Sano brings IT, nursing experience to the job
At the end of 2020, the Department of Clinical Research Informatics (DCRI) added a new Deputy Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Chief of Clinical Informatics at the NIH Clinical Center. Jeffery Sano, DNP, MSN, RN-BC, assumed this role after serving as the Director of Informatics at MedStar Washington Hospital Center from 2015 until 2020. Prior to that, he was a Clinical Informatics Specialist at MedStar, where he had also worked as a nurse in the Emergency Department and Intensive Care Unit.
"My goal in this role within DCRI is to utilize technology to promote patient safety, increase quality of care and enhance EHR usability in order to enhance clinical research and improve human health for everyone," said Dr. Sano.
The Chief of Clinical Informatics guides the strategic planning for much of the hospital's clinical IT functions. The role also aims to ensure the hospital's clinical information systems work seamlessly and effectively in supporting staff as they care for patients and support NIH's research goals.
In addition, the Chief of Clinical Informatics represents DCRI in preparation for Joint Commission accreditation – an important role with an inspection visit expected in the summer of 2021. As the Chief of Clinical Informatics, Sano will provide general day-to-day supervision, management, guidance and administration for four IT development and maintenance teams.
Sano received his MS in Information Technology from Kettering University in 2006, an MSN from Walden University in 2013 and a DNP from the University of Alabama in Huntsville in 2018. Sano is board certified in Nursing Informatics (RN-BC).