Becker’s Healthcare Podcast Chris Carmody, SVP and CTO of UPMC
Nov 26, 2025
Chris Carmody, the Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of UPMC, draws on nearly 30 years of experience to discuss the health system's ambitious journey toward a single Epic instance. He explains the challenges faced during Wave One of the UPMC Bridges project, including integration strategies for newly acquired sites. Chris emphasizes the importance of organizational collaboration beyond just technology and shares insights into the advantages seen from Wave One. He also touches on the integration of Gen AI models that help reduce documentation strain on healthcare providers.
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Single EHR As A Strategic Enabler
- UPMC moved from multiple EHRs to a single Epic instance to standardize, improve efficiency, and enhance patient outcomes.
- Technology was the enabler, but organizational alignment across clinical and operational leaders made the change possible.
History Of Multiple EHRs At UPMC
- In the late 1990s UPMC used Cerner for inpatient and Epic for ambulatory, linking them with a semantic sharing solution.
- Maintaining multiple systems became challenging and motivated the move to one Epic environment.
Engage Leaders To Standardize Processes
- Bring clinical, operational, and revenue-cycle leaders together to make system-wide standardization decisions.
- Standardization lets you pivot and scale innovations across the entire health system.