Innovation from the Inside Out: How Emory Healthcare is Transforming Patient Care

In the latest episode of the Leader to Leader podcast, we sit down with Scott Smiser, MBA, FACHE, FHIMSS, FACHDM, CHCIO, CDH-E , Chief Innovation and Technology Officer at Emory Healthcare , to discuss the intersection of innovation, technology, and patient care.

With 11 hospitals, 320 clinic ambulatory locations, and $7.5 billion in annualized revenue, Emory Healthcare manages a significant healthcare footprint across the Atlanta metro area. However, turning technology into meaningful innovation—and ultimately better care—requires more than just implementing new systems. 

Smiser’s philosophy? Innovation is two-fold, and internal innovation matters just as much as external. 

“What I talk to my teams about is the way we deliver services and assets to the enterprise,” he explains to Ben Hilmes, MHA, FACHE . “How do we leverage those capabilities to do something in a more compelling way?”

Building A Culture of Innovation, Shark Tank-Style 

At Emory Healthcare, innovation isn’t just a side project—it’s baked into the organizational structure with Emory’s Innovation Hub. 

“It is truly a Shark Tank-style pitch,” Smiser adds. “They come before the executive team and say, ‘Hey Sharks, I’m looking for an investment for $200,000 and this is what we want to do.’”

While five out of ten finalist projects have already received full funding, he explains that the support doesn’t stop there—once projects are greenlit, they work with them on the business case, ROI analysis, and more.

“We want to be good stewards of what we’re investing in,” he says. “But I think more importantly, as we greenlight to scale some of these efforts, we want to take that pro forma and go back and say, did it deliver the results we expected?”

Getting Out of the Data Center Business

Emory Healthcare is making a strategic shift to the cloud, moving away from the traditional model of healthcare organizations maintaining their own data centers.

"I really feel like running data centers isn't a core competency of a good healthcare system," he says. This transition is about more than moving servers—it’s about transforming how technology supports healthcare delivery.

"What really pivoted us into a move to the cloud was a couple of things. One, we were reaching capacity at our primary data center in Atlanta," Smiser explains, adding that they were constantly trying to stay ahead of what the business would need. "Where with the cloud, if we do it right, then we're just dialing up that demand or conversely dialing back that demand as we need to."

This multi-year endeavor is paired with app rationalization efforts to eliminate redundant systems and streamline operations. As Smiser adds, "We don't want to keep four solutions around that do the same thing."

AI That Changes Lives

In a time when AI often feels overhyped, Smiser offers grounded, high-impact examples of how it’s transforming care delivery. Take ambient listening, for instance—technology that passively records and transcribes doctor-patient interactions.

"The physicians on that program have point-blank said, 'You've changed my life,'" says Smiser. “It is changing that pajama time, that time after shift [where] they’ve got to wrap up documentation at 10 o'clock at night to keep up with it.”

He also shares how AI-powered inbox tools in Epic MyChart are streamlining communication and cutting through message clutter, freeing up providers to do more meaningful work.

Betting Big on Apple

Smiser is a long-time devotee of Apple products, and Emory is now piloting the use of Apple devices in clinical settings with remarkable results.

"We were the first health system to really roll at scale Epic locally on those MacBooks," Smiser says, adding that the experiment has since expanded. “We actually have a whole nursing unit that's all Apple.”

While the tech offers some great practical benefits—it’s convenient, easy-to-use, and offers improved battery life—it’s also restorative. By giving clinicians a device they feel good about using, it’s not only going to reduce friction and burnout for clinicians—it’s also going to translate into patient care. 

Leadership with Purpose

At the heart of all this innovation is Smiser’s people-first philosophy, which is rooted in his own experience of those who took a chance on him.

"My mantra is I grow people," he says. "Sometimes that growth comes very willingly. People want to grow. Sometimes they're like, why are you giving me this project? Why are you asking me to do this? But if you see something in someone, give them a chance."

For Smiser, this approach extends to how he views his position as a leader. He’s dedicated to leading with transparency, building teams filled with people who are smarter than himself, and ensuring that innovation isn't just a buzzword—it's a lived experience.

Watch the Full Episode

You can also listen, follow, and subscribe on Spotify, Amazon, Google, Apple, or your favorite podcast platform—or catch up on past episodes of Leader to Leader here:

https://www.healthcareitleaders.com/podcasts/