Positions

Overview

  • (Ph.D. – UAB; MPH – South Carolina; BS – Cornell School of Hotel Administration) Since 2017, Eric has been a Professor in the School of Public Health with a joint appointment in the Collat School of Business. Prior to that, he served as the Associate Chair and MHA Program Director in the Health Policy and Management Department in the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University. Earlier positions include serving as the Forsyth Medical Center Distinguished Professor of Healthcare at the University of North Carolina Greensboro’s Bryan School of Business. Strategic management, health information technologies, value-based programs, service integration and their combined effects on performance (both financial and population health related) are Eric’s primary areas of research. In particular, he has focused on making the link between Personal Health Record (PHR) use and its impact on care coordination.

    Eric is the current editor of the Journal of Healthcare Management. He has served as the Academy of Management’s Healthcare Management Division’s Chair and on the board of the Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA). With his research colleagues, Eric has won numerous publication awards including two Best Theory to Practice Paper recognitions. In addition, he won the 2014 Health Care Management Division’s Teaching Award as part of the Academy of Management.
  • Selected Publications

    Academic Article

    Year Title Altmetric
    2023 Whence Goes England's National Health Service. So Go We All? 2023
    2023 Perspectives on Challenges and Opportunities for Interoperability: Findings From Key Informant Interviews With Stakeholders in OhioJMIR Medical Informatics.  11. 2023
    2022 From Teams to Transactions: Stepping Back From Feed-Forward Practices 2022
    2022 Satisfaction with modes of telemedicine delivery during COVID-19: A randomized, single-blind, parallel group, noninferiority trialAmerican Journal of the Medical Sciences.  364:538-546. 2022
    2022 Corrigendum to ‘Rapid assessment technology: A demonstration evaluating potential cost-benefit outcomes of U.S. hospital price transparency regulation’ [Health Policy and Technology 10/4 (2021) 100571](S2211883721000940)(10.1016/j.hlpt.2021.100571)Health Policy and Technology.  11. 2022
    2022 There Has Been an Outbreak of "cost Disease": Are Hospitals Ready? 2022
    2022 Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Sexually Transmitted Infection Testing Preferences for Young Black Men Who Have Sex with Men in the Southeastern United States: Implications for a Post-COVID-19 EraSexually Transmitted Diseases.  49:208-215. 2022
    2022 Information system use antecedents of nursing employee turnover in a hospital settingHealth Care Management Review.  47:78-85. 2022
    2022 The relationship between asthma diagnosis and E-Cigarette use among youth and young adults: the mediation effects of anxiety, depression, and impulsivity and the moderation effects of substance useJournal of Asthma.  59:682-690. 2022
    2021 Examining medical office owners and clinicians perceptions on patient safety climateJournal of Patient Safety.  17:E1514-E1521. 2021
    2021 Rapid assessment technology: A demonstration evaluating potential cost-benefit outcomes of U.S. hospital price transparency regulationHealth Policy and Technology.  10. 2021
    2021 Re-Validation of the COmprehensive Score for Financial Toxicity (COST): Assessing the Scale’s Utility in Chronic Disease PopulationsHealth Services Insights.  14. 2021
    2021 Analysis of hospital quality measures and web-based chargemasters, 2019: Cross-sectional studyJMIR Formative Research.  5. 2021
    2021 Resident Physician Experience and Duration of Electronic Health Record UseApplied Clinical Informatics.  12:721-728. 2021
    2021 Undiagnosed sars-cov-2 seropositivity during the first 6 months of the covid-19 pandemic in the united statesScience Translational Medicine.  13. 2021
    2021 Quantifying treatment preferences and their association with financial toxicity in women with breast cancerCancer.  127:449-457. 2021
    2021 Mapping a Pandemic: SARS-CoV-2 Seropositivity in the United States. 2021
    2021 A Review of Unsolicited Comments on the CAHPS 5.0 Health Plan SurveyJournal of Patient Experience.  8. 2021
    2021 Analysis of Hospital Quality Measures and Web-Based Chargemasters, 2019: Cross-sectional Study (Preprint) 2021
    2020 How Differences between Manager and Clinician Perceptions of Safety Culture Impact Hospital Processes of CareJournal of Patient Safety.  16:289-293. 2020
