What does a chief medical officer do?
A Chief Medical Officer monitors the staff and programs of the organization's medical and nursing programs. They work in a healthcare institution, such as a hospital or nursing home.
Chief medical officer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real chief medical officer resumes:
- Manage patients with general medical illnesses focusing particularly on prevention and family.
- Lead efforts to support and continually improve the coordination and delivery of oncology services using evidence base guidelines.
- Involve in the preoperative, operative, and postoperative (ICU and ward) care of the patients.
- Collaborate with software developer to customize Ob-Gyn functionality with new EMR, and facilitate its implementation and adaption in all divisions.
- Research radiology CME for experimental Alzheimer's drug
- Develop and implement EHR base oncology relate risk assessments, documentation and interventions.
- Oversee all coding and billing responsibilities per Medicare and Medicaid regulations and guidelines.
- Provide medical transport to local emergency facility to patients and co-ordinate evacuation of patient as needed.
- Accompany physician during patient consultations and assist in recording patient history and physical exam findings into EMR.
- Collaborate with the legal department to ensure regulatory compliance to FDA regulations and provide substantial clinical data to support claims.
- Restructure documentation and compliance management functions, ensuring adherence to strict state and federal regulations relate to addiction medicine and Medicaid.
- Perform quality chart/case reviews to ensure NCQA compliance.
- Identify potential aberrances, including, fraud and abuse of the Medicare program in accordance with CMS rules and regulations.
- Develop quality improvement activities and assure compliance with NCQA.
- Maintain patient confidence and protect hospital operations by keeping information confidential through HIPAA policies; following release-of-information protocols.
Chief medical officer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 11% of Chief Medical Officers are proficient in Patients, CMO, and Oversight. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Communication skills, and Detail oriented.
We break down the percentage of Chief Medical Officers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 11%
Provide clinical treatment to patients hospitalized after complex medical illnesses and traumatic injuries with personal average daily census 20-25 patients.
- CMO, 7%
Scheduled appointments for CMO and Director, Quality Improvement and other department staff.
- Oversight, 7%
Respond to information requests from contracting agency and when applicable from Federal Court with oversight responsibility.
- Quality Improvement, 6%
Participate in the evolution and refinement of quality improvement processes.
- Health System, 5%
Direct report to Chief Medical Officer of health system.
- Population Health, 4%
Direct public health and population health management program and design.
Most chief medical officers use their skills in "patients," "cmo," and "oversight" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential chief medical officer responsibilities here:
Analytical skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a chief medical officer to have is analytical skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "medical and health services managers review and evaluate healthcare metrics for ways to improve efficiency and meet goals." Chief medical officers often use analytical skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "risk benefit analysis for potential clients based on preclinical and/or clinical data to support the business development team. "
Communication skills. Another essential skill to perform chief medical officer duties is communication skills. Chief medical officers responsibilities require that "medical and health services managers must convey information to their staff, other healthcare workers, and, sometimes, patients and insurance agents." Chief medical officers also use communication skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "send various communications/notifications on behalf of the cmo. "
Detail oriented. This is an important skill for chief medical officers to perform their duties. For an example of how chief medical officer responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "medical and health services managers must pay attention to detail." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a chief medical officer: "supervised a case management oriented utilization management program specifically designed to reduce re-admissions and address senior non-adherence to medical therapy. ".
