Managing the IT infrastructure for UPMC Health System in Pittsburgh is a massive job, due to the sheer size of the organization.
It’s not just managing the technology at its more than 20 hospitals; the integrated health system provides care at more than 1,000 sites.
Yet, “you can’t just make investments in technology and not work through the processes," says Chris Carmody, senior vice president of enterprise infrastructure for UPMC, in a recent interview with Healthcare Informatics. The health system, he says, "picks and chooses what works best from a process standpoint."
Because the organization has grown organically, its IT environment is pretty fragmented. It has a host of legacy applications and systems that can’t be thrown out. To that end, Carmody says he's working on a hybrid strategy that will employ use of the cloud and on-site storage.
The organization also has two data centers on the same power grid, which, he says, poses a problem for disaster recovery. It’s looking to replace one and place it on a different grid. Then when the lease of the other data center is up, that data could be moved to the cloud, he says. UMPC plans to ultimately put 40 to 60 percent of its data in the cloud.
Still, the health system hasn’t been decided whether its EHR will move to the cloud, as well.
Meanwhile, Carmody says, UPMC is re-evaluating what can be done with its existing budget to be more proactive about cybersecurity.
To learn more:
- here's the Healthcare Informatics interview