    2020 Mental health and the association between asthma and e-cigarette use among young adults in the united states: A mediation analysisInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.  17:1-10. 2020
    2020 The patient-centered oncology care on health care utilization and cost: A systematic review and meta-analysisHealth Care Management Review.  45:364-376. 2020
    2020 E-cigarette and hookah adoption patterns: Is the harm reduction theory just so much smoke?Addictive Behaviors Reports.  11. 2020
    2020 CONSUMERS’ EXPOSURE TO PRICE TRANSPARENCY: COMPLIANCE TESTING AND SENTIMENT ANALYSIS OF US HOSPITALS DURING 2019Advances in health care management.  19:99-114. 2020
    2020 Going with the Flow? the Who and Where of Workflow Algorithms 2020
    2020 Hospital survey on patient safety culture (HSOPSC): A multi-method approach for target-language instrument translation, adaptation, and validation to improve the equivalence of meaning for cross-cultural researchBMC Nursing.  19. 2020
    2019 Paint the Stick Orange: Incentives, Rewards, and the Innovation Imperative 2019
    2019 Life after Trauma: A Survey of Level 1 Trauma Centers Regarding Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Acute Stress DisorderJournal of Trauma Nursing.  26:223-233. 2019
    2019 The Game of Healthcare Outcomes 2019
    2019 Examination of the relationship between management and clinician perception of patient safety climate and patient satisfactionHealth Care Management Review.  44:79-89. 2019
    2018 Assessing the impact of health system organizational structure on hospital electronic data sharingJournal of the American Medical Informatics Association.  25:1147-1152. 2018
    2018 Forecasting the maturation of electronic health record functions among US hospitals: Retrospective analysis and predictive model 2018
    2018 Trends and Gaps in Awareness of Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Tests From 2007 to 2014American Journal of Preventive Medicine.  54:806-813. 2018
    2018 Forecasting the Maturation of Electronic Health Record Functions among U.S. Hospitals 2018
    2018 Examining Characteristics Associated with Awareness of Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Tests: A Repeated Cross-sectional Analysis, 2007–2014American Journal of Preventive Medicine2018
    2018 Forecasting the Maturation of Electronic Health Record Functions Among US Hospitals: A Retrospective Analysis and Predictive Model (Preprint) 2018
    2018 Growth dynamics of patient-provider internet communication: Trend analysis using the health information national trends survey (2003 to 2013) 2018
    2018 Electronic medical record reminders and smoking cessation activities in primary careAddictive Behaviors.  77:203-209. 2018
    2018 A Study of Hospitals Found That Outsider CEOs Make Their Organizations More Productive in the Long Run.Harvard Business Review2018
    2018 Insider versus outsider executive succession: The relationship to hospital efficiencyHealth Care Management Review.  43:61-68. 2018
    2017 Electronic reminder's role in promoting human papillomavirus vaccine useAmerican Journal of Managed Care.  23:e353-e359. 2017
    2017 Cancer Center Website Rankings in the USA: Expanding Benchmarks and Standards for Effective Public Outreach and EducationJournal of Cancer Education.  32:364-373. 2017
    2017 Growth Dynamics of Patient-Provider Internet Communication: Trend Analysis Using the Health Information National Trends Survey (2003 to 2013) 2017
    2017 Use of the Internet to Communicate with Providers from 2003 to 2013: 10 years of Patient Engagement according to the Health Information National Trends Surveys (HINTS) 2017
    2017 Trends in E-Cigarette Awareness and Perceived Harmfulness in the U.S.American Journal of Preventive Medicine.  52:339-346. 2017
    2017 What you think and what I think: Studying intersubjectivity in knowledge artifacts evaluation 2017
    2017 Trust me, i'm a doctor: Examining changes in how privacy concerns affect patient withholding behavior 2017
    2017 Use of the Internet to Communicate with Providers from 2003 to 2013: 10 Years of Patient Engagement According to the Health Information National Trends Surveys (HINTS) 2017
    2016 Assessing electronic health record implementation challenges using item response theoryAmerican Journal of Managed Care.  22:e409-e415. 2016
    2016 A Time Series Analysis of Cancer-Related Information Seeking: Hints From the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) 2003–2014 2016
    2016 An evaluation and ranking of children's hospital websites in the United States 2016
    2016 Assessing the relationship between patient safety culture and EHR strategyInternational Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance.  29:614-627. 2016
