Personal and Professional Bio
Nicholas Desai, DPM, MBA, FACFAS is the enterprise Chief Medical Information Officer of Houston Methodist and a practicing physician in the Houston Methodist Specialty Physician Group in Houston, Texas.
Dr. Desai is a board-certified foot and ankle surgeon and tenured healthcare executive with experience in large-scale integrated delivery networ... Read more
Nicholas Desai, DPM, MBA, FACFAS is the enterprise Chief Medical Information Officer of Houston Methodist and a practicing physician in the Houston Methodist Specialty Physician Group in Houston, Texas.
Dr. Desai is a board-certified foot and ankle surgeon and tenured healthcare executive with experience in large-scale integrated delivery networks. As CMIO, his primary focus is serving Houston Methodist physicians and staff, providing digitally innovative tools that promote efficiency and allow clinicians to focus on patient care. His overarching goal is to help clinicians leverage digital IT solutions that make the “P2P” (physician-patient) experience simple, mobile and intuitive. Desai has led large scale IT clinical implementations across various health systems with strategic focus on clinical transformation and financial stewardship as we shift from volume to value-based care. Most recently, Desai was selected to the inaugural class of Modern Healthcare’s Top 25 Innovators.
From a clinical perspective, Desai has been practicing at Houston Methodist for over 11 years in combined administrative and clinical roles with a subspecialty care focus on adult and pediatric foot and ankle surgery. Desai remains active in clinical research with a specialized lower extremity focus with respect to cardiovascular disease, limb salvage, biomechanics and reconstructive foot surgery.
Prior to joining Houston Methodist, Desai was at Memorial Hermann, where he served in both clinical and administrative leadership roles, including Chief of Surgery, Vice President of Medical Staff and Regional Medical Director of Information Technology. While at Memorial Hermann, key focus areas included design and implementation of Cerner Millennium Application Suite (Care4), development of clinical workflows and order set enterprise standardization, development of medical device integration standards, implementation of cost efficiencies in OR throughput and achievement of Leapfrog Safety recognition.
At his core, Desai is a physician first but is also a passionate investor, entrepreneur and incubator for early stage and small to mid-sector healthcare firms. He has led many private equity and JV relationships across the Texas, New York and California markets. To date, Desai has been involved in several large-scale healthcare technology startups that have led to either M&A or IPO targets.
Desai is an avid oenophile, father of two and enjoys golf, tennis and travelling. He is a philanthropist at heart, supporting charities involving multiple causes across the US and abroad. Read less
Areas of Interest
Reconstruction after Fractures and Trauma, Fractures and Dislocations of the Foot & Ankle, Pediatric Foot and Ankle Repair, General and Complex Fracture Repair, Diabetic Limb Salvage