Associate CMO, Acute and Post-Acute Care - 141479

University of California San Diego; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 200,000 - 450,000; Full time

Job summary

UC San Diego invites applications for the Associate Chief Medical Officer for Acute and Post-Acute Care (aCMO) at Jacobs Medical Center. This role provides physician executive leadership across the acute and post-acute continuum to align care delivery with high-quality, evidence-based standards.

The aCMO partners with hospital departments, physician leaders, and operational teams to design enterprise clinical operating models and ensure safe, reliable care across settings and locations.

Qualifications

• MD/DO with medical license and board certification.

Responsibilities

• Lead design and alignment of acute and post-acute clinical models across settings.
• Advance Hospital Medicine alignment and standardization across the enterprise.
• Oversee post-acute care integration and transitions with clinical partners.

Job description

#141479 Associate CMO, Acute and Post-Acute Care

Payroll Title: ASC PHYSCN DIPLOMATE

Department: CMO ADMINISTRATION

Hiring Pay Scale: $200,000-$450,000 / TBD

Worksite: Jacobs Medical Center

Appointment Type: Career

Appointment Percent: est. 60/40 split - 100%

Union: Uncovered

Total Openings: 1

Work Schedule: Days, 8 hrs/day, Sun-Sat

UC San Diego values and welcomes people from all backgrounds. If you are interested in being part of our team, possess the needed licensure and certifications, and feel that you have most of the qualifications and/or transferable skills for a job opening, we strongly encourage you to apply.

The Associate Chief Medical Officer for Acute and Post-Acute Care (aCMO) provides physician executive leadership for the clinical alignment, standardization, governance, and performance of care across the acute and post-acute continuum.

This role is responsible for partnering with clinical departments, physician leaders, operational executives, and care teams to develop enterprise clinical operating models that ensure patients receive consistent, high-quality, evidence-based care regardless of care setting, hospital location, or physician practice model.

The aCMO serves as the health system physician executive responsible for acute care clinical alignment, including partnership with Hospital Medicine, consultative services, specialty services, and post-acute providers. The role focuses on how care is delivered clinically—including physician workflows, care models, clinical standards, handoffs, and interdisciplinary collaboration—not patient placement, capacity management, or real-time throughput operations.

The aCMO works closely with Mission Control, Quality leadership, Nursing, Care Management, Population Health, and physician leaders to ensure clinical practices enable safe, reliable, and efficient care across the continuum.

Key Responsibilities:

• Acute & Post-Acute Clinical Model Design & Alignment

Lead development, continuous improvement, and systemwide adoption of standardized clinical models of care spanning acute and post-acute settings. Establish enterprise clinical expectations for:

-Acute care workflows, including interdisciplinary rounds, handoffs, cross-coverage, escalation pathways, consultative models, and discharge planning

-Clinical readiness and shared accountability across care settings

-Post-acute care delivery models, including SNF, LTACH, IRF, and home-based care

Serve as the physician executive responsible for aligning hospital-based clinical services, including Hospital Medicine, consultative services, Nursing, Advanced Practice Providers, Pharmacy, Laboratory, Imaging, Rehabilitation, Procedural Services, and other key clinical and operational partners.

Partner with department chairs, division leaders, medical directors, nursing leaders, and operational executives to establish consistent enterprise expectations while respecting departmental responsibility for specialty practice, faculty oversight, education, and research.

• Hospital Medicine & Acute Care Physician Alignment

Serve as the health system physician executive responsible for advancing an integrated, high-performing Hospital Medicine care model across the enterprise, including academic, community, employed, and contracted hospitalist environments.

Partner closely with the Department of Medicine, Division of Hospital Medicine, hospital medical directors, and contracted hospitalist leadership to align clinical models, care delivery expectations, and enterprise priorities.

Provide strategic physician leadership for the health system-supported Hospital Medicine model, including:

-Development and evolution of enterprise Hospital Medicine care models and practice standards

-Alignment of hospitalist workflows, including admissions, rounding models, handoffs, cross-coverage, escalation pathways, and discharge practices

-Establishment of shared expectations for quality, safety, patient experience, clinical performance, and other key performance indicators

-Integration of Hospital Medicine with specialty services, Nursing, APPs, Care Management, Mission Control, and other clinical operations

-Optimization of physician and APP workforce models to support high-quality, reliable care delivery

-Development of governance structures and performance improvement processes that support alignment across diverse Hospital Medicine practice models

Serve as a key relationship leader between the health system, academic departments, and contracted hospitalist partners to ensure Hospital Medicine functions as an integrated component of the enterprise acute care delivery model.

• Post-Acute Clinical Integration & Care Transitions

Provide physician leadership for clinical integration between hospitals and post-acute partners, including employed and affiliated providers.

Establish standards for:

-Medical oversight and physician communication

-Transition documentation and care plans

-Medication reconciliation

-Goals of care and advanced care planning

-Follow-up expectations

-Escalation pathways back to acute care

Serve as the clinical liaison to post-acute medical directors and leadership.

Partner with Mission Control and operational teams on proactive discharge execution while maintaining accountability for the clinical integrity, safety, and reliability of transitions.

Evaluate the performance, capabilities, strategic positioning, and resource utilization of the health system’s post-acute portfolio, including joint ventures, employed services, and affiliated post-acute partners. Identify opportunities to optimize existing resources, strengthen clinical and