CMIO Biographical Information:
Michael H. Zaroukian, MD, PhD

Michael H. Zaroukian, MD, PhD, FACP is currently MSU's Chief Medical Information Officer (CMIO). In this role, Dr. Zaroukian is responsible for advancing MSU's EMR and health information technology (HIT)-related research, quality improvement, and community outreach agendas.

Additional Background

Dr. Zaroukian is an academic general internist whose research background includes molecular and cancer immunology, as well as educational research in the use of health information technology and medical informatics.  In accepting his EMR leadership assignment, Dr. Zaroukian stepped down after over 7 years as program director of the Michigan State University Internal Medicine Residency Program.  Under his leadership, the MSU residency program was one of the first in the nation to systematically integrate handheld computing technology into teaching and patient care at the bedside. Dr. Zaroukian also advanced information technology use in graduate medical education nationally as a councilor of the Association of Program Directors in Internal Medicine (APDIM).  His informatics-related initiatives included enabling and encouraging the use of robust, real-time web-based evaluation systems; computerized rotation, clinic and call scheduling; faculty development teaching in web-based lesson design; graduate medical education curriculum tracking; and use of information technology tools to assist educational administration and competency assessment.

Dr. Zaroukian has received numerous teaching awards, including the Michigan State University Teacher-Scholar Award. He conducts regional, national and international presentations and workshops on the use of health information technology and medical computing to improve physician access to and use of medical information in patient care, education and administration.  Dr. Zaroukian is also Editor of “Clinical Problem-Solving Cases”, a web-based educational tool produced by the AmericanCollege of Physicians (ACP), and was a participating member of the informatics group of the Institute of Medicine Health Professions Education Project. 

Dr. Zaroukian currently serves as President of the Centricity Healthcare User Group and on the Board of Advisors of the Michigan Electronic Medical Records Initiative (MEMRI).

Dr. Zaroukian obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.  He obtained his MD and PhD (immunology) degrees at the College of Human Medicine, MichiganStateUniversity, East Lansing.  He completed internal medicine residency training at MSU in the Clinical Investigator Pathway Program sponsored by the American Board of Internal Medicine, followed by a year as chief medical resident at MSU.   

Representative Informatics Publications

Zaroukian MH, Haf JJ, Alfano MA. MEDLINE computerized literature searching using GRATEFUL MED: a pilot instructional project for entering medical students. Teaching and Learning in Medicine 1990;2(4):205-211.

Blonde L, McKibbon A, Zaroukian MH, Guthrie R. Searching the medical literature:  Computer-based retrieval and reference management.  In: Computers in Clinical Practice: Managing Patients, Information and Communication, Osheroff JA, ed, Philadelphia, AmericanCollege of Physicians, 1995.

Zaroukian MH.  PubMed Clinical Queries: A Web tool for filtered retrieval of citations relevant to evidence-based practice. ACP Journal Club, March/April 2001, A-15. 

Zaroukian MH. Electronic Information Management. In: Henderson MC, ed. APDIM Program Manual. Washington, D.C.: Association of Program Directors in Internal Medicine, 2002:55-64.

Zaroukian MH, Sousa A: Handheld computing in resident education: Benefits, barriers, and considerations.  Seminars in Medical Practice, 2002; 5(4):33-44.

Zaroukian MH: A 65-year-old man with hypercholesterolemia presents for his initial visit. Clinical Problem-Solving Cases, American College of Physicians–American Society of Internal Medicine, 1999 (http://cpsc.acponline.org).

Zaroukian MH: A 52-year-old woman presents for a health maintenance examination. Clinical Problem-Solving Cases, American College of Physicians–American Society of Internal Medicine, 2000 (http://cpsc.acponline.org).

Zaroukian MH: A 23-year-old woman with severe fatigue.  Clinical Problem-Solving Cases, American College of Physicians–American Society of Internal Medicine, 2000 (http://cpsc.acponline.org).

Zaroukian MH: A 54-year-old white man presents for prostate cancer screening.  Clinical Problem-Solving Cases, American College of Physicians–American Society of Internal Medicine, 2000 (http://cpsc.acponline.org).

Zaroukian MH, Khan G: 53-year-old woman with pain in her right hip. Clinical Problem-Solving Cases, American College of Physicians–American Society of Internal Medicine, 2001 (http://cpsc.acponline.org).

Zaroukian MH, Haidar W: An 85-year-old white man presents with lower extremity tingling.  Clinical Problem-Solving Cases, American College of Physicians–American Society of Internal Medicine, 2002 (http://cpsc.acponline.org).