ITS chief to depart for a new role, is succeeded by Asante veteran

Lee Milligan, MD, Asante’s first medically trained chief information officer, will leave Asante after 22 years to become CIO for a health care technology company in the Midwest. His last day is July 2.

He is succeeded by David Kinyon, vice president of Operations at ATRMC, who will step into the senior vice president and CIO role on July 3. Kinyon brings 35 years of experience to his new role, having served in a variety of leadership functions in which operations and technology aligned.

Trained in emergency medicine, Dr. Milligan got his start at Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center as an attending ER physician. He has worked in a clinical capacity at all three Asante hospitals, Asante Urgent Care in Grants Pass and in telehealth.

In 2013 he was named Asante’s medical director of Informatics, after which he launched the system’s provider informatics program.

He trained at Epic’s headquarters and immersed himself into the medical records system to become a credentialed Epic trainer. He launched Asante’s Epic ambulatory improvement project to help providers make the best use of the relatively new technology. In that role he also helped independent practices use Asante’s Epic system through the Community Connect Program.

He led Asante’s implementation of ICD-10, a vastly complicated diagnostic coding system, and served on the Oregon Health Authority’s Opioid Prescribing Guideline Task force, which developed prescribing guidelines now used throughout the state.

In 2016, Dr. Milligan moved fully into the information technology realm by accepting the position of Asante’s vice president and chief medical information officer. In that role he and his team launched the ITS analytics department and implemented the first-ever data governance effort.

He also led the overhaul of clinical Epic training and spearheaded Open Notes, a leading-edge transparency movement that allows patients to see their records and their provider’s notes. He was instrumental in bringing Halo, the HIPAA-compliant communication app, to Asante.

Dr. Milligan was named interim chief information officer in January 2019 and was formally appointed to the position a few months later.

Always interested in governance, Dr. Milligan served on Asante Board of Directors for three years and the APP board for six years. In 2015 he was given the Annual Values in Action Award.

“He bridged the gap between technology and clinical applications to the benefit of both clinicians and patient,” said Gary Marks, DO.

In recent years, Dr. Milligan has earned a national reputation as a thought leader on health care informatics, appearing in national trade publications and on podcasts. He also honed his skills as a writer, sharing moving and personal accounts of life as an emergency physician. One of his stories, The Kiss, earned accolades from his peers.

“There are few health care leaders who have the breadth of knowledge as Lee does,” said CEO Scott Kelly. “He has brought curiosity, intellect and compassion to his work at Asante. He will be deeply missed.”

Dr. Milligan is not yet at liberty to reveal the organization he will be joining, but he expects to bring the lessons learned at Asante into his new role.

“I am thrilled to be able to spread my wings within a somewhat different space,” he said. “I’m looking forward to setting up shop and diving in. That said, I will miss the many amazing people here at Asante and in the Rogue Valley. The work Asante does is both supremely noble and highly impactful to our community. I will miss being part of that.”