    2016 Cardiovascular disease documentation and counseling in electronic medical recordsPreventive Medicine.  88:27-32. 2016
    2016 The electronic medical record's role in support of smoking cessation activitiesNicotine and Tobacco Research.  18:1019-1024. 2016
    2016 An Effective Web Presence for Substance Abuse Treatment FacilitiesSubstance Use and Misuse.  51:664-667. 2016
    2016 Impact of the HITECH act on physicians' adoption of electronic health recordsJournal of the American Medical Informatics Association.  23:375-379. 2016
    2016 Personal health record use in the united states: forecasting future adoption levels 2016
    2016 Measuring Patient Satisfaction's Relationship to Hospital Cost Efficiency: Can Administrators Make a Difference?Health Care Management Review.  41:56-63. 2016
    2015 Market factors related to hospitals’ patient satisfaction ratingsJournal of Hospital Administration.  4:40. 2015
    2015 The ingredients of a Clinical Practice Guideline: A Qualitative Assessment of the Research Used in the Development of a Pediatric Asthma GuidelineArchives of Medical Research2015
    2014 Increasing hand washing compliance with a simple visual cueAmerican Journal of Public Health.  104:1851-1856. 2014
    2014 Tackling the Confusing Words of Strategy: Effective Use of Key Words for Publication ImpactBusiness Management and Strategy.  5:27. 2014
    2014 Assessing The Leapfrog Group’s Incentives and Rewards Initiative: Summary of Findings from a Membership Survey. 2014
    2014 Strategy and Structure: A Learning Perspective and AnalysisBusiness and Economic Research.  4:1. 2014
    2014 Hookah smoking: Behaviors and beliefs among young consumers in the United StatesSocial Work in Public Health.  29:17-26. 2014
    2014 Assessing the Relationship between Patient Safety Culture and EHR StrategyAcademy of Management Proceedings.  2014:10305. 2014
    2014 Digital Social Media in the Support of US Hospitals: Expanding Benchmarks and Standards for Effective Consumer Engagement 2014
    2014 EMR Implementation Speed: Patient Safety Culture ParadoxJournal of healthcare information management : JHIM2014
    2014 EMR Implementation Speed: Patient Safety Culture Paradox: Part 2Journal of healthcare information management : JHIM.  4:40-45. 2014
    2014 Hospital characteristics associated with achievement of meaningful use 2014
    2014 Hospital website rankings in the united states: Expanding benchmarks and standards for effective consumer engagement 2014
    2013 Patient Satisfaction Scores and Their Relationship to Hospital Website Quality MeasuresJournal of Hospital Marketing and Public Relations.  30:334-348. 2013
    2013 Aligning Strategic Orientation with Information ResourcesJournal of Management and Strategy.  4:32-43. 2013
    2013 Health information technology vendor selection strategies and total factor productivityHealth Care Management Review.  38:177-187. 2013
    2013 Electronic health record implementation and hospitals' total factor productivityDecision Support Systems.  55:450-458. 2013
    2013 Overcoming challenges to achieving meaningful use: Insights from hospitals that successfully received centers for medicare and medicaid services payments in 2011Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association.  20:233-237. 2013
    2013 More College Focus on Learning, Less on Accreditation 2013
    2013 Implementing electronic lab order entry management in hospitals: Incremental strategies lead to better productivity outcomesInternational Journal of Information Management.  33:40-47. 2013
    2013 It’s Better a Step at a Time: Incremental Implementation Strategies for Electronic Lab Order Entry Management Leads to Better Productivity Outcomes 2013
    2012 Governance's role in local health departments' information system and technology usageJournal of Public Health Management and Practice.  18:160-168. 2012
    2012 A synthesis of HCMR's health information technology articles (2000-2011)Health Care Management Review.  37:1-3. 2012
    2012 As Goes the Spoils, So Go the Victories: Exploring Major League Baseball’s Playoff Bonus SystemThe Sport Journal.  15. 2012
    2012 Comparing U.S. Hospitals and Health Systems’ Website Quality 2012
    2012 Effective us health system websites: Establishing benchmarks and standards for effective consumer engagement 2012
    2012 Hospital characteristics related to the intention to apply for meaningful use incentive payments.Perspectives in health information management / AHIMA, American Health Information Management Association.  9. 2012
