TDP 197: Parkview Health’s CMIO Dr. Mark Mabus: From Escape-Room Training to TikTok-style Edutainment, Infusing Creativity into Healthcare IT Training, and Preparing Clinicians for the Future of the EHR

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On this episode of The Digital Patient, Dr. Joshua Liu, Co-founder & CEO of SeamlessMD, and colleague, Alan Sardana, chat with Dr. Mark Mabus, Chief Medical Informatics Officer and Senior Vice President of EHR, Clinical and Revenue Cycle at Parkview Health, about everything "From Escape-Room Training to TikTok-style Edutainment, Infusing Creativity into Healthcare IT Training, Preparing Clinicians for the Future of the EHR, and more..." Click the play button to listen or read the show notes below.
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Audio:

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Guest(s):

• Dr. Mark Mabus, Chief Medical Informatics Officer and Senior Vice President of EHR, Clinical and Revenue Cycle at Parkview Health
• Dr. Joshua Liu, Co-founder & CEO at SeamlessMD

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‍Episode 197 - Show Notes:

[00:00:07] Episode preview

[00:04:30] Growing up in a small town; how a high-school mentorship in pharmacy sparked Dr. Mabus' interest in healthcare and led to family medicine.

[00:06:34] First exposure to informatics through pharmacy + residency CPOE work, helping design order sets and drug-interaction screens.

[00:07:44] Transitioning into the role of the CMIO by supporting colleagues with EHR workflows, training, and optimization — eventually becoming 0.8 FTE administrative while still practicing.

[00:10:08] How a passion for music was reignited during COVID; using humor and TikTok-style videos to lift morale and educate clinicians amid uncertainty.

[00:12:06] “Edutainment” proved powerful — creative videos coincided with a 20-point jump in EHR satisfaction during the pandemic.

[00:19:14] The “Cosmos Song” became a breakthrough moment, helping explain advanced analytics to executives and fueling collaboration with Epic’s Cosmos team.

[00:25:31] Leading a major note-bloat reduction initiative using gamification, CME, and escape-room-style training — later evolving to focus on cognitive burden as ambient tech emerged.

[00:31:35] How ambient AI is the beginning of a “post-EHR” era where documentation and orders become automated and clinicians return focus to patient care.

[00:35:37] Using Epic Signal data to proactively identify clinicians at burnout risk and provide personalized coaching — targeting bottom and top performers to learn and support.

[00:39:44] How problem-oriented charting is indicative of top-performers — now reinforced through AI-powered diagnosis-aware notes and summarization tools.

[00:41:33] Looking ahead to “ambient 2.0” and agentic patient-portal AI tools as next major EHR innovations.

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Fast 5 Lightning Round:

1. What is your favorite book or book you’ve gifted the most?
   Narnia
2. If you could instantly master any skill, what would it be?
   Guitar solos
3. Would you rather have Super strength, super speed, or the ability to read people’s minds?
   Super strength — reading minds is scary and speed seems dangerous.
4. What is something in healthcare you believe that others might find insane?
   People should clearly distinguish “dysphagia” vs. “dysphasia” — pronunciation matters.
5. What is the last movie or TV show you saw?
   Top Chef

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