About Mike Cohen

Michael R. Cohen has over 30 years of experience in the health care industry.

He helps health care organizations get more value from their information technology (IT) investments.

With his help, scores of clients have made good IT decisions, with widespread organizational support, on time/on budget success, favorable contractual terms and significant operational improvements.

Areas of expertise include:

• Systems planning
• Vendor evaluation and selection
• Contract negotiations
• Systems implementation management
• Product review and analysis
• IT management, project management
• HIPAA compliance
• Electronic Health Records (EHR)

He has worked with a full array of healthcare software applications and technical platforms. Projects often focus on fully integrated systems and systems that will ultimately lead to the fulfillment of the EHR.  He has consulted with health care providers and delivery systems of all sizes. Clients range from small rural facilities to fully integrated regional and national delivery systems as well as physician offices, clinics and managed care providers. His experience spans an era of tremendous growth in healthcare information technology, including multiple business cycles, shifts in technology, application "fads", and countless vendor market entries/exits. He uses this experience to help his clients view the market more clearly and avoid costly traps and pitfalls. He also frequently manages strategic and competitive analysis for vendors and companies considering entering the healthcare IT market.

Mr. Cohen also specializes in EHR systems. He has helped a variety of providers develop and implement their strategies for achieving EHR's, including leading vendor selection projects, conducting contract negotiations, and helping manage implementations. He has published a number of articles on the subject, including the monthly "EHR Corner" column (and before that the monthly "HIPAA Corner" column) in Advance for Healthcare Information Executives, has coauthored the books Electronic Health Records: Strategies for Implementation and The No-Hassle Guide to EHR Policies.  He is also a frequent speaker at industry trade conferences.

Mr. Cohen has been a consultant, information systems vendor and hospital administrator. He was Vice President at Sheldon I. Dorenfest & Associates, a Senior Manager at Arthur Young & Company (now Capgemini), a marketing support specialist at McDonnell Douglas Automation Company (now McKesson HBOC), a manager at Arthur Andersen and Company (now Accenture), and an administrator at Cook County Hospital.

Industry volunteer roles include; current board member of the Greater Chicago Chapter of HIMSS, past chairman of the HFMA First Illinois Chapter's Information Systems Committee, judge at EMR competitions conducted by TEPR, and member of the editorial board of "ADVANCE for Health Information Executives.

Mr. Cohen received his Masters in Management degree with concentrations in Health Care Administration and Finance from Northwestern University's Kellogg Graduate School of Management in Evanston IL. He is a HIMSS Fellow, a Certified Professional in Health Information Technology (CPHIT) and a Certified Professional in Electronic Health Records (CPEHR). He is also a Principal in the Cavanaugh Consulting Group (formerly Cardinal Consulting Inc.), and an adjunct professor in the graduate Health Informatics Department as the University of Illinois at Chicago.

e-mail: Mike@mrccg.com