Charleston, S.C.-based MUSC Health is cutting through the “noise” in health IT by mastering the fundamentals and targeting the real problems technology needs to solve, the health system’s new CIO told Becker’s.
Amar Nagaram, who became enterprise IT chief in July, leads digital transformation for both the Medical University of South Carolina and its 16 hospitals. He focuses on simplifying technology, empowering staff and using innovation to advance MUSC’s tripartite mission of care, research and education.
“You have so much noise in health IT today,” he said. “The ones who are going to set the pace realize it isn’t about the fanciness of the tech. It’s about who can get you the best solution for the problem you’re going after — it could be emerging tech, or it could be standard tech; it could be a tool, or it could be some automation somewhere along the line.”
Using a sports analogy, he said teams win championships not with flashy plays but by mastering the fundamentals. “We want to be the best at the little things in our core technology,” he said. “That means ensuring the day-to-day experience of clinicians and staff is consistent, reliable and efficient. Things should just work. That reliability frees us to innovate faster and deliver solutions that truly move the needle.”
“At the end of the day, all of this is about people,” he added. “We want to deliver technology that is simplified, standardized and automated, in that exact order. Our consumers and our extended community, especially our patients, deserve a smooth digital experience that allows our clinicians to focus on education, cutting-edge research and world-class care instead of screens. That’s the lens I use to decide where we put our energy.”
Before joining MUSC, Mr. Nagaram served as associate CIO at Indianapolis-based Indiana University Health, where he helped lead its Epic EHR implementation. Now at MUSC, he aims to create a “systemless experience” for users by driving measurable returns and fostering enterprisewide innovation.
A key part of that strategy involves emerging technologies such as AI, automation and low-code innovation. Mr. Nagaram believes the next phase of digital health will depend on equipping teams with tools that enable them to solve problems autonomously. “When we remove the dependency on deep technical skills for routine automation, innovation accelerates at the edge of the enterprise,” he said. “That’s where ideas emerge, where care happens, and where technology can make the biggest difference.”
He said automation isn’t simply a tool for efficiency, but to remove friction and give time back to people. And rather than bolting AI on, MUSC is pursuing a platform-first strategy that embeds it directly into Epic, Microsoft and other enterprise systems.
“AI is an extension of human and process intelligence, designed to augment rather than replace,” Mr. Nagaram said. “From intelligent documentation and ambient clinical listening to predictive scheduling and precision outreach, we’re building AI to work with people, not around them.”
Mr. Nagaram describes technology as a “strategic enabler” rather than a back-end afterthought. He plans to master the basics first then shift to digital innovation. “The best hospital,” he said, “will be the one where technology disappears into the background because everything just works in harmony.”
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