Tejal Vakharia on June 22 became Allscripts' senior vice president and general counsel.
Ms. Vakharia, who previously served as chief compliance counsel for the Chicago-based health IT company, now oversees daily legal and compliance affairs in addition to Allscripts' government affairs group and marketing organization.
Prior to joining Allscripts in 2011, Ms. Vakharia was an attorney at multinational law firms Foley & Lardner and Dentons and served in business, compliance and legal leadership positions at General Electric and Abbott Laboratories. She told Becker's Hospital Review that her prior experiences as a lawyer have strengthened her problem-solving skills and helped prepare her for the role of general counsel.
"Being a good lawyer is about problem solving, and I view problem solving as kind of a Venn diagram with overlapping circles," Ms. Vakharia said. "If you keep your focus on the point where patients, providers and Allscripts all intersect, you make sure that everyone wins. You'll be successful in business and you'll make the world a better place, which is ultimately why healthcare is so fulfilling, because we have the ability to help others."
As she embarks on her first year as general counsel at Allscripts, Ms. Vakharia said she hopes to empower her team to drive creativity and a bold vision "that not only lets us help our clients today but also helps get them where they need to be in the future."
In addition to advising Allscripts' board and executive management on all legal matters, including partnerships, mergers and acquisitions and cybersecurity, Ms. Vakharia is also on the board of directors of the United Way of Lake County (Ill.) and is chair of the Little Kids, Big Futures Fund.