First Advantage’s Chief Medical Review Officer Dr. Stuart B. Hoffman Retires, Company Appoints Dr. Abe Hammell as Successor

After 21 years, Dr. Stuart B. Hoffman has retired from First Advantage. Dr. Hoffman spent 36 years caring for patients in a physician multi-specialty group prior to joining the company in 2001 as a Medical Review Officer (MRO). Following Dr. Hoffman’s retirement, Deputy CMRO Dr. Abe Hammell, has been promoted to CMRO at First Advantage.

Dr. Hoffman was responsible for the programs and processes put in place for the drug testing division. In 2002, he was appointed to Chief Medical Review Officer (CMRO) of the drug testing division where he championed a team to develop and create an automated platform for the support staff — organizing workflows and increasing productivity. This platform is the foundation for the current system in use today. The medical review department, with expertise from medical review officers and support staff, originated with the company ChoicePoint. ChoicePoint was then acquired by Reed Elsevier, a multinational company whose operations were called LexisNexis which was acquired by First Advantage in 2013.

Upon Dr. Hoffman’s retirement, Dr. Abe Hammell was promoted to CMRO at First Advantage. For the last 14 years, Dr. Hammell has been working alongside Dr. Hoffman overseeing the MRO team. Dr. Hammell studied Osteopathy at Des Moines University, graduating in 2001. He completed his residency at Eastern Maine Medical Center Family Practice in 2002 before serving as General Medical Officer of the USS Abraham Lincoln until 2005 and working at the Naval Hospital in Bremerton, Wash. Dr. Hammell received an honorable retirement from Active Service and multiple decorations including Surface Warfare Medical Officer, OIS graduate with distinction, and Expeditionary Medals for operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, and Global War on Terrorism Service.