    2012 How can we bend the cost curve? The impact of accelerating electronic prescribing on hospitals' productivity levels: Can health information technology bend the curve?Inquiry: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing.  48:304-312. 2012
    2012 Iatrogenia tecnológica (Reprinted in Spanish) 2012
    2012 Is electronic health record use associated with patient satisfaction in hospitals?Health Care Management Review.  37:23-30. 2012
    2012 Mandatory insurance coverage and hospital productivity in Massachusetts: Bending the curve?Journal of Patient Safety.  37:294-300. 2012
    2012 Market factors and electronic medical record adoption in medical practicesHealth Care Management Review.  37:14-22. 2012
    2012 Payer mix and EHR adoption in hospitals 2012
    2012 Realizing the Value Proposition: A Longitudinal Assessment of Hospitals’ Total Factor Productivity 2012
    2011 Hit management research and the tip of the Iceberg: Setting a research agenda - A commentaryAdvances in health care management.  10:313-317. 2011
    2011 Environmental factors and health information technology management strategyHealth Care Management Review.  36:275-285. 2011
    2011 Experiences with electronic health records: Early adopters in long-term care facilitiesHealth Care Management Review.  36:265-274. 2011
    2011 Assessing differences between physicians' realized and anticipated gains from electronic health record adoptionJournal of Medical Systems.  35:151-161. 2011
    2011 Chaos and Organization in Health CareJournal of Legal Medicine.  32:245-248. 2011
    2011 Co-Creating Management Education: Moving Toward Emergent Education in a Complex WorldInternational Journal of Information and Operations Management Education.  4:265-283. 2011
    2011 Realizing the value proposition: A longitudinal assessment of hospitals' Total Factor ProductivityJournal of Healthcare Engineering.  2:285-302. 2011
    2011 The Role of Safe Practices on Hospitals’ Total Factor ProductivityJournal of Healthcare Leadership.  3:1-7. 2011
    2010 Electronic Health Records Hold Great Promise for Long-term Care Facilities 2010
    2010 Hospital IT adoption strategies associated with implementation success: implications for achieving meaningful use. 2010
    2010 Hospital IT adoption strategies associated with implementation success: Implications for achieving meaningful use 2010
    2010 Hospital IT adoption strategies associated with implementation success: implications for achieving meaningful use. 2010
    2009 IT outsourcing and firm-level performance: A transaction cost perspectiveInformation and Management.  46:463-469. 2009
    2009 The relationship between local hospital IT capabilities and physician EMR adoptionJournal of Medical Systems.  33:329-335. 2009
    2009 Resistance Is Futile: But It Is Slowing the Pace of EHR Adoption NonethelessJournal of the American Medical Informatics Association.  16:274-281. 2009
    2009 A Student Journaling Exercise: Preparing for Competency-based CurriculaThe Journal of health administration education.  26:193-201. 2009
    2009 Information Systems and Healthcare XXIX: Information Technology Investments and Returns – Uniqueness in the Healthcare IndustryCommunications of the Association for Information Systems.  23:375-392. 2009
    2009 Long-Term Care Facilities Adoption of Electronic Health Record Technology: A Qualitative Assessment of Early Adopters’ Experience 2009
    2008 Testing the hospital value proposition: An empirical analysis of efficiency and qualityHealth Care Management Review.  33:341-349. 2008
    2008 Predicting computerized physician order entry system adoption in US hospitals: Can the federal mandate be met?International Journal of Medical Informatics.  77:539-545. 2008
    2008 Hospital responses to the leapfrog group in local marketsMedical Care Research and Review.  65:207-231. 2008
    2008 Planning for Hospital IT Implementation: A New Look at the Business Case.Biomedical Informatics Insights.  1:29-44. 2008
    2008 The effect of information technology investment on firm-level performance in the health care industryHealth Care Management Review.  33:60-68. 2008
    2008 The impact of health system membership on patient safety initiativesHealth Care Management Review.  33:13-20. 2008
    2007 Incomplete EHR adoption: Late uptake of patient safety and cost control functionsAmerican Journal of Medical Quality.  22:319-326. 2007
    2007 Promise and problems with supply chain management approaches to health care purchasingHealth Care Management Review.  32:192-202. 2007
    2007 The influence of payer mix on electronic health record adoption by physiciansHealth Care Management Review.  32:111-118. 2007
