Ascension Institute Focuses on Tech Tools to Reduce Administrative Burden

St. Louis-based Ascension, the nation’s largest nonprofit health system with 142 hospitals, has set up a Clinical Innovation Institute (CII) dedicated to innovation in experience, quality, and growth. 

A multidisciplinary team within Ascension will focus on improving patient care and clinician experience through technology and innovation. This new unit will facilitate the vetting and strategic implementation of technology solutions across the Ascension footprint.

Among the leaders of the CII is Mitesh Patel, M.D., M.B.A., vice president and chief clinical transformation officer. He is the executive lead for the strategic vision and operational implementation of national programs to transform clinical care.  These focus on changing clinician and patient behavior by using strategies and technologies including behavioral nudges, EHR apps, machine learning and artificial intelligence, remote patient monitoring, and virtual care.

Also involved in leading CII is Samit Desai, M.D., vice president and chief medical information officer. Desai has previously held positions as an emergency physician at Vituity and as a senior adviser for CRISP - Chesapeake Regional Information System for Our Patients. Additionally, Desai was the Chief Medical Officer at Audacious Inquiry LLC, which was later acquired by PointClickCare.

Also part of the team is Fred Masoudi, M.D., vice president and chief academic officer. He is also a clinical professor of Medicine at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. He has served as the chief scientific advisor for the American College of Cardiology’s National Cardiovascular Data Registries quality programs.

Jon Taves, M.B.A., assistant vice president, clinical innovation, rounds out the leadership team. 

"At Ascension, patient care and access are central to our mission. That’s why our clinical transformation team is dedicated to bringing together clinical expertise with digital innovation," said Patel in a statement. "True clinical innovation goes beyond incremental technology upgrades – it requires a fundamental reimagining of how we deliver holistic, patient-centered care.”

Ascension is focused on implementing new tools that will be applied in a secure environment to reduce digital and administrative burden while enhancing the care of patients. This will empower caregivers to focus more on their patients and less on administrative tasks, the health system said. 

“It is crucial that all innovation efforts across our system are thoughtfully created and organized to align with workflows and the clinician experience in mind,” added Desai. “With the launch of the CII, Ascension will leverage cutting-edge and secure technologies to streamline workflows for our clinicians to provide more effective care.”

The research focus area of the institute will facilitate access to the latest clinical trials and use insights gained from clinical data to further advance care. 

“Clinical research turns challenging medical questions into life-changing answers, transforming evidence into impact that gives us hope for the future. It is the intersection of innovation and patient care,” said Masoudi in a statement.