Chief Medical Officer

Full-Time/Part-Time
Full-Time

Description

Job Summary:

The Chief Medical Officer (CMO) is the senior physician executive responsible for the medical strategy, clinical integrity, patient safety, and clinical value of Access Labs.

The CMO ensures that Access Labs delivers diagnostics that are clinically meaningful, scientifically sound, safe, and relevant to the physicians and patients we serve. The role connects medicine, diagnostics, laboratory operations, commercial strategy, and innovation-ensuring that growth and new capabilities strengthen, rather than compromise, clinical standards.

The CMO serves as the medical voice of Access Labs, providing clear, evidence-based leadership to the CEO, Executive Leadership Team, physicians, customers, partners, regulators, and the broader healthcare community.

Job Responsibilities:

1. Medical & Clinical Strategy

• Define and lead the enterprise medical strategy in alignment with Access Labs' business strategy and patient needs.
• Translate emerging clinical evidence, healthcare trends, and physician needs into strategic priorities.
• Advise the CEO and Executive Leadership Team on clinical opportunities, risks, investments, and tradeoffs.
• Establish the clinical principles and standards that guide Access Labs' services, partnerships, innovation, and growth.
• Ensure medical priorities are translated into clear, executable plans across the organization.

2. Laboratory Operations

• Ensure standards of performance are established for all laboratory testing systems in conformance with the department's clinical laboratory standards of practice;
• Ensure a safe laboratory environment for personnel and the public;
• Ensure all work performed in the laboratory is monitored to ensure that medically reliable data is generated;
• Ensure that a process is established to verify performance characteristics, including but not limited to accuracy and precision, for all test systems;
• Ensure that a policy is established to monitor staff adherence to approved standard operating procedures;
• Ensure that the laboratory, when applicable, is enrolled in a proficiency testing program acceptable to the department for the testing performed and that the laboratory adheres to the proficiency testing program's administrative and technical requirements as well as department standards for proficiency testing;
• Ensure that the laboratory reviews all proficiency testing reports received and investigates and takes remedial and corrective actions when an unacceptable or unsatisfactory result is identified;
• Ensure that the laboratory participates in monitoring and evaluating the quality and suitability of services rendered, within the context of a quality management system, regardless of where the testing is performed;
• Ensure that a procedure for control of nonconformities is established that complies with the department's clinical laboratory standards of practice;
• Ensure that reports of test results include pertinent information required for the interpretation of laboratory data;
• Ensure consultation is available to the laboratory's clients regarding the significance of laboratory findings;
• Ensure that sufficient qualified personnel are employed with documented education, training, and/or experience to supervise, perform, and report the work of the laboratory;
• Ensure that policies and procedures are established for monitoring staff to assess competency and, whenever necessary, to provide remedial training to improve skills;
• Ensure that a current, accurate, and complete procedure manual is available to all personnel;
• Specify in writing the responsibilities and duties of all laboratory personnel;
• Maintain an effective working relationship with applicable accrediting and regulatory agencies, administrative officials, and the medical community;
• Set goals, develop, and allocate resources within the laboratory; and
• Provide effective administrative direction of the laboratory, in conjunction with the individual(s) responsible for financial management of the laboratory, to ensure adequate resources are available to operate the laboratory in a manner consistent with all State and Federal requirements.

3. Clinical Quality & Patient Safety I took out the points common to Lab

• Serve as the executive champion for patient safety and clinical quality.
• Establish clinical standards and ensure significant medical risks, errors, trends, and patient-safety concerns are identified and addressed rapidly.
• Create a culture in which clinical concerns are surfaced early and decisions consistently put patients first.

4. Diagnostic Portfolio & Clinical Innovation

• Provide medical leadership for Access Labs' diagnostic portfolio and clinical roadmap.
• Evaluate new tests, technologies, clinical programs, and partnerships based on medical evidence, patient value, market need, and economic viability.
• Ensure new clinical capabilities have appropriate scientific evidence, validation, medical oversight, and adoption plans.
• Regularly evaluate the existing portfolio to identify opportunities to expand, optimize, reposition, or discontinue offerings.
• Help Access Labs anticipate how diagnostics, precision medicine, technology, and changing models of care will affect the business.
• Promote appropriate diagnostic utilization and clinically responsible growth.

5. Physician & Clinical Engagement

• Build trusted relationships with physicians, medical groups, healthcare organizations, and clinical partners.
• Establish effective physician advisory and clinical feedback mechanisms.
• Understand unmet clinical needs and translate them into improvements in Access Labs' services and solutions.
• Serve as a senior medical resource for strategic customers and partners.
• Represent Access Labs credibly in medical, scientific, and healthcare forums.

