Podcast Summary: Becker’s Healthcare Podcast

Episode Title: Chris Carmody, SVP and CTO of UPMC
Date: November 26, 2025
Host: Alan Condon (A)
Guest: Chris Carmody (B), Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of UPMC

Main Theme

This episode centers on UPMC’s EHR transformation, specifically the “Bridges” project—a multi-year effort to consolidate disparate health IT systems into a single instance of Epic across the vast UPMC healthcare system. Chris Carmody discusses the operational and technological challenges, lessons learned, and early benefits, especially regarding integration, AI, and provider workflow improvements.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

Chris Carmody’s Role and UPMC’s Scale

• Chris’s Tenure: Nearly 30 years at UPMC, last 12 as SVP and CTO.
• UPMC Overview: Over 40 hospitals, major acquisitions, national and international presence.
• Key Experience: Managed various IT modernizations, with focus now on system-wide digital integration.

  “...I've been at UPMC just under three decades in many different IT roles. The last 12 were in the Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer role...” [00:34]

The UPMC Bridges Project: Background and Implementation

Historical Context

• Early EHR Efforts: UPMC first digitized in the late 1990s, using both Cerner (inpatient) and Epic (ambulatory), with middleware for record sharing.
• Challenge: Maintaining security and standardization across many systems became increasingly complex and a driver for change.

Wave One Launch

• Goal: Migrate to a single Epic instance to unlock efficiency, effectiveness, and better outcomes.
• Obstacles:
  • Building and connecting interfaces for various legacy and ancillary systems.
  • Organization-wide alignment—requiring consensus from clinical, operational, and revenue cycle leaders.
  • Standardizing workflows and addressing user adaptation challenges.

  “We really didn’t want to make it all about technology. Technology really just was the enabler.” [02:39] "It took coming together as an organization, bringing together our clinical leadership, our operational leadership, revenue cycle, all these different areas to come together and make system wide decisions..." [03:44]

Acquisitions and IT Integration

• Playbook Approach: UPMC uses a stepwise, repeatable methodology—start with stabilizing infrastructure, then transition HR, finance, supply chain, and EHR systems.
• Challenge in New Sites: Unique site conditions, infrastructure gaps, and patient safety considerations.
• Single Platform Integration: Future acquisitions onboarding directly into the new Bridges Epic environment.

  “We apply...somewhat of a cookie cutter approach that we have our own playbook. And it's not just hospitals, right. It's physician practices, it's other parts of healthcare delivery...” [05:37] “…Number one [is] not to disrupt [patient safety]...” [07:13]

UPMC’s Unique EHR Consolidation Journey

• Scale and Complexity: Integration from nine different EHRs and hundreds of ancillary systems into one Epic instance with about 300 ancillaries.
• Distinguishing Factor: The breadth and diversity of legacy environments being consolidated.

  “...coming from nine different EHRs and hundreds of ancillary systems to one platform...is really what makes our situation unique...” [08:35]

• Ongoing Effort: User training and organizational change management have been massive undertakings.

Lessons Learned: Transition from Wave One to Wave Two

• Training and User Support:
  • Discrepancies in legacy data and user classifications required cleanup to ensure appropriate training.
  • Over 40,000 users trained in Wave One; nearly 70,000 for Wave Two.
  • Command centers and ‘elbow support’ (on-site and virtual) critical during go-live.

  “...training team has been tremendous...making those processes more seamless to make sure that when you go live, one of the first things EPIC tells you...a lot of it's around the security classifications...” [10:28]

• Iterative Improvement:
  • Immediate feedback and adjustments shaped the approach for Wave Two to minimize disruption and stress.

Timetable and Planning for Wave Two

• Wave Two Rollout: Scheduled for May 2026.
• Parallel Planning: Preparations for Wave Two began before Wave One was completed (“a lot of overlap in the process”).
• Focus: Patient care and safety were top priorities in scheduling and structuring the waves.

  “...our biggest decision for the timing...was really trying to minimize the impact on patient care and patient safety.” [13:46]

Early Results and Benefits

• Functionality & Workflow:
  • 13 generative AI models embedded in workflows, including Epic’s ART and ambient documentation with Abridge.
  • Mobile documentation for nurses through Epic Rover, saving an average of 84 minutes per shift.
  • Early anecdotal gains in care gap closing, chart accessibility, and workflow efficiency.

  "We're seeing that completion time shrink by 84 minutes." [15:57] "...being on one system, one platform helps us identify and make sure we're following up and following through..." [16:51]

• Operational Impact:
  • Enhanced provider-patient engagement and a tangible reduction in cognitive and documentation burdens.
  • Single patient record enables seamless data access regardless of care location.

  “Having that one record and be able to share and view, it's going to be a huge opportunity...” [15:04]

AI and Ambient Technology Integration

• Epic’s ART (generative response):
  • Drafts responses to patient inquiries, cutting turnaround time and reducing provider workload.

  “ART is a generative response technology that allows a physician...that gets a message from a patient...and generates that response.” [17:35]

• Abridge (ambient listening AI):
  • Captures clinician-patient interactions, generates draft clinical notes in real-time.
  • Over 1.5 million recorded minutes, with high accuracy and strong feedback from staff and patients.

  “The feedback that we've gotten from both doctors and patients using it is...it's another tool that helps them...focus on delivering healthcare.” [19:53]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Organizational Alignment:

  "It took coming together as an organization, bringing together our clinical leadership, our operational leadership...to make system-wide decisions..." [03:44]

• On Lessons for Other CTOs:

  “It is so critical your project depends upon it to have the right engagement and relationships with your clinical leadership, with your operational leadership and just generally with all your user base to make sure that you're communicating, you're listening, you're working together to define where you want to go as an organization.” [22:08] “Honestly, that's why our project is called UPMC Bridges. It's not called UPMC Epic because we saw this as a bridge to the future…” [24:06]

• On AI and Documentation Efficiency:

  “ART...generates that response. That helps speed up the time it takes for a physician to get back to that patient...” [17:38] "...using EPIC Rover for nurse documentation...completion time shrink by 84 minutes." [15:57] "What we're seeing is over 1.5 million recorded minutes that translate into actual clinical notes..." [18:37]

Important Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment/Topic | |------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:34 | Chris Carmody on his background and UPMC's technological evolution | | 01:46 | Challenges of the Bridges/Epic single-instance Go Live | | 05:37 | UPMC's acquisition IT playbook and integration process | | 08:14 | What sets UPMC’s EHR consolidation apart | | 10:13 | Lessons learned from Wave One rollout | | 13:13 | Wave Two timing and preparation | | 14:55 | Early impact on provider workflow and patient care integration | | 17:11 | Details on AI models: Epic ART and Abridge | | 21:48 | Advice for health IT leaders embarking on EHR transformation | | 24:06 | The meaning behind the “Bridges” project name |

Overall Tone

The conversation is candid, practical, and optimistic, balancing recognition of the immense challenges with concrete results and lessons. Carmody’s advice for health IT leaders focuses on collaboration, relationship building, and readiness for large-scale organizational change. There is also excitement about how generative AI and ambient technologies can improve provider workflows and patient care.

This summary encapsulates the full scope of UPMC’s Bridges EHR transformation, providing actionable insights and quotes for health system leaders, CIOs, and anyone interested in the practical realities of large-scale health IT modernization.