Karen Murphy is recognized for significant contributions to public and private healthcare transformation. The leading-edge solutions she champions produce noteworthy patient care, access, and quality results. She is a sought-after expert on improving healthcare delivery and has served at both state and federal levels.
At Geisinger, Karen holds the combined titles of EVP/Chief Innovation Officer, Digital Transformation Officer, and founding Director Steele Institute for Healthcare Innovation. In these roles, she has developed Geisinger’s Digital Transformation Office, Geisinger’s AI Lab (GAIL), a two-time winner of national recognition at AI competitions. She is also the architect of The Intelligent Automation Hub designed to optimize operations and produce significant cost savings. The Behavioral Insight Team (BIT) she created uses data to improve patient and provider decision making.
Additionally, Karen had led several innovative approaches to social determinants of health and health equity, including a program for pregnant women with substance abuse disorder.
Prior to Geisinger, Karen was chosen as Pennsylvania’s Secretary of Health, the State’s highest ranking health official and a member of the Governor’s cabinet. In that capacity, Karen collaborated with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Innovation (CMMI) and created a test to evaluate the first state-led innovative payment and delivery model for rural hospitals in the U.S. Moreover, her efforts helped achieve a revision of state immunization regulations eliminating the eight-month provisional period and resulting in a 10% improvement rate of children receiving immunizations in the state.
Previously, Karen headed the State Innovations Model (SIM) initiative for CMMI. She instituted relationships with national organizations and experts to support efforts accelerating state-led health care transformation. Karen was the CMMI lead on developing the Maryland All Payer Test, the first model used to measure hospital global budgets for services in Maryland. She was also accountable for briefing the White House and Secretary of Health and Human Services on progress and issues pertaining to state-led health care innovations.
Karen also served as the President and CEO of Moses Taylor Health System: an integrated system located in northeastern Pennsylvania.
An active board member, Karen is affiliated with several health care organizations, including the Healthcare Innovations Professional Society, Keystone Accountable Care Organization, Node Health Global Advisory Council, Health Velocity Capital , and the University of Pennsylvania Leonard Davis Institute for Economics.
Karen holds a PhD in Business Administration from Temple University and a BS from the University of Scranton, in addition to an MBA, RN, and Clinical Faculty in Medicine appointment at Geisinger.
Karen’s numerous awards for her groundbreaking achievements including Top 25 Women Leaders in Healthcare, Sharp Index Innovation Leader Award, Women Power Players in Health IT, 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives, and Changemaker in Healthcare Information and Management Society.
