Allegheny Health Network (AHN) has named Richard Medford, MD, as its new Chief Digital Information Officer (CDIO). Dr. Medford brings a background in both clinical practice and digital health to the role. His appointment is part of AHN’s ongoing efforts to advance its digital transformation and technology-driven care.
Dr. Medford joins AHN following the recent appointment of Alistair Erskine, MD, MBA, as Highmark Health’s Chief Information Digital Officer (CIDO). Along with John Gabrick, AHN’s vice president of clinical information systems, digital and virtual health, these leaders will guide the organization’s digital health strategy. Mark Sevco, president of AHN, commented on the new addition to the leadership team.
“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Medford to the AHN team,” said Sevco. “He is an outstanding leader who brings to our organization a wealth of experience and accomplishments in leveraging data and informatics to enhance provider efficiency, clinical decision support, telemedicine and mobile health. We’re excited to have him join Dr. Erskine and John Gabrick, as we chart an exciting digital future for AHN.”
Dr. Medford is recognized nationally for his work at the intersection of clinical medicine, artificial intelligence, and health information technology. He is noted as the first physician in the United States with dual fellowship training and board certification in both clinical informatics and infectious diseases.
Before joining AHN, Dr. Medford served as Chief Medical Informatics and Digital Health Officer at East Carolina University (ECU) Health in Greenville, North Carolina. He was also a clinical associate professor at ECU’s Brody School of Medicine. Previously he held leadership roles at UT Southwestern Medical Center and participated in fellowships at Stanford University focused on global health innovation and clinical informatics.
In addition to his administrative roles, Dr. Medford serves as Associate Editor for Applied Clinical Informatics journal. His research background emphasizes evidence-based approaches to technology adoption within healthcare settings.
At AHN, Dr. Medford will work closely with other leaders including Dr. Erskine and John Gabrick to drive digital transformation initiatives such as optimizing workflows enabled by technology and expanding telehealth services across the network.
“I look forward to joining AHN at such a transformative time in health care,” said Dr. Medford. “It’s an honor to be part of a team so deeply committed to leveraging innovation and technology to create better experiences and better outcomes for the patients and the communities we serve.”
Dr. Medford completed his medical degree at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia before pursuing further training in internal medicine at Queens University in Kingston, Ontario; he later completed a fellowship in infectious diseases from the University of Ottawa.
He holds triple board certifications—in internal medicine, infectious disease, and clinical informatics—and maintains fellow status with several professional organizations including the American Medical Informatics Association.
