Health systems today face growing pressure to improve patient access, strengthen operational resilience, and adopt AI—often while managing hundreds of technology investments across fragmented systems. At Montefiore Einstein, leaders recognized that technology had become critical to achieving enterprise goals, but digital investments were not consistently prioritized, coordinated, or measured against business outcomes.

When Deepesh Chandra joined in 2023 as senior vice president and chief digital and information officer, he and his leadership team began by listening. Across the organization, they heard consistent themes: IT systems needed greater reliability, and technology strategy was not fully integrated into business decision-making or patient care delivery.

“The team was working extremely hard to support our clinicians and our business with the day-to-day technology,” Chandra says. “But we were operating in a transactional model. IT was seen as a cost center, not as a partner accountable for enterprise impact and ROI.”

At the same time, patients and clinicians expected the same digital convenience tools that they’re used to in other parts of their daily life.

“In today’s environment, almost every strategic objective comes down to tech enablement,” Chandra says. “If we wanted to improve patient access, capability growth, and operational efficiency and quality, we needed to make sure technology was involved from the start.”

With McKinsey’s help, Chandra and his leadership team created a clear road map and long-term plan to reposition Montefiore’s technology organization as an engaged and active partner to the rest of the hospital system.

The transformation focused on strengthening the organization’s digital foundation, aligning technology investments to enterprise priorities, and building the capabilities needed to support future growth and innovation.

Montefiore had no shortage of digital initiatives, but many operated independently, making it difficult to prioritize investments and align resources around enterprise goals.

By redesigning its technology operating model and strengthening partnerships across the organization, Montefiore created the capacity to reinvest millions of dollars into initiatives that improved access, resilience, and growth.

At the same time, Montefiore aligned digital efforts under a unified road map, creating a clear process for directing investment toward the initiatives with the greatest enterprise impact.

“The organizations seeing the greatest value from digital transformation are the ones that connect technology investments directly to business and clinical priorities,” says Bryan Herdé, associate partner at McKinsey. “Montefiore built the foundation to do both—creating investment capacity while focusing resources on the capabilities that matter most to patients, clinicians, and the enterprise.”

With that foundation in place, Montefiore concentrated on four strategic priorities: expanding digital access, modernizing cloud infrastructure, strengthening cybersecurity, and advancing data and AI capabilities.

Expanding digital access

Montefiore understood that, for many patients, accessing care begins long before they enter a clinic. It focused on making it easier for patients to schedule appointments, reconnect after canceled visits, and stay engaged throughout their care journey.

The organization expanded digital scheduling capabilities, strengthened patient outreach, and introduced automated reminders. These efforts led to a 33 percent increase in digital primary care scheduling, helped more than 5,000 patients reconnect with care, and reduced missed visits—making it easier for patients to access and stay connected to care.

Migrating to modernized cloud technology

As healthcare organizations become increasingly digital, system reliability has become essential to both operations and patient care. Montefiore invested in cloud modernization to reduce infrastructure risk, improve resilience, and create the foundation for advanced analytics and AI.

Working with Cloud by McKinsey, the firm’s cloud transformation arm, Montefiore developed a phased migration plan to move critical applications to the cloud while minimizing disruption to operations. Since the launch of the cloud program, more than 30 percent of applications have been migrated to the cloud, with the remainder—including the electronic medical records platform—planned to follow. Approximately 25 percent of migrated applications have also been upgraded to newer versions, unlocking capabilities that support future clinical and operational innovation.

“Our cloud transformation has already strengthened operational resilience across our network and put more trust in our technology,” says Victor Cutrone, chief technology officer at Montefiore. “Ultimately, this helps us enhance our ability to support our patients and local communities.”

Our cloud transformation has already strengthened operational resilience across our network and put more trust in our technology. Ultimately, this helps us enhance our ability to support our patients and local communities.

Victor Cutrone

Montefiore’s chief technology officer

Meeting the cybersecurity

According to McKinsey research, cyberattacks and tech outages at healthcare organizations have reached an all-time high. They face rising cyberthreats that can have severe, disruptive effects on care delivery and health system operations.

To strengthen resilience, Montefiore launched an enterprise-wide program to standardize cybersecurity measures across the healthcare system, upgrade detection and response tools, and strengthen its internal capabilities by hiring a chief information security officer and a cybersecurity team.

Today, the organization monitors more than 195,000 devices and has prevented over 150,000 attempted attacks since the start of the program.

McKinsey also supported Montefiore with the development of the long-term strategy and road map, and in securing grant funding to accelerate the effort—including $41 million in New York State funding awarded in 2025 to further strengthen cyber and operational resilience.

Data and AI that serves patients and clinicians

As clinicians face growing documentation requirements and health systems seek faster, more informed decision-making, Montefiore is investing in data and AI capabilities that support its ability to support patient care.

The organization is modernizing its data foundation through system-wide dashboards and analytics tools. Ambient listening technology is reducing the documentation burden for over 750 providers, while AI-driven enhancements have improved cancer-type tagging accuracy by 90 percent, supporting more effective care coordination and decision-making.

To support adoption, clinical and operational leaders have helped shape priorities and identify practical use cases from the outset. Rather than treating AI as a stand-alone initiative, Montefiore is integrating it into everyday workflows where it can create measurable value for patients, clinicians, and the organization.

Sriram Sekar, partner at McKinsey, emphasized the importance of the holistic approach to the system-wide transformation: “Montefiore focused first on strengthening its data and cloud foundation. That groundwork allows AI and agentic AI to be applied in practical ways that create real value.”

At Montefiore, technology has moved from support function to a core lever for expanding access, improving care outcomes, and sustaining the system’s mission.

Our IT team is now a true partner to operations. We’re able to work together as one team to integrate technology and deliver value to support patient care.

Karen D’Ambrosio

Vice president of IT operations

“Our IT team is now a true partner to operations, says Karen D’Ambrosio, vice president of IT operations. “We're able to work together as one team to integrate technology and deliver value to support patient care.”

Across the organization, digital initiatives have made it easier for patients to connect with care, strengthened operational resilience, and reduced administrative burden for clinicians.

“These may seem like small operational improvements,” Chandra says, “but for patients balancing work, childcare, or transportation challenges, easier access makes a real difference.”

Culturally, the relationship between IT and the rest of the organization has shifted. Clinical and operational leaders report stronger collaboration and clearer communication. Trust has grown.

Internally, the IT team is now a true partner to operations. Montefiore associates and strategic external partners increasingly work as one team aligned around a shared mission.

“If digital transformation does not translate into better experience, outcomes, and lower costs, then we’ve missed the point,” Chandra says. “Above all, technology is meant to further our mission—delivering the best possible care.”