Chad Wasserman, senior vice president and CIO of Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare, said operational stability is essential for scaling AI and digital innovation across large health systems.
In a recent interview on the “Technovation” podcast, Mr. Wasserman discussed how HCA Healthcare integrates technology into care delivery, advances its AI strategy and prepares its workforce to support digital transformation.
Mr. Wasserman leads HCA Healthcare’s Information Technology Group, an organization of more than 8,000 employees supporting technology across the system’s 191 hospitals and more than 2,500 ambulatory care sites. The team oversees the health system’s IT infrastructure, enterprise systems, cloud platforms, automation initiatives and other technology operations that support care delivery.
During the interview, Mr. Wasserman emphasized that technology teams play a direct role in patient care even when they are not working at the bedside.
“Our technologists really are, although not at the bedside, they’re really close to it,” Mr. Wasserman said on the podcast. “And whether it’s a network engineer or a security architect or someone helping grant access, they are all part of that continuous care team that’s accountable for delivering care during our 44 million-plus annual patient encounters.”
One area of focus is the use of AI to reduce administrative burdens for clinicians. HCA Healthcare is using ambient AI technology that captures conversations between physicians and patients and converts them into electronic medical record documentation, with clinicians reviewing and approving the notes.
Mr. Wasserman also said HCA Healthcare is piloting generative AI tools to support software engineering, aiming to improve development efficiency, quality and security.
Data strategy is another key component of the organization’s technology roadmap. The company has elevated data into Google Cloud and is developing a “data-as-product” approach designed to support AI, analytics and automation at scale.
To support innovation, Mr. Wasserman highlighted the importance of what he called “operational quiet,” referring to reliable technology infrastructure and systems that minimize disruptions. Technologies such as AI-driven operations tools that monitor infrastructure and help prevent system incidents are part of that strategy.
HCA Healthcare is also implementing Meditech Expanse, a cloud-based EHR system intended to standardize data and support future AI capabilities across the organization.
Alongside technology investments, the health system is working to strengthen its workforce development efforts. One initiative, the Healthcare Connection program, immerses IT employees in hospital environments where they shadow clinicians and observe operations to better understand how technology affects patient care.
More than 1,500 members of the IT team have participated in the program over the past 15 years.
Mr. Wasserman said the goal of these efforts is to ensure technology initiatives remain centered on patient care as HCA Healthcare continues expanding its digital capabilities.
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