Lessons from Karen Murphy, Geisinger, raising the standard for healthcare system innovation

Today, we’re excited to get to know Dr. Karen Murphy, EVP, Chief Innovation Officer and founding director of the Steele Institute for Health Innovation of Geisinger. Karen has worked to improve and transform healthcare delivery throughout her career in both the public and private sectors. Before joining Geisinger, she served as Pennsylvania’s secretary of health addressing the most significant health issues facing the state, including the opioid epidemic. Prior to her role as secretary, Dr. Murphy served as director of the State Innovation Models Initiative at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services leading a $990 million CMS investment designed to accelerate health care innovation across the US. She previously served as president and CEO of the Moses Taylor Health Care System, and as founder and CEO of Physicians Health Alliance. Karen has a PhD, MBA and RN degree! 

Founded in 1995, Geisinger is an integrated healthcare system that includes 13 hospital campuses, two research centers, the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, and a health plan that serves approximately 600,000 members. Geisinger’s more than 30,000 employees, 2,500 providers, nearly 500 residents and fellows, and 360 medical students serve and care for the three million residents in Pennsylvania.

In this episode, Karen shares her wealth of experiences from RN to CEO of a health system, Geisinger’s exciting merger with Kaiser to form Risante Health, and key characteristics of a successful partnership between system and startup, her approach on working with startups as an innovative health system.