Leadership skills. A commonly-found skill in chief medical officer job descriptions, "leadership skills" is essential to what chief medical officers do. Chief medical officer responsibilities rely on this skill because "medical and health services managers hire, train, and direct staff." You can also see how chief medical officer duties rely on leadership skills in this resume example: "provided innovative leadership in utilization management, quality assurance and issue resolution. "
Technical skills. Another skill commonly found on chief medical officer job descriptions is "technical skills." It can come up quite often in chief medical officer duties, since "medical and health services managers must stay up to date with advances in healthcare technology, such as the coding and electronic health record (ehr) systems their facility adopts." Here's an example from a resume of how this skill fits into day-to-day chief medical officer responsibilities: "provided lab testing and technical support to the physicians involved in clinical trials and research projects. "
The three companies that hire the most chief medical officers are:
- Intermountain Healthcare54 chief medical officers jobs
- UnitedHealth Group12 chief medical officers jobs
- Allscripts
10 chief medical officers jobs
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Chief medical officer vs. Division director
A division director is an individual who is responsible for managing team members and business operations that are assigned in his/her or her division to achieve the goals of a company. Division directors are required to evaluate division performance and ensure that the team's work complies with the company policies and procedures. They must lead new business development efforts with customers or brokers and should work closely with legal to ensure the protection of the company's interest. Division directors also assist in employee recruitment and provide training to the team if there are skill gaps.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, chief medical officer responsibilities require skills like "cmo," "quality improvement," "health system," and "population health." Meanwhile a typical division director has skills in areas such as "client relationships," "customer service," "healthcare," and "human resources." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Division directors really shine in the finance industry with an average salary of $161,467. Comparatively, chief medical officers tend to make the most money in the health care industry with an average salary of $202,848.division directors tend to reach similar levels of education than chief medical officers. In fact, division directors are 1.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 17.5% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Chief medical officer vs. Vice president
Vice presidents are usually considered the second-in-command in the organization, depending on the organization structure. They take over when the president is unavailable to fulfill duties. They may also represent the organization in external events and other official functions. They are important members of the boardroom, and their opinions are usually sought after as well. Vice presidents are usually poised to follow the president's footsteps in the organization, especially if the president is nearing retirement. They also make urgent and crucial decisions when the president is not available to do so. Vice presidents must have strong business acumen, decision-making skills, and professionalism.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, chief medical officer responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "patients," "cmo," "quality improvement," and "health system." Meanwhile, a vice president has duties that require skills in areas such as "healthcare," "project management," "customer service," and "financial statements." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
On average, vice presidents earn a lower salary than chief medical officers. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, vice presidents earn the most pay in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $159,773. Whereas chief medical officers have higher pay in the health care industry, with an average salary of $202,848.In general, vice presidents achieve similar levels of education than chief medical officers. They're 4.2% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 17.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Chief medical officer vs. Vice president of programming
A vice president of programming is responsible for organizing schedules and negotiating contracts with media producers of networks to release advertisements and other related campaigns for business operations. Vice presidents of programming handle the technical aspect of the creative operations and ensure the stability and efficient performance of network systems to deliver high-quality functions. They also manage the budget and resource allocation, review project management procedures, coordinate with clients, and assist the team in achieving operational goals.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, chief medical officers are more likely to have skills like "patients," "cmo," "quality improvement," and "health system." But a vice president of programming is more likely to have skills like "project management," "portfolio," "program management," and "organizational change management."
Vice president of programmings earn the best pay in the finance industry, where they command an average salary of $137,521. Chief medical officers earn the highest pay from the health care industry, with an average salary of $202,848.When it comes to education, vice president of programmings tend to earn similar degree levels compared to chief medical officers. In fact, they're 3.0% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 18.3% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Chief medical officer vs. Vice president & general manager
A vice president and general manager's role is to implement policies and regulations while overseeing the business operations. Typically, it is their primary responsibility to devise training programs that would produce more efficient workforce members, create new strategies to boost sales and customer satisfaction, and participate in budget and goals creation. They mainly report to high-ranking officials such as the president and board members. Furthermore, a vice president and general manager may perform clerical tasks such as preparing progress reports and presentations, managing schedules, and responding to correspondence.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between chief medical officers and vice president & general managers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a chief medical officer might have more use for skills like "patients," "cmo," "oversight," and "quality improvement." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of vice president & general managers require skills like "customer service," "r," "revenue growth," and "product development. "
The media industry tends to pay the highest salaries for vice president & general managers, with average annual pay of $172,642. Comparatively, the highest chief medical officer annual salary comes from the health care industry.The average resume of vice president & general managers showed that they earn similar levels of education compared to chief medical officers. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 0.9% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 19.0%.Types of chief medical officer
Updated January 8, 2025











