Ep 12 – How to Advance IT Initiatives in a Lean Environment – Al Smith (Lifepoint Health)

EvidenceCare’s CEO, Bo Bartholomew, interviews Al Smith, SVP and Chief Information Officer at Lifepoint Health.Al shares his background and journey to becoming a CIO and how he manages IT resources in a lean environment, as well as the top IT initiatives for Lifepoint, including a detailed breakdown of cost-cutting, efficiency, and growth.Key Takeaways:Combatting the biggest healthcare IT risks such as data breaches and ransomware.How AI and ML can assist in making caregivers more efficient without replacing them.The role of the CIO balancing risk mitigation, innovation, collaboration, and translation of technology into real solutions.Al Smith Bio:As Senior Vice President (SVP) and Chief Information Officer (CIO) for Lifepoint Health, Al Smith leads the organization’s Health Information Technology Services (HITS) across an 88-hospital campus portfolio. In his role, he is responsible for implementing information technologies that support Lifepoint’s mission. He also drives clinical/operational performance and financial excellence for the company.Al has more than three decades of industry experience, including roles in healthcare systems, health insurance and information technology consulting. Prior to joining Lifepoint, he served as SVP and CIO for RCCH HealthCare Partners and Capella Healthcare, both now part of Lifepoint Health. Before that, he served in several other leadership positions, including Vice President of applications and interim CIO for Vanguard Health System, Client Results Executive for Cerner Corporation, and Vice President of clinical applications for Carolinas Healthcare System in Charlotte, North Carolina. His career started as a consultant with Andersen Consulting and then progressed to management roles at First Consulting Group.He holds a bachelor’s degree in financial administration from Michigan State University and a master’s degree in public health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is a past chairman and current member of the HIT Task Force for the Federation of American Hospitals (FAH), as well as a past board member of the Tennessee Health Information Management Society (TN HIMSS). He has been named to Becker’s Hospital Review’s “100 Hospital and Health System CIOs to Know” numerous times.---The Better Care Podcast is produced by EvidenceCare.Sign up for email updates when new episodes are released.---Follow Al SmithLinkedInFollow Lifepoint HealthLinkedInTwitterFollow EvidenceCareLinkedInTwitter