Health IT Vendor Surescripts Appoints New Chief Executive Officer

Health IT vendor Surescripts has appointed Frank Harvey as chief executive officer, effective June 27. Harvey succeeds Tom Skelton, who previously announced his decision to retire.

Harvey is a pharmacist and an experienced executive and investor who has held various senior leadership roles during his more than 35-year career in the healthcare sector.

Before joining Surescripts, Harvey worked for ATLS Investments, LLC, leading private equity investing in health IT companies. Previously, Harvey served as chief executive officer of Mirixa Corporation and Liberty Medical Supply, Inc.

“It’s been a pleasure to work closely with Tom over the past eight years, and we appreciate the many successes that Surescripts achieved under his leadership,” Steven Miller, MD, co-chair of Surescripts’ board of directors, noted in a public release. “We are now poised for continued growth and new opportunities with Frank’s leadership at this incredible time in healthcare.”

Douglas Hoey, co-chair of Surescripts’ board of directors, noted Harvey’s results-oriented leadership and strong operational skills.

“Frank combines his unique perspective and depth of experience with a passion for improving the lives of patients and evolving the healthcare system,” said Hoey.

“I’m honored to join Surescripts at such a critical time, and I look forward to working with the team to realize the enormous potential we have to change healthcare,” Harvey shared. “I’m committed to what we do as a company and the new products and services we will bring to market that I believe will have a significant impact on the healthcare system as a whole.”

Surescripts 2021 National Progress Report revealed significant increases in the use of clinical direct messaging and ePrescribing health IT.

Overall, healthcare professionals exchanged 20.4 billion secure transactions across the Surescripts network in 2021, a 16.6 percent increase from 2020.

The use of Surescripts medication history health IT amongst providers in population health programs increased 53 percent from 2020 to 2021. Additionally, the use of medication history for patient intake, hospital admission, and care coordination increased 21 percent year-over-year.

The report also revealed that the use of clinical direct messaging increased 81 percent, with 143 million clinical direct messages sent and received in 2021.