Josh Wymer currently serves as Chief Health Information & Data Strategy Officer with the Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services serving 6.2M Missourians. He is a faculty member for advanced informatics and executive leadership at the University of San Diego and a founder, partner, advisor and investor with startups across the healthcare space.
His previous roles include serving as Chief Health Information Officer for the Defense Health Agency’s San Diego Market, an integrated health system serving 367,000 beneficiaries, and Chief Nursing Informatics Office with Naval Medical Center San Diego and Regional Health Clinics. He is a Fellow with the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE) and holds credentials in perioperative nursing (CNOR), nursing informatics (NI-BC), and as a nurse executive (NEA-BC), digital health executive (CDH-E), and healthcare chief information officer (CHCIO).
As a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN), Josh is a recognized advocate across a range of topics including change management, human-centered design, digital health transformation, and interprofessional teams.
Josh’s undergraduate degree in nursing is from Seattle University. He completed an MS in Nursing, Health Care Informatics, at the University of San Diego, an MS in Project Management from Granite State College, and an MA in Enterprise Strategic Planning, from the U.S. Naval War College. His doctoral work was completed at Johns Hopkins University.
Josh recently completed service on the Editorial Board for Healthcare Executive magazine and currently sits on the boards for Military Veterans of America (MVoA), Association for Executives in Healthcare Applications, Data & Analytics (AEHADA), Competency & Credentialing Institute (CCI), and the HIMSS Analytics North America Advisory Panel.
Do you have any particular areas of interest/specialization related to health care informatics?
Patient safety and outcomes, change management, crisis leadership, user experience and interface, leadership development
What motivated your interest in serving on the advisory board for the MS-HCI program? What are you hoping to contribute?
As an alum and faculty with the program, I am passionate that the program must effectively serve our graduate students, grow alongside and in support of the San Diego community, and evolve to meet the changing needs of a dynamic health information ecosystem.
What advice do you have for anyone interested in advancing their career in health care informatics?
Everyone is an informaticist, whether or not they have come to that realization. Pursuing a career in health care informatics is an opportunity to never stop growing, always explore new opportunities, and shape the future of health technology, data, and analytics. Informatics is an evolving field in the always dynamic and innovative field of health care, and there is no better space to enhance and grow your career than being part of an industry that continues to reshape itself.
In your view, what is unique and exciting about USD’s MS-HCI program? How is the advisory board helping to shape the future of the program to best meet the goals of both the students and their potential employers?
The informatics program offerings at USD are unique in the opportunity to engage with a diverse community defined by innovation, creativity, and looking beyond the horizon. The advisory board is here to help shape the vision for what’s next while supporting the mission and goals that tie back to a vibrant, engaged, and learning community.