Meet Dr. Lindsey Spiegelman – the dedicated Emergency Department (ED) medical informaticist and Associate Medical Director

By Thuy-Linh Tran, UCI School of Medicine

Dr. Lindsey Spiegelman’s love for problem solving has evolved into providing valuable insight into leveraging technology for patient care and hospital efficiency as the lead Emergency Department (ED) medical informaticist and Associate Medical Director.

Dr. Spiegelman first became interested in medicine from volunteering at the Children’s Hospital LA where she enjoyed being in the hospital environment and talking with patients. After graduating from USC with a double-major in neuroscience and psychology, Dr. Spiegelman attended UCI for medical school. Her interest in high acuity care and problem solving attracted her to Emergency Medicine. She would continue her journey as an Anteater, completing her residency, clinical informatics fellowship, and MBA at UCI.

The high volume of patients and health data entering the ED requires the expertise of medical informaticists, such as Dr. Spiegelman, to create systems that bring order and efficiency to the department. There is always something to improve in the workplace, but as a trained EM doctor, Dr. Spiegelman understands the value of triage. It is the duty of the medical informaticist to target specific improvements within the ED that will see the most benefits for patients and health care workers.

In 2019, Dr. Spiegelman started working on a telemedicine system for UCI. At first, there was hesitancy around the project’s relevancy. The COVID-19 pandemic quickly revealed the essential role of technology in delivering high quality health care. The project was accelerated in order to meet the demands of a population in need. Dr. Spiegelman’s work as a medical informaticist has been key to evolving the operations of the UCI Emergency Department to provide the best care for the patients of Orange County.

The field of medicine continues to evolve. Medical documentation is an important feature of communication between health care professionals, patients, and insurance companies. The requirements for medical documentation have changed to now require additional notes on why doctors ordered specific tests and how doctors use scoring tools to make medical decisions. Dr. Spiegelman is working to navigate challenges that come with these new changes. The new requirements must be met without sacrificing efficient documentation and comprehensive patient care.

What drove Dr. Spiegelman to medical informatics was the encouragement of her mentors at UCI and a passion for providing quality care to her patients. Dr. Spiegelman brings this experience with her when educating the next generation of doctors. As someone who “fell into” medical informatics, Dr. Spiegelman encourages students to explore new and unexpected avenues of medicine. With the help of other UCI medical informatics fellows, Dr. Spiegelman transformed the fellowship’s curriculum to provide an interactive and comprehensive learning experience. Dr. Spiegelman continues to contribute to the lively workplace environment and valuable learning experience at UCI that initially attracted her as a medical student. We appreciate her dedication to her patients and her passion to constantly improve the workplace for others around her.