    2007 Community-based coalitions' capacity for sustainable action: The role of relationshipsHealth Education and Behavior.  34:124-139. 2007
    2007 A collaborative product commerce approach to value-based health plan purchasingSupply Chain Management.  12:32-41. 2007
    2007 Technological iatrogenesis: new risks force heightened management awarenessJournal of Healthcare Risk Management.  27:19-24. 2007
    2006 Managed care penetration and other factors affecting computerized physician order entry in the ambulatory settingAmerican Journal of Managed Care.  12:738-744. 2006
    2006 Roadmap for the Mobilization of Healthcare Information in Texas. Prepared for the Texas Department of State Health Services’ Health Information Technology Advisory Committee 2006
    2006 Predicting the Adoption of Electronic Health Records by Physicians: When will Health Care be Paperless? 2006
    2006 Organizational Behavior & Thinking / Strategic Thinking 2006
    2006 The role of disease management in pay-for-performance programs for improving the care of chronically ill patientsMedical Care Research and Review.  63. 2006
    2006 Managed Care Penetration and other Factors on the use of CPOE by Physicians in the Ambulatory Setting 2006
    2006 People, places, and life transitions: Consequential experiences in the lives of management laureatesAcademy of Management Learning and Education.  5:408-421. 2006
    2006 Predicting the adoption of electronic health records by physicians: When will health care be paperless?Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association.  13:106-112. 2006
    2005 Communication clarity in strategic management data sourcesStrategic Organization.  3:243-278. 2005
    2005 Health departments' implementation of public health's core functions: An assessment of health impactsPublic Health.  119:11-21. 2005
    2005 Mitigating risks, visible hands, inevitable disasters, and soft variables: Management research that matters to managers 2005
    2005 Mitigating risks, visible hands, inevitable disasters, and soft variables: Management research that matters to managersIEEE Engineering Management Review.  33:85-100. 2005
    2005 Ten Classic Articles Issue (Reprinted) 2005
    2004 Boeing Enrollment and Benefits Survey: Summary Report 2004
    2004 Experiencing job burnout: The roles of positive and negative traits and statesJournal of Applied Social Psychology.  34:887-911. 2004
    2004 Health Officer and Health Commissioner 2004
    2004 Hypercompetition 2004
    2004 Public Health Core Disciplines 2004
    2004 Strategic management and performance differences: Nonprofit versus for-prof it health organizationsHealth Care Management Review.  29:298-308. 2004
    2004 Sustainable network advantages: A game theoretic approach to community-based health care coalitionsHealth Care Management Review.  29:159-169. 2004
    2004 Tracing the evolution of pluralism in community-based coalitionsHealth Care Management Review.  29:329-343. 2004
    2003 Assessing the Business Case for the Evalu8 RFI: Summary of Findings from Evalu8 Member Survey (Report) 2003
    2003 High performance public health: Assessing agencies' strategic management capabilitiesJournal of health and human services administration.  25:407-431. 2003
    2003 The structure of state health agencies: A strategic analysisMedical Care Research and Review.  60:31-57. 2003
    2003 A Pesquisa Que Faz Diferença. Revista de Administração de Empresas (Reprinted in Portuguese) 2003
    2003 Mitigating risks, visible hands, inevitable disasters, and soft variables: Management research that matters to managers 2003
    2002 Community of scholars: An exploratory study of management laureates 2002
    2002 Economic Implications of Defined Contribution Health Plans 2002
    2002 Shovels, trowels, and ice cream scoops: In search of the right tool to explain scientific managementJournal of Management Education.  26:194-204. 2002
    2002 The Future of Defined Contribution Health Plans 2002
    2001 The Information Superhighway-Are Management Faculty Still Parked in the Driveway?Journal of Education for Business.  77:57-61. 2001
    2001 From MedPartners to CareMark Rx: Prescription for SuccessJournal of the International Academy for Case Studies.  7:49-52. 2001
    2000 Creating a healing environment: The importance of the service setting in the new consumer-oriented healthcare system 2000
    1999 Attitudes of organized labor officials toward health care issues: An exploratory survey of Alabama labor officialsHealth Care Management Review.  24:71-82. 1999
    1998 Benchmarking best practices in HIM education. 1998

