Alumni Spotlight
Erin Patrick, Regional Vice President, Provider Networks of Aledade, Inc.
For the past seven years, Erin Patrick has worked at Aledade, a company that partners with hundreds of independent primary care physicians across the country to deliver affordable and high-quality health care to millions of Americans.
Patrick, who earned her degree in health information management (HIM) from the KU School of Health Professions in 2004, grew up in McPherson, Kansas, and now lives in Moundridge, Kansas. From an early age, she knew she wanted to work in health care.
“Originally, I had planned to go into nursing and was offered a spot at the KU School of Nursing. But I also applied to the health information management program. I had to make a choice between the two programs, and I chose the administrative side of health care rather than hands-on clinical care.”
Patrick said the core of her work at Aledade is working directly with independent primary care physicians from Missouri and Iowa through Kentucky and up the coast to Maine.
“We work in partnership with physicians to increase quality and decrease overall health care costs,” Patrick said. “To date we have helped providers save the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid over $528 million in health care expenses by promoting an increase in wellness, including annual wellness visits, following up on care transitions and ultimately providing opportunities for our physicians to provide whole-person care.”
Rosann McLean, the chair of the Department of Health Information Management at the KU School of Health Professions, said Patrick is a consummate HIM professional.
“Early in her career, Erin was able to break into professional roles where HIM professionals may not have necessarily found employment historically,” McLean said. “She has demonstrated excellence in all she does and has paved a career through her ethics, talent and virtue.”
Patrick said her training at KU was great preparation for her career.
“There are so many different aspects of health care that play a role in a patient and provider’s perspective,” Patrick said. “KU’s HIM program truly equipped me for this by providing an understanding of each piece of the health care puzzle.”