Thomas McCarrick, M.D., of Vanguard Medical Group Earns Board Certification in Clinical Informatics

Thomas McCarrick, M.D., M.B.I., chief medical officer of Vanguard Medical Group, has earned board certification in clinical informatics through the American Board of Preventive Medicine, and a Master of Biomedical Informatics from Oregon Health Science University. Clinical informatics is a medical subspecialty in which information technology is used to improve patient care and health outcomes. The subspecialty, officially introduced in 2011, is so new that Vanguard is among the first wave of medical practices with a physician with this designation.

“Dr. McCarrick is leading the entire Vanguard organization through implementation of health care technology innovations that improve patient outcomes and experience and that can help reduce costs,” said Dr. Robert Eidus, president of Vanguard Medical Group. “He has spearheaded the implementation of electronic health records, population health management analytics, a new patient portal, e-visits and other advanced technology while implementing the highest security standards to keep data secure.”

“Clinical informatics has the ability to transform patient care,” said Dr. McCarrick. “It allows us to harness information in new ways so that we’re better able to analyze data, assess results and support the needs of our patients at the population level as well as for each individual patient.”

Through clinical informatics, medical information can be shared among the multidisciplinary team working with the patient: physicians, nurses, physician assistants, specialists, pharmacists, and other community health care professionals and referral sources. Having access to the information empowers patients, putting them at the center of their own care.

To qualify for the clinical informatics subspecialty, candidates need to hold a primary board certification, such as family medicine, internal medicine or surgery. They must be graduates of an accredited medical school, have a license to practice medicine in the U.S. and have demonstrated significant clinical informatics experience. Although a master’s degree is not required to sit for the certification exam, Dr. McCarrick pursued and earned a Master of Biomedical Informatics at OHSU.

About Thomas McCarrick, M.D.
Dr. McCarrick is the chief medical officer and chief informatics officer for Vanguard Medical Group. He is a graduate of Regis High School in New York, the State University of New York at Stony Brook and the New York University School of Medicine. He completed his residency at Mountainside Hospital and is board-certified in family medicine. Dr. McCarrick holds a Master of Biomedical Informatics from OHSU. He has also earned a certification in geriatric medicine.

Dr. McCarrick is the president of Care at Home New Jersey, a not-for-profit organization that provides support, including technology solutions, to the homebound and their caregivers. He also serves as the school physician for the Cedar Grove public schools. Dr. McCarrick resides in Short Hills with his wife, Michelle Retik, and their four children.

About Vanguard Medical Group
Vanguard Medical Group is a multisite primary care practice focusing on care for children, adults and seniors in Northern and Central New Jersey. With six offices throughout Northern and Central New Jersey, Vanguard Medical Group is recognized by the National Committee for Quality Assurance as a patient-centered medical home. A PCMH is a primary care practice where health care professionals work as a team to provide patients with care that is tailored to meet their specific needs, and ensure they have the resources to make healthy choices. The team also coordinates patient care with other health care specialists in the community. The practice becomes the patients’ “home” for preventive, chronic and acute ambulatory care.

Vanguard Medical Group P.C. serves more than 48,000 active patients in six locations:

• 570 South Ave., Building G, Unit A, Cranford, NJ 07016, Phone: 908-272-7990
• 127 Montgomery St., Jersey City, NJ 07302, Phone: 201-431-7200
• 61 Beaverbrook Road, Suite 301, Lincoln Park, NJ 07035, Phone: 973-696-6687
• 170 Changebridge Road, Suite C-3, Montville, NJ 07045, Phone: 973-575-5540
• 535 High Mountain Road, Suite 111, North Haledon, NJ 07508, Phone: 973-636-9000
• 271 Grove Ave., Suite A, Verona, NJ 07044, Phone: 973-239-2600

Many of the founding physicians have practiced for more than 25 years in their respective communities and are leaders in their local health care delivery systems. Vanguard physicians have been at the forefront of primary care in New Jersey, and our staff includes past presidents of the New Jersey Academy of Family Physicians, residency directors, family practice department chairs at our hospitals and faculty at our New Jersey medical schools.

Vanguard Medical Group accepts most major insurance plans. Website: vanguardmedgroup.com.