Leaders across U.S. health systems have seen their roles shift in response to artificial intelligence. Chief innovation officers are starting to think like CFOs as they prioritize technology investments, and CEOs are keeping closer tabs on their AI deployments to mitigate risk. Chief medical informatics officers (CMIOs) and chief nursing informatics officers (CNIOs) are no exception.
According to a recent report from the executive search and advisory firm WittKieffer, 83 percent of physician informatics officers have reported expanding responsibilities over the past two years. The firm surveyed more than 160 physician informatics officers between April and May 2025 in the largest sample of its kind.
Demand for CMIOs has increased over time as the role itself continues to expand, Zachary Durst, a consultant in WittKieffer’s Information Technology Practice and an author of the report, told Newsweek. While they were once seen as liaisons between IT and frontline clinicians, half of physician informatics executives now have a voice at their health system’s senior leadership table. Nearly three in 10 are directly responsible for AI efforts at their organization.
“If we even went back 15 years, a lot of CMIOs were really considered translators,” Durst said. “Over time, they’ve become really strategic partners in the organization.”
Photo-illustration by Newsweek/Canva
That’s because many physician informatics officers have become core to AI implementation and electronic health record (EHR) optimization, two core focuses for hospitals and health systems.
While they still serve as advocates for clinicians—explaining why a certain tech investment may or may not work for providers—they are helping to determine where technology will be most effective within the organization.
The CMIO provides value in these processes as an “enterprise role” that touches “every part of the health system,” Wendy Kerschner, a senior associate in WittKieffer’s Information Technology Practice, told Newsweek.
“CMIOs are at the frontline of making systems more efficient so clinicians can focus on what they’re actually there to do: just care for the patient,” Kerschner said.
By using automation to eliminate unnecessary computer time, CMIOs and CNIOs could help to reduce clinician burnout: a top concern for health systems that has contributed to an exodus of doctors and nurses and worsened ongoing workforce shortages. In 2023, more than 45 percent of physicians experienced at least one symptom of burnout, according to the most recent study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
Those levels have improved since the immediate aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, but health systems aren’t out of the woods. While the majority of doctors say there are many potential benefits of using AI in health care, 42 percent are concerned that AI will “just be one more thing that will complicate health care,” per a recent survey from athenahealth and the Harris Poll.
Provider organizations need to be careful when implementing new AI tools, ensuring that they don’t disrupt existing workflows, create change fatigue or exacerbate burnout. That’s where CMIOs and CNIOs come in.
Dr. Lavonia Thomas, nursing informatics officer at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, directs a team that observes clinician workflows to inform technology investments and deployments. She sees herself as a “bridge,” uniquely positioned to influence the nursing side and IT side of the organization.
“Having a nursing informatics team like we have at MD Anderson is extremely valuable because my nursing informatics specialists are boots on the ground, talking with nurses just during the course of their day,” Thomas told Newsweek. “We don’t gather them in a room and ask questions. We really are there at their elbow and talking with them and seeing some of their pain points.”
MD Anderson nurses have told Thomas and her team that they want dependable technology with a real purpose. They’re concerned that if tools aren’t built with clinician input, they could add more work without producing any value for patients or providers.
“They want technology built to mirror how they work,” Thomas said. “So often, especially early on, alerts and things were placed in the electronic health record, irrespective of how a nurse worked.”
“What you did is you interrupted [the nurse], but you didn’t affect the change that you were intending with the alert.”
Although more organizations are recognizing the value of CMIO and CNIO positions, these leaders still face challenges when working to get their goals met, according to WittKieffer’s survey and experts. They are tasked with managing the financial concerns of C-suites and boards, as well as clinicians’ urgent needs for technological assistance. More than half of physician informatics officers saw their budgets expand last year, but funding remains a “big issue,” Kerschner said.
They also struggle to get buy-in from the right people to actually scale initiatives, she added. “What we’re hearing and what we’re seeing is, all organizations have some sort of investment or desire to bring in an AI tool, but there’s still some hesitancy around the security and compliance piece that prevents some organizations from going full-in.”
While AI promises to improve processes eventually, there is often a learning curve for end users, according to Durst. Any new tool is going to disrupt a well-established workflow. Clinician informatics officers play an important role in change management, determining how to encourage tech adoption without adding unnecessary frustrations.
Thomas has seen her role shift since it was first introduced in 2016, too. Now, she leads a nursing governance structure that incorporates nurse perspectives wherever technological change is being considered, from the labs to radiology to pharmacy.
“While it may not be our decision space, there is a nursing voice at the table,” she said.
As CMIOs and CNIOs become more critical to their organizations, the consequences of losing them are steeper. Nearly 90 percent of these leaders are satisfied with their current job, but demand for their expertise is rising—and nearly two-thirds told WittKieffer that they are considering a role change or retirement in the near future.
Physician and nursing informatics leaders tend to be ambitious, and they’re prone to seeking out new challenges, Kerschner said. Health systems should be aware that those shoes aren’t easy to fill. Candidates need to have exceptional change management skills, strong technical knowledge and a clinical background, she said. Put simply: “It’s a really, really hard and complex role.”
Thomas will be speaking on this topic at Newsweek’s Digital Health Care Forum on September 16 in New York City. Click here for more information and to secure your ticket.
