Cedars-Sinai CIO Craig Kwiatkowski Talks Overhauling ERP, AI Governance & Immersive Learning

With so many new technology solutions hitting the market, it’s becoming increasingly common for health systems to add accelerator or incubator programs to separate the wheat from the chaff. Because although there are many brilliant ideas, there’s often a lack of understanding when it comes to workflows and other challenges, according to Craig Kwiatkowski.

The Cedars-Sinai Accelerator, established in 2022, aims to address this “knowledge gap” by granting access to end users, stakeholders, and thought leaders throughout the organization so they witness firsthand how care is delivered. It’s one reason why the reason the program has already counted several success stories, he said. Another is the fact that the Accelerator is extremely selective, focusing only on products that “scratch an itch or solve a problem.”

During a recent interview, Kwiatkowski spoke with Kate Gamble, Managing Editor and Director of Social Media, about the many initiatives his team has in place to improve efficiency and quality for providers and patients at Cedar-Sinai, an academic organization serving more than 1 million individuals across the Los Angeles community. He shared insights on the “major overhaul” of ERP systems that will help centralize services; the three-pillar AI governance structure his team has created; and the unique experience he gained during his time as a pharmacist.

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Bold Statements

Our focus is on reducing friction, improving efficiency, and simplifying things where we can, and there is certainly no shortage of opportunities and possibilities to do just that.

It was a really nice win for the organization; more of an operational transformational project that included a number of business process changes and other efficiency opportunities. And of course, technology is the enabling piece that sits underneath that.

We’ve spent the better part of the last 10 to 15 years implementing EMR and EHR technology and really focusing on the clinical solutions and tools that are so fundamental to the work that’s being done. I think that has come at the expense, in many cases, of focusing on ERP and other administrative or back-office solutions.

We try not to create bespoke technology solutions that the companies are going to have a challenging time deploying and scaling outside of Cedars. We’re helping think about what will work broadly and be forward thinking as they’re deploying their products moving forward.

Innovation is often easier than adoption. I think that’s particularly true in healthcare.

Safety in particular is something I’ve always been very passionate about. I think it connects very well to the way in which we try to serve the organization from a technology standpoint and the importance of the work we do.

 

Q&A with Craig Kwiatkowski, SVP & CIO, Cedars-Sinai

Gamble:  Thanks so much for taking some time to speak. I appreciate it. I want to talk about your core objectives, particularly in terms of driving innovation. Let’s start with a high-level overview of Cedars-Sinai. Can you talk about where you’re located, what you have in terms of hospitals, things like that?

Kwiatkowski:  Sure. That’s a good place to start. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a non-profit academic medical center with about 900 beds. We provide a wide range of services in the Los Angeles area with a number of different specialty programs, including cardiology, ortho, neuro, GI, cancer, and women’s health, many of which are highly regarded.

In addition to the main campus,