Q&A with CIO Andy Crowder, Part 1: “We Don’t Want to Be Looking in the Rearview Mirror.”

It takes quite a bit to entice an established CIO to pick up and move across the country. For Andy Crowder, it came in the opportunity to join Atrium Health, an organization that’s growing at a rapid, but deliberate pace, and establishing itself as a leader in innovation. In fact, due to its size and scale — particularly after merging with Wake Forest School of Medicine — Atrium has become “a living laboratory” where researchers can test ideas, and clinicians apply them in practice.

Recently, healthsystemCIO spoke with Crowder about his objectives at Atrium, the difficult balance leaders face in maintaining systems while also fostering innovation, and what has surprised him most about the 42-hospital system. He also talks about the groundbreaking work clinicians have done during the pandemic, the skillsets needed in today’s “new office,” and how he’s adjusting to life in the Tar Heel state.

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Key Takeaways:



* Through the recent merger with Wake Forest Baptist Health, Atrium hopes to create “a new academic teaching model,” as well as a leader in innovation.

* As remote work continues to gain traction, “different skills and different muscles” are required to ensure teams stay connected while also maintaining a healthy work-life balance.

* Because of the solid processes and infrastructure that were in place, Atrium has been able to stay on target and under budget with several initiatives during Covid-19.

* Atrium Health has a rich history in terms of EHR capabilities and digital tools, but it’s important not to focus too much on the past. “It’s about what’s the next thing to do. What’s the next interaction?”





Q&A with Andy Crowder

Gamble:  How long have you been in North Carolina?

Crowder:  Since July of 2019.

 

Gamble:  So a little over a year. Let’s talk a bit about the merger with Wake Forest Baptist Health. What’s the status there?

Crowder:  Yes. We actually just announced it publicly. All of the new work structure notifications went out internally. We’ve been under FTC due process — that started a few months before I joined the organization. I think we all thought it would’ve been done sooner, but it was just recently finalized.

 

Gamble:  So this is creating a pretty large organization. I want to get your thoughts on how it’s going to impact your strategy — or how it has already.

Crowder:  During the interview process, I was able to connect with executive leadership at Wake Forest. They were part of the final rounds of the interview process, and so I developed a relationship.

It’s a phenomenal combination. We believe we’re going to create a new academic teaching model for the nation. Our total employee head count increased to about 65,000. In IAS (information and analytics services) alone, between the Navicent and Wake markets, it’s increasing to almost 1,700 FTES that make up information and analytics services.

We’re pretty excited about the innovation corridor and all of the innovation work we have going on in the core market. We are attempting to create a Silicon Valley on the East coast, which is a pretty lofty goal, but we believe it’s one we can capitalize on. Along with Rasu Shrestha, MD, who came here from UPMC, several of us collaborate through the Strategy and Transformation Office, of which I’m a member. We have an investment portfolio where we partner with leading-edge — and sometimes, bleeding-edge — technology companies in the HIT space. When you’re able to bring the academic part of it together with innovation and rese...