Larry Pawola Bio

Lawrence M. Pawola, PharmD, MBA
Professor

Department Head

Director of Graduate Studies

“Personally, I care about customer service and the students are our customers; they are the reasons why we exist and are here doing what we do.  We really do care about them.”

Larry Pawola has held several clinical and executive management positions in hospitals and, until 2003 he was a partner in an international information technology professional services firm. As a management consultant specializing in healthcare IT for more than 25 years, Dr. Pawola has managed numerous strategic planning initiatives, clinical systems assessments, contract negotiations and clinical systems implementation projects. He has also held the position of chief information officer while leading outsourced management teams in several health systems, and he has worked with a variety of companies to strategically evaluate and position their technology products in healthcare provider organizations. Dr. Pawola has delivered educational presentations to many professional groups, including The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, the American Dental Association and IBM Global Healthcare, and he has published numerous professional and peer-reviewed articles in the leading healthcare IT professional journals, including The Journal of the Healthcare Information and Managements Systems Society, Patient Safety and Quality Healthcare, and Drug Topics.

Dr. Pawola has a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy and an MBA with emphasis in finance and management information systems, both from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He later earned his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Shenandoah University in Winchester, Va. His business acumen and extensive experience in the healthcare IT industry led to his current positions at UIC.

Areas of interest
Enhancing value of technology investments
Increasing utility of clinical applications
Assessing obstacles to successful implementations