Health systems experienced another year of digital advancement in 2024, with more big EHR moves and a push toward generative AI.
Here are the most successful IT projects and top digital trends of the year, as told to Becker's by the head technology leaders at top 25 health systems across the U.S.:
Bobbie Byrne, MD. CIO of Advocate Health (Charlotte, N.C.): One of our biggest focuses has been artificial intelligence. That began with creating a robust AI governance framework that aims to be equitable, ethical, valid, reliable, transparent, accountable and impactful. Every AI solution we consider is evaluated internally according to this framework — before implementation and regularly afterward.
Our framework has enabled us to safely and responsibly roll out dozens of AI solutions in 2024 that have dramatically reduced administrative burden on our clinicians and teammates. These include tools to ambiently document clinic visits and simplify clinician note-taking, tools to empower our clinical teams by drafting initial responses to patient messages that the team then edits before sending, and tools that find and summarize the most relevant information across a patient's chart.
Rohit Chandra, PhD. Chief Digital Officer of Cleveland Clinic: AI-powered scribes have the potential to be the year's most promising digital trend. The combination of technology and product, and the initial experience, suggest that easing the documentation burden is likely to not only save time, but allow providers to fully engage with patients during their interactions.
Eric Goodwin. CIO of Universal Health Services (King of Prussia, Pa.): A number of digital transformation projects are yielding positive results in our hospitals this year. A new mobile app for our providers is connecting them with the full care team and enables mobile chart review, documentation, order entry, and improved patient care transitions across our hospitals. Over a thousand providers routinely access this new technology each month.
We have additionally launched an innovative online surgery scheduling platform, allowing surgery practices to manage block time and book cases. Real-time communication and chat between the hospitals and the surgery practices plus electronic document exchange is a key benefit. The majority of our elective cases are now booked via this new system, reducing traditional phone calls and faxes to the hospitals.
Finally, we recently launched a new app for patients and their family members to utilize during their hospital stay. Live as of last month at an early adopter site, the app engages patients and families in their care, enhances communication and feedback with nursing, and through advanced AI tools provides improved hospital information.
Ed McCallister. CIO of UPMC (Pittsburgh): UPMC's most successful IT project of 2024 was the progress our team has made on our journey to creating a single, unified electronic health record with Epic. It is important to clarify that our transition to Epic is not solely an IT project. This project brings together clinical, operational and technical experts from across UPMC with a vision to enhance patient care, streamline operations and transform the overall UPMC experience. The efforts of our team in 2024 have set us on a favorable trajectory for our upcoming go-lives, which are scheduled for 2025 through 2026.
Transitioning to a single EHR will not only simplify our environment but also unlock significant opportunities for innovation. This move will enhance our ability to leverage advanced technologies, such as AI and analytics, provide a robust foundation for innovation, and allow us to develop and implement new solutions with greater agility and effectiveness. We anticipate having a single EHR will transform our capabilities and provide us with the ability to innovate in a way that can only be imagined.
Michael Pfeffer, MD. Chief Information and Digital Officer of Stanford Health Care (Palo Alto, Calif.): I am proud to highlight our successful launch of our ambient AI scribe initiative in 2024. This project represents a significant advancement in our digital health capabilities, leveraging AI to streamline clinical documentation workflows. By utilizing DAX Copilot, we have empowered our healthcare providers to focus more on the patient-clinician relationship rather than on documentation, thereby decreasing after-hours time spent in the electronic health record, reducing burnout, and improving patient satisfaction. This project has been well-received by our clinicians and is a testament to our commitment to innovation and to reducing administrative burden in healthcare.
Industrywide, one of the most promising health IT trends we've observed in 2024 is the increased adoption of AI-driven solutions in healthcare. Organizations are increasingly recognizing the potential of artificial intelligence to enhance decision-making, personalize patient care, and increase operational efficiencies. As we move forward, I anticipate that the integration of AI in healthcare will continue to evolve, paving the way for improved patient experiences and outcomes on a broader scale.
Michael Reagin. Chief Technology Officer of Banner Health (Phoenix): One of the most promising trends is the use of generative AI to automate and accelerate tasks, reducing the administrative burden in healthcare. Its ability to generate, personalize and summarize content will streamline processes in areas like revenue cycle, supply chain and other back-office functions. By implementing best practices and a human-in-the-loop approach, we can ensure a smooth and effective integration, setting the stage for a more efficient future in healthcare.
Dan Roth, MD. Chief Clinical Officer of Trinity Health (Livonia, Mich.): In 2024, one of our proudest achievements was the implementation of campaigns through Epic's Cheers application. This has allowed us to proactively reach patients in a personalized way, helping them manage their health and access the care they need. It's a true reflection of our commitment to listening, partnering, and making healthcare easier. The project has delivered significant results: Breast cancer was detected in more than 400 women following overdue mammograms, more than 4,000 patients received essential follow-up care for diabetes, more than 22,700 patients completed blood pressure reviews and more than 245,200 patients were vaccinated for influenza at a Trinity Health facility. These results underscore how thoughtfully applied technology can drive real improvements in patient care and health outcomes.
We are seeing AI technologies in healthcare take significant strides toward practical, real-world applications. These advancements are beginning to address critical challenges, driving efficiency, making it easier for our patients and transforming processes to deliver better care. Looking ahead, the potential for AI to further streamline operations and improve patient outcomes is incredibly promising.
Sara Vaezy. Chief Strategy and Digital Officer of Providence (Renton, Wash.): I am really proud of the work we've been doing on supporting the physician in-basket and the overall trend of utilizing conversational AI and large language models to do that. It's going to just keep accelerating, and it's going to support direct access for patients without adding burden to clinicians.
That's going to be a big theme: AI for the purposes of reducing clinician burden is certainly going to be a focus of ours and probably one of the key areas of AI investment going forward.