The work, in numbers.
Not case studies written for a brochure. Real engagements — a go-live floor, a champion cohort, a $12B optimization strategy — and the measurable dent each one left behind.
A 200-bed independent health system, three weeks into a new Epic build.
An 18-month migration off a legacy EHR collapsed 400+ applications down to fewer than 200 — real money, ~$5–6M/yr projected. But going live isn't the same as using it well. On day one, every provider was staring at a screen that no longer looked like theirs. We ran a voluntary, remote, physician-to-physician support program built around the workflows clinicians actually fight with at 7pm.
27
Coaching sessions in ~5 weeks
42
Unique clinicians reached
86%
Show rate — attendance optional
95%
Would recommend to a colleague
The model
Concierge, not classroom. A booking link let clinicians pick their own evening slot, share their real charts over Zoom, and fix what was broken — personalization, note templates, DAX Copilot, hidden Epic features.
The artifact
Ambient AI captured every session. Within 24–48 hours each clinician got a branded, one-page tip sheet built from their own workflow — ~30 delivered, CMIO copied on every one so leadership saw where things broke.
The outcome
The real return was trust. A voluntary pilot became a signed direct engagement — CMIO advisory plus a 14-physician champion program. Support became the front door to strategy.
Two decades of measurable dents.
KeyCare · Interim CMIO
20–30%
Increase in physician efficiency; 20% fewer medication-order modifications; antibiotic-stewardship protocols cut order-change rates 50%.
Guthrie Clinic · Interim CMIO
3 → 8
Epic Gold Star rating raised through governance redesign. The Black Bag Series drove 50–150% tool-utilization surges at 4.8/5 satisfaction across 150+ physicians.
Sutter Health · VP, Transformation
$12B
EHR strategy across 25 hospitals, 5,000+ physicians, 100 communities — a 3-year transformation reaching Epic Gold Star 8. Created the role from scratch.
The Chartis Group · Partner
$800K+
Secured across three verticals in year one — Hospital at Home, RPM, MyChart, Digital Front Door, and Quality advisory across a national portfolio.
Great River Health · Emeritus Lead
20+
Physician workflow and build issues resolved as lead go-live physician across a three-campus, ~225-bed Cerner-to-Epic enterprise conversion.
Epic Recognition
#1
Epic Physician of the Year, 2013. 15 years on the Physician Advisory Council, multiple "Epic Classic" presentations placed in Epic's permanent library.
No ivory tower. Just results.
Dave Butler is one of the rare consultants who has actually done the job — CMIO, CHIO, system VP — before advising others on how to do it. His Epic depth, clinical credibility, and executive judgment make Calyx Partners an invaluable resource for any health system serious about improving its IT organization.
Christopher Longhurst, MD, MS
CEO, Seattle Children's
Dr. Butler has literally helped to form and shape the physician engagement strategies, system optimization efforts and clinical direction of too many hospitals, clinics, provider systems and healthcare organizations to count.
Jon Manis
SVP & CIO, CHRISTUS Health
He thinks out-of-the-box and uses his vast experience in dealing both with the IT folks and practicing clinicians to help advance the use of technology among physicians. One of his key attributes is his ability to communicate well to any audience. Using wit and often humor, he can connect with hospital executives as well as project analysts.
Craig Joseph, MD, FAAP, FAMIA
CMO, Nordic Global
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