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This is the third Who Will Be Kaiser Permanente’s Next CEO? entry.

“The Health Ethics Trust, a division of The Council of Ethical Organizations, named Vicky Gregg, president and CEO of BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, as its 2007 Fellow of the Trust for her accomplishments and leadership in advancing health care ethics and compliance.”

You guessed it. My third candidate to succeed George Halvorson as chairman at Kaiser Permanente is Vicky Gregg, the chief executive officer of Blue Cross and Blue Shield Tennessee.

I wonder how The Council of Ethical Organizations feels about George Halvorson? You’re right. I better not ask.

But back to someone better, Vicky Gregg. Ms. Gregg is a registered nurse who leads a progressive, not-for-profit, 2.3 million-member health plan with over $17 billion in annual claims. Before joining Blue Cross Blue Shield, Ms. Gregg was a vice president with Humana.

Filling a key void for Kaiser Permanente right now, Ms. Gregg is a recognized leader in electronic health records. In 2004, she was appointed to the United States National Institutes of Health Commission on Systemic Interoperability. She also sits on the Tennessee eHealth Advisory Council. You can read here a speech she gave in 2006, “The Promise and Progress of Health Information Technology in America.”

While the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Board of Directors might be a little unfamiliar with the possibility of having a chairman who has been named a “Fellow of the Trust,” perhaps they’ll still consider taking a look at Ms. Gregg?

Update: Speaking of trust. Kaiser Permanente “responded” to the Los Angeles Times article on Devin Valenzuela. Unfortunately, the “response” goes on to almost lie through its teeth. “In regard to the Fresno Hospital matter, the hospital took action more than two years ago…and reported him to the state medical board.” I say “almost” lie through its teeth, because two responsible Kaiser Permanente physicians did report Hamid Safari to the state medical board, after Kaiser Permanente suspended them and cut their pay because they dared bring up their concerns up internally. The Times article was prompted by those same two responsible physicians filing suit against Kaiser Permanente for its actions against them, to try to cover up the Hamid Safari affair. Obviously George Halvorson’s gall hasn’t subsided as much as his job security has.