Ryan M. Cameron, chief information and innovation officer at Children's Nebraska
Photo: Children's Nebraska
Ryan M. Cameron has been named executive vice president and chief information and innovation officer at Children's Nebraska, the Omaha-based health system announced this past week.
WHY IT MATTERS
Prior to his promotion this month, Cameron had served for four years as vice president of technology and innovation at Children's Nebraska, where he was in charge of enterprise digital strategy, artificial intelligence and IT governance, and led key initiatives focused on clinical care, operational efficiency and patient experience.
Among his accomplishments at the health system: guiding the launch of its Mammel Innovation Center, expanding its 3D program, designing virtual reality and digital therapeutics for behavioral health, and launching an agentic AI platform to help automate Medicaid eligibility.
In his new leadership role, Cameron will be tasked with shaping the health system's larger enterprise digital strategy – as well as boosting its cybersecurity, innovation, and data and analytics capabilities.
Cameron earned a doctorate in education from the American College of Education and a master's in information systems from the University of Phoenix.
He has more than 25 years of experience in IT and digital transformation, not just in healthcare but at tech companies and in higher education.
Before joining Children's Nebraska, he held senior roles at Ivy.ai and Creighton University. Cameron is also the author of two books: A.I. 101 and Onward, Upward. Sometimes Sideways.: Empathy-Driven School Leadership in the 4th Industrial Revolution.
THE LARGER TREND
Children's Nebraska has been focused for some time on digital transformation that improves both patient and provider experience.
Two years ago, we featured a case study with its CMIO, who described how new workforce management technologies had enabled an array of operational efficiencies, such as quicker, automated schedule generation – and generally helped make for happier clinicians.
Improved analytics have been a priority there. In 2024 we also spoke with Children's Nebraska's director of surgical services and its perioperative business manager, who described how data aggregation efforts, establishing a single source of truth, had freed up a surgery schedule that had been 90% blocked.
ON THE RECORD
Chanda Chacón, president and CEO of Children's Nebraska, called Cameron a "passionate advocate for pediatric healthcare innovation with a strong track record of growth and impact at Children's and in other complex environments."
She said in a statement that she's "confident in his vision and ability to advance our digital ecosystem and foster a culture of innovation – keeping our patients and team members at the heart of every transformation."
"Our community and the team at Children's Nebraska inspire me to support, build and deliver a technological roadmap that's transformative for patients, families, clinicians and the organization," said Cameron.
"I see an immediate future where everyone is empowered with incredible tools and resources, where equitable digital access is the norm, AI augments pediatric care safely and innovation is embedded into every process," he added.
Mike Miliard is executive editor of Healthcare IT News
Email the writer: mmiliard@himss.org
Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS publication.