    Chapter

    Year Title Altmetric
    2015 Managing clinical professionals.  394-411. 2015
    2012 Reflections on us health care information technology policy from a global perspective.  111-120. 2012
    2012 Towards a Comprehensive Online Peer Assessment System.  1-8. 2012
    2009 Research Reviews and Secondary Analysis.  177-188. 2009
    2008 Patient safety: State-of-the-art in health care management and future directions.  1-14. 2008
    2007 Chapter 1 Perspectives on Strategic Thinking and Entrepreneurial Action in the Health Care Industry.  3-9. 2007
    2007 Chapter 8 Entrepreneurship in the Boardroom: Board Roles in Managing Innovation and Risk.  191-215. 2007
    2002 Evaluation of Strategic Choice.  264-265. 2002
    2001 A Comparative Study of State Health Agency Configurations and the Communication Patterns of Their Leaders.  3249-3249. 2001

    Research Overview

  • Health Information Technology
    Health Systems Management
  • Principal Investigator On

    Teaching Activities

  • HCO612 - Strategic Mgt in Health Progs (Summer Term 2020)
  • HCO612Q - Strategic Management (Summer Term 2019)
  • HCO612Q - Strategic Management (Summer Term 2020)
  • HCO634 - Health Care Innovation (Spring Term 2020)
  • HCO634 - Health Care Innovation (Spring Term 2021)
  • HCO634 - Health Care Innovation (Spring Term 2022)
  • HCO695 - Health Care Organization Sem (Spring Term 2019)
  • HCO697 - Internship (Fall Term 2020)
  • HCO697 - Internship (Fall Term 2020)
  • HCO697 - Internship (Spring Term 2019)
  • HCO697 - Internship (Spring Term 2020)
  • HCO697 - Internship (Spring Term 2021)
  • HCO697 - Internship (Summer Term 2019)
  • HCO697 - Internship (Summer Term 2019)
  • HCO697 - Internship (Summer Term 2021)
  • HCO697 - Internship (Summer Term 2021)
  • HCO697Q - Internship Online (Summer Term 2019)
  • HCO697Q - Internship Online (Summer Term 2020)
  • HCO698 - MR Lev Dir Res HCOP (Spring Term 2019)
  • HCO795 - Directed Readings (Summer Term 2018)
  • HCO798 - Dissert Protocol Development (Summer Term 2019)
  • HCO799 - Dissertation Research HCOP (Fall Term 2019)
  • HCO799 - Dissertation Research HCOP (Spring Term 2020)
  • HCO799 - Dissertation Research HCOP (Summer Term 2020)
  • HPO634 - Health Care Innovation (Spring Term 2023)
  • MBA631 - Management and Organizations (Summer Term 2020)
  • MBA631 - Management and Organizations (Summer Term 2021)
  • MBA631 - Management and Organizations (Summer Term 2022)
  • MBA688 - Special Topics in Management (Spring Term 2023)
  • MBA688 - Special Topics in Management (Spring Term 2023)
  • MBA690 - Directed Study (Fall Term 2019)
  • MBA690 - Directed Study (Spring Term 2019)
  • MBA690 - Directed Study (Spring Term 2019)
  • MBA690 - Directed Study (Spring Term 2020)
  • MBA690 - Directed Study (Spring Term 2021)
  • MBA690 - Directed Study (Spring Term 2022)
  • MBA690 - Directed Study (Spring Term 2022)
  • MBA690 - Directed Study (Spring Term 2022)
  • MBA690 - Directed Study (Spring Term 2022)
  • PUH392 - Seminar in Public Health (Spring Term 2019)
  • PUH399 - Spec Topics in Public Health (Spring Term 2021)
  • PUH399 - Spec Topics in Public Health (Spring Term 2023)
  • PUH494 - Internship/Fieldwork (Spring Term 2020)
  • PUH499 - Spec Topics in Public Health (Summer Term 2022)
  • Full Name

  • Eric Ford