UPMC’s Shrestha to lead enterprise strategy at Atrium Health

Rasu Shrestha, MD, chief innovation officer at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, is leaving UPMC to take over as the new executive vice president and chief strategy officer at Atrium Health.

Formerly Carolinas HealthCare System, Atrium Health announced on Tuesday that Shrestha will replace Carol Lovin, who has been promoted to executive vice president and system chief of staff.

Shrestha will officially join the healthcare organization in February and will lead Atrium Health’s enterprise strategy with a focus on innovation, launching new inventions, discoveries, as well as ideas. He will report directly to Atrium Health President and CEO Eugene Woods, according to the announcement.

“It is our honor to welcome Dr. Rasu Shrestha into the Atrium Health family,” said Woods in a written statement. “As Atrium Health looks ahead to how we can reimagine a brighter and bolder future for care, Dr. Shrestha will help us develop the strategy and innovation to bring health, hope and healing to more people.”

Earlier this year, the Department of Veterans Affairs recruited Shrestha to lead the agency’s Open API Pledge initiative, which calls on providers to support current and future versions of HL7’s Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources. As part of the effort, provider organizations are voluntarily collaborating with the VA to map health data to industry standards.

Also See: UPMC’s Shrestha to help VA with Open API Pledge initiative

Shrestha has been with UPMC for 11 years and has helped to drive its innovation strategy as an industry thought leader in health information technology. He also served as executive vice president of UPMC Enterprises—the provider’s venture capital arm—and is chairman of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society Innovation Committee as well as co-chair of Health Datapalooza.

“I am awestruck by the ambitions of Atrium Health to fulfill their mission to improve health, elevate hope and advance healing—for all,” said Shrestha in a written statement. “I look forward to working with this incredibly talented team to forge ahead with meaningful strategies, partnerships and opportunities—and to support this organization’s commitment and dedication to its patients and communities.”