Highmark Health has appointed Alistair Erskine, MD, MBA, as its first Chief Information Digital Officer (CIDO), following a national search. In this new position, Dr. Erskine will be responsible for developing and implementing the digital roadmap and provider strategy for Allegheny Health Network (AHN). He will also focus on optimizing electronic health records and integrating payer-provider data systems to support Highmark Health’s Living Health model.
Mick Malec, Highmark Health’s Enterprise Technology & Operations Officer and CEO of enGen, said, “Alistair is a creative thinker who has a wealth of experience developing innovative digital strategies that have transformed the operations of community hospitals, large academic medical centers and integrated payer-provider organizations alike. He is a proven health-tech leader, and an exceptional fit for this critical new role at Highmark Health.”
Dr. Erskine joins from Emory Healthcare and Emory University where he served as Senior Vice President, Chief Information Officer, and Chief Digital Officer. At Emory, he led a 1,100-member digital team with responsibility over more than 900 applications in clinical, academic, and research areas. He managed an annual budget of $350 million.
During his tenure at Emory Healthcare, Dr. Erskine introduced several initiatives including the “Apple-first” hospital environment—reportedly the world’s first fully Apple-powered hospital setting—and other enterprise-wide innovations aimed at improving experiences for patients and care teams. His “No Regrets” program implemented solutions such as tap-n-go access, ambient listening technology powered by AI video tools across the enterprise, and virtual support to help reduce clinician burnout.
He also established the role of Chief Financial Informatics Officer at Emory which contributed to nearly $95 million in annual financial improvements through denial remediation processes and prior-authorization adjudication. Additionally, he brought in time-based activity costing models that provided better insights into clinical margin performance.
Previously at Mass General Brigham as Chief Digital Health Officer, Dr. Erskine led a major Epic system implementation across 12 institutions affiliated with Harvard Medical School—including Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital—which resulted in high patient portal engagement rates as well as operationalization of extensive patient-reported outcomes databases. The deployment of digital automation generated over $12 million per year in revenue gains or cost savings.
At Geisinger Health System where he was Chief Informatics Officer earlier in his career, Dr. Erskine oversaw unified data platforms connecting payers with providers along with informatics systems development; he also helped launch Geisinger’s Clinical Informatics Fellowship program.
Mark Sevco, president of AHN stated: “Alistair has a stellar track record of helping payer-provider organizations break down barriers through more seamless data integration and transformative digital solutions that optimize the caregiving and receiving experience. We look forward to the essential work he will do for AHN and Highmark Health to help us improve quality, make care more accessible, lower costs, and develop a digitally savvy workforce that positions us strongly for the future.”
Dr. Erskine holds degrees from the University of Virginia (BA in biochemistry) and Medical College of Virginia (MD), with board certifications in Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, and Clinical Informatics; he earned his MBA from MIT where he also completed certificates in Business Analytics and AI.
“I am thrilled to join Highmark Health, an industry-leading ‘payvidor’ that brings critical member insights and evidence-based pathways directly to the point of care,” said Dr. Erskine. “By leveraging state-of-the-art digital and data tools across the organization I foresee a digital transformation that will not only eliminate transactional waste but also deliver world-class value-based care that every member and patient truly deserves.”
