Elizabeth Hammel, MD
“Dr. Hammel is an approachable leader and remarkable collaborator—the go-to person for complex projects involving technology and people. She has a gift for connecting all the dots, and exudes a genuine desire to help others.”
— Peter Miles, MD, physician-in-chief, KP South Sacramento
For Elizabeth Hammel, MD, pediatrics is a natural fit, in part because she has a lot in common with her young patients: creativity, a love of solving puzzles, and never hesitating to ask “why.” These qualities, coupled with a passion for enhancing care through technology, have inspired her to question the status quo and lead innovations that help patients and physicians alike.
Dr. Hammel works regularly with engineers at Epic, the software company that helped design our electronic health record system, to make adjustments that improve clinical workflow and patient safety. Collaborating with fellow physicians, she has transformed the documentation processes for tracking immunizations and clinic-administered medications, and added logic and decision-support tools that facilitate outstanding quality of care.
These efforts have benefitted organizations outside of Kaiser Permanente as well, because her insights have led to major enhancements in Epic’s standard product.
Dr. Hammel also was instrumental in creating electronic well-child questionnaires that parents can conveniently complete at home prior to a visit. For older children, she leads Teen Confidential, an initiative that gives adolescents greater privacy regarding what their parents see in their medical records.
Dr. Hammel shares her innovations and expertise widely—across specialties and with other KP regions.