Cleveland Clinic this past Friday announced that it has appointed Rohit Chandra, to be its new chief digital officer.

WHY IT MATTERS
Starting in mid-February Chandra will oversee the health system's information technology division, and help lead ongoing digital transformation across the Cleveland Clinic. He'll focus on initiatives around artificial intelligence and machine learning, officials said, working to improve access and engagement, and boost patient and provider experience.

Chandra – a computer scientist who holds a bachelor degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, and a PhD from Stanford University – comes to Cleveland Clinic from Sunshine Products, a Palo Alto-based tech startup where he served as vice president of engineering. 

Before that, Chandra served as SVP of search and advertising at Verizon Media. He also spent more than a dozen years at Yahoo, where he helped engineer and build tools for search and advertising.

THE LARGER TREND
This is the most recent in a series of technology C-suite hires at Cleveland Clinic these past couple years. In January 2020, the health system named its first-ever chief research information officer, hiring Dr. Lara Jehi to work with IT staff and clinical researchers to ensure its infrastructure is optimized for new research projects.

Three months later, in March, the clinic announced that Matthew Kull, who had served as interim chief information officer since the previous November, had been appointed to the CIO role on a full-time basis.

ON THE RECORD
"New technologies are reinventing how we access, deliver and experience the best possible care," said CEO and president Dr. Tom Mihaljevic, in a statement announcing the chief digital officer hire. "Dr. Chandra has proved himself a visionary in applying these tools and technologies. His fresh perspective will benefit our patients, caregivers and organization as Cleveland Clinic grows to touch more lives around the world."

Twitter: @MikeMiliardHITN
Email the writer: mike.miliard@himssmedia.com
Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS publication.