6. Clinical Growth & Commercial Partnership

• Serve as a visible and credible medical representative of Access Labs.
• Strengthen Access Labs' reputation as a trusted, innovative, clinically rigorous Diagnostic organization.
• Develop relationships with key opinion leaders, clinical organizations, strategic partners, and other healthcare stakeholders.
• Partner with Commercial, Strategy, Marketing, and Operations to create growth through meaningful clinical differentiation.
• Help articulate the clinical value proposition of Access Labs to physicians, customers, health systems, and strategic partners.
• Support strategic customer relationships where senior medical engagement can accelerate trust, adoption, or growth.

7. Medical Governance & Risk

• Establish clear medical governance and clinical decision rights across Access Labs.
• Ensure material clinical risks are identified, evaluated, escalated, and addressed.
• Provide medical oversight for clinical policies, programs, partnerships, and significant new capabilities.
• Partner with Legal, Compliance, Quality, and laboratory leadership on regulatory and clinical matters.
• Maintain clear accountability between enterprise medical leadership and laboratory operational/regulatory responsibilities.

8. Leadership & Organizational Development

• Build strong alignment across medical, laboratory, quality, commercial, technology, and operational leadership.
• Develop clinical leadership capability and succession depth across the organization.
• Create clear accountability and expectations for medical and clinical teams.
• Model Access Labs' values and reinforce a culture of evidence-based decision-making, transparency, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Represent enterprise interests above functional interests as a member of the Executive Leadership Team.

Qualifications & Skills:

• MD, DO or DPM licensed to practice in the jurisdiction where the laboratory is located and
  • Certification in anatomic or clinical pathology, or both, by the American Board of Pathology or American Osteopathic Board of Pathology or
  • Have at least two years of experience supervising high complexity testing and have at least 20 CE credit hours in laboratory practice that cover director responsibilities as defined in this document or

• Doctoral degree (PhD or DPH) in a chemical biological or clinical laboratory science from an accredited institution and
  • Have current certification by a board approved by HHS and
  • Have at least two years of laboratory training or experience or both, and laboratory experience directing or supervising high complexity testing and
  • Have at least 20 CE credit hours in laboratory practice that cover the director's responsibilities as defined in this document.
• Minimum 10 years of progressive experience in diagnostic laboratory medicine, pathology, healthcare services, precision medicine, or a closely related field, including at least 5 years in senior medical leadership
• Board certification in a functional/integrative health strongly preferred.
• Experience operating at an executive or enterprise leadership level.
• Strong understanding of diagnostic medicine, clinical evidence, quality, patient safety, and healthcare economics.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with laboratory, commercial, operational, technology, regulatory, and executive teams.
• Experience engaging physicians, healthcare organizations, strategic customers, and external clinical stakeholders.
• Ability to evaluate emerging technologies and translate medical innovation into scalable business opportunities.
• Strong executive communication and the ability to simplify complex clinical issues into clear decisions.
• A track record of building trust, making difficult decisions, and leading effectively through growth and change.

Key Measures of Success

Success should be evaluated through a focused set of clinical, Lab operational and business outcomes, including but not limited to:

• Patient safety: No unresolved critical patient-safety issues; material clinical risks addressed promptly.
• Laboratory: Indicators of performance by area guarantee compliance with local, state and federal regulations.
• Clinical quality: Quality indicators consistently meet or exceed approved targets.
• Clinical strategy: A clear, approved medical roadmap exists and progresses against defined milestones.
• Portfolio value: New and existing diagnostic offerings demonstrate clinical relevance, appropriate utilization, adoption, and measurable value.
• Physician engagement: Strong physician/customer feedback and increasing clinical engagement with Access Labs.
• Growth contribution: Measurable revenue, volume, retention, or margin contribution from clinically differentiated services and programs.
• Innovation: New capabilities are introduced with appropriate evidence, validation, governance, and adoption.
• Stakeholder trust: Strong credibility with physicians, customers, regulators, partners, laboratory leaders, and the Executive Leadership Team.
• Leadership: Clear medical accountability, strong cross-functional alignment, and development of clinical leadership talent.

Non-Negotiable Leadership Behaviors

Patient first. Protects patient safety and clinical integrity even when doing so creates short-term operational or commercial difficulty.

Makes the medical call. Provides a clear, evidence-based recommendation when clinical tradeoffs or ambiguity arise.

Escalates risk early. Surfaces clinical, patient-safety, regulatory, capacity, and reputational risks before they become significant events.

Connects medicine to business. Understands that sustainable growth requires clinical value, physician trust, operational feasibility, access, and sound economics.

Uses evidence, not opinion. Grounds recommendations in clinical evidence, data, patient outcomes, and disciplined medical judgment.

Creates alignment. Brings medical, laboratory, operational, commercial, and technology leaders together around common priorities and standards.

Thinks beyond the laboratory. Focuses not simply on producing a test result, but on how diagnostics improve clinical decisions and patient care.