Thomas H. Hale, MD, PhD

Dr. Hale has had a distinguished career in healthcare and virtual care medicine supported by AI and digital surveillance. During his time at Mercy Health Dr. Hale maintained a general internal medicine practice for 23 years. He was a founder of Mercy Medical Group (a 350-member integrated physician multispecialty group partnered with the Sisters of Mercy St. Louis) and served as its president for 15 years. During this tenure he was also the lead physician for Mercy’s Epic implementation (44 Hospitals and > 2,000 physicians). In 2010 Dr. Hale transitioned from his medical group leadership position and created Mercy’s Center for Innovative Care. The CIC was charged with changing the traditional Mercy care model through innovations in virtual care delivery including eICU, eHosptialist, ED and behavior health virtual support and care at home, managing value contracts by managing virtually the ambulatory chronically ill patients allowing them to stay at home with 24/7 virtual support. The CIC evolved into the creation of the world’s first virtual care center opening in 2014. He has also served as Sr. Vice President for Care Solutions at NAVVIS Healthcare, CMO of VirtuSense Technologies, an AI fall prevention solution and consulted with health systems and medical groups regarding virtual care applications in the US and overseas. Dr. Hale holds a Ph.D. in pharmacology from Saint Louis University. He received his medical degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia Medical School subsequently completing his internal medicine internship and residency at Mercy Hospital St. Louis leading to Board Certification in 1983. In 2011, he earned a master’s degree in medical informatics from Northwestern University.