Dave Bowen

David Bowen is the Director of the Health Information Technology (HIT) Directorate for the Defense Health Agency and Chief Information Officer (CIO) for the Military Health System.

Chief Information Officer
Defense Health Agency
United States

David Bowen is the Director of the Health Information Technology (HIT) Directorate for the Defense Health Agency and Chief Information Officer (CIO) for the Military Health System.

As the Director of the Health IT Directorate, Mr. Bowen’s primary focus is the consolidation, reengineering, and standardization of the HIT services in order to improve cost structure and deliver a single integrated HIT platform in support of an integrated health system. He works closely with the Army, Navy, and Air Force Surgeons General to ensure that the transition to HIT Shared Service operating model is well managed.

As the MHS CIO, Mr. Bowen is the principal advisor to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs and to the Department of Defense medical leaders on all matters related to information management and information technology.

In his previous position as Assistant Administrator, Information Services, and CIO at the Federal Aviation Administration, Mr. Bowen led an information technology enterprise with more than 1,000 staff members and helped oversee a budget of more than $3 billion. Among his many accomplishments at FAA, Mr. Bowen developed and implemented new cyber security and privacy policies and practices to protect systems and data; initiated efforts to position Information Technology as a shared service, and implemented a cyber-defense strategy.

Mr. Bowen’s extensive experience in health care comes from roles as Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Blue Shield of California, Senior Vice President, Information Management, and Chief Information Officer at Catholic Healthcare West, and Chief Information Officer at the Baptist Health System and Carilion Health System.

At Catholic Healthcare West (CHW), Mr. Bowen operated information management departments under budget and was responsible for CHW’s information management and telecommunications resources for this 50-hospital system located throughout California, Arizona and Nevada. He also lead the System’s Year 2000 program.

Recognized as a Top 50 Public Sector CIO by Information Week in 2010 and 2011, Mr. Bowen has served in leadership roles on several boards, including as a past chairman of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association CIO Roundtable; former board member and chairman of the Coastside Family Medical Center; and past member of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association Interplan Technology Advisory Committee. Mr. Bowen is also a charter member of the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives.

Mr. Bowen has an undergraduate degree in Economics from Ursinus College and a Master’s Degree in Business with Distinction from the Johnson Graduate School of Business at Cornell University. He is a Certified Public Accountant.