Neri is an accomplished Physician Executive with more than 2 decades of focused continuous quality improvement to achieve outstanding clinical outcomes. His work has been nationally cited as proven success in utilization of healthcare information technology and data analytics to achieve the quadruple aims – better health, better care, least waste, and more joy.
A recognized champion of digital health transformation he is a strong advocate for empowering patients and caregivers to engage with clinicians to consume healthcare in innovative manners. Demonstrating unique leadership skills, he manages and strengthens internal structures to keep organizations agile and responsive to changing demands.
Neri is an expert in integrating in-depth, practical knowledge of clinical operations, with robust experience implementing and driving effective use of electronic health record systems, incorporating evidence-based medicine into computer applications and decision support systems to connect the needs and perspectives of patients and clinicians with the capabilities and expertise of leaders in information technology to advance clinical excellence.
An early adopter of transparent reporting of data, his practice was repeatedly cited for top 1% recognition of patient centered care and patient satisfaction. Dr Cohen participated in the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) National Database since its inception and his clinical results have been recognized in the top 5% of thoracic surgery practices nationwide for risk adjusted outcomes.
As a clinical and IT leader, he was actively involved in GBMC’s work redesigning healthcare delivery achieving the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in 2020. He was instrumental in coordinating the Health System wide recovery and restoration of functions in response to a devastating weapons grade ransomware cybersecurity attack. During his tenure as Lead Clinical Informatics Liaison and Chief Medical Information Officer, GBMC was recognized by HIMSS for stage 7 EMR adoption and the only organization to win the Davies Award three years in a row (2019-2021) for work leveraging data & technology to redesign healthcare delivery to improve clinical care and outcomes.
Under the aegis of and a mandate from the Board of the Center for Healthcare Innovation, Neri is providing clinical and technical expertise to award wining startup companies leveraging cutting edge, proven, evidence-based digital technologies to: (1) automate and enrich communications with targeted Digital Navigation Pathways and Care Journeys to fully engage and guide patients to achieve outstanding clinical outcomes in their healthcare journey and liberate clinicians from the crushing administrative burdens to free them up to do the work they went into medicine for, namely, human touch, empathy, hope and healing ( (Rx.Health, Commure, Aegis Ventures, Caire Health) and (2) utilize highly accurate AI/ML models to elegantly deliver massive amounts of data in formats that are easily reviewed and implemented and thereby supercharge the EMR and provide clinicians with Intelligent Care Augmentation (Bayesian Health)
Neri graduated from the Honors Masters (combined BA/MS) Program at Northwestern University in 1982. He graduated from the University of Maryland Medical Scholars (combined MD/PhD) Program in 1989 with a PhD in Physiology & Biophysics. After General Surgery Residency and Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgery Fellowship, at Virginia Commonwealth University Health System, he completed a Minimally Invasive Thoracic Surgery & Lung Transplantation Fellowship in 1998 at The Cleveland Clinic Foundation.