President, CEO, Heartland Whole Health Institute

Claude J. Pirtle, MD, MBA, MSACI, FACP, FAMIA is a physician executive focused on shaping the future of health care through whole-health principles, value-based accountability, and technology-enabled delivery – translating innovation into practical, scalable models, particularly in rural communities where distance, workforce constraints, and access gaps materially affect outcomes.

As President and CEO of Heartland Whole Health Institute, Claude leads strategic initiatives to redesign care around improved outcomes, patient-centered experience, lower total cost of care, and broader access. Working with partner organizations, the Institute integrates health innovation, data analytics, value-based care models, and a whole-health framework informed by clinical practice and health policy, with an emphasis on durable, measurable improvement across settings and populations.

Previously, Claude served as Chief Medical Informatics Officer (CMIO) at Walmart, Inc. Earlier roles include VP and CMIO for West Tennessee Healthcare and Assistant Chief Medical Officer of Jackson Madison County General Hospital. Claude also served as Medical Director for the Connected Care of West Tennessee ACO.

Claude holds an MD and Internal Medicine residency training from LSUHSC New Orleans, an MSACI and clinical fellowship training from Vanderbilt University, and an MBA in Healthcare Administration from UMass Amherst. Board-certified in Internal Medicine and Clinical Informatics, Claude serves on the board of QSource and the Essential Hospitals Institute and is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American Medical Informatics Association.