Current:
CEO, Availity

Prior:
CEO at Gold Standard

Russ Thomas is the Chief Executive Officer of Availity, a company that helps physician practices, hospitals and health plans run healthy businesses.
He leads Availity in its mission to empower health care professionals to make meaningful business improvements and build thriving organizations, by continuously extending the value of Availity’s health information network with tools, technology and insights.

Thomas is committed to Availity’s growth. He oversaw the 2010 acquisition of RealMed, an award-winning provider of physician revenue cycle management services. The combined enterprise now delivers health care business solutions to a growing network that connects more than 350,000 physicians and allied care providers, some 2,700 hospitals, and more than 575 technology partners with health plans nationwide.

Prior to his appointment as CEO in March 2012, Thomas had been the company’s president and Chief Operating Officer since 2008. He brings a strong background in health care technology and clinical information solutions to Availity. Formerly the CEO of Gold Standard, a drug information database and clinical knowledge solution, Thomas grew that company from a small start-up to a multi-sector leader in the health care market before selling the business to Reed Elsevier in 2006. He remained with Reed Elsevier as a senior executive in their clinical information business until 2008.

In addition to his current professional responsibilities, Thomas is active in industry and philanthropic organizations. He serves on the Board of Directors for eHealth Initiative, a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit organization that seeks to drive improvements in the quality, safety and efficiency of health care through information technology. He is also active with United Way of Northeast Florida, where Availity has partnered with Ribault Middle School in the “Achievers for Life” dropout prevention program. Thomas was formerly a founding board member and past chairman of Hillsborough Kids, Inc., which provides oversight and resources for more than 4,000 disadvantaged children in Hillsborough County, Florida.