EVP & Chief Innovation Officer, Geisinger

Dr. Karen Murphy is executive vice president, chief innovation and digital transformation officer, founding director of the Steele Institute for Health Innovation at Geisinger.

Dr. Murphy has worked to improve and transform healthcare delivery throughout her career in both the public and private sectors. Before joining Geisinger, she served as Pennsylvania’s secretary of health, addressing the most significant health issues facing the state, including the opioid epidemic. Prior to her role as secretary, Dr. Murphy served as director of the State Innovation Models Initiative at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, leading a $990 million CMS investment designed to accelerate health care innovation across the United States. She previously served as president and chief executive officer of the Moses Taylor Health Care System in Scranton, and as founder and chief executive officer of Physicians Health Alliance, Inc., an integrated medical group practice within Moses Taylor.

As chief innovation and digital transformation officer, Dr. Murphy leads Geisinger’s efforts to transform healthcare delivery by improving patient experience and outcomes. An integrated health system, Geisinger includes 10 hospital campuses, a health plan with more than half a million members, a Research Institute and the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine. Its nearly 24,000 employees and more than 1,700 employed physicians care for more than 1 million people across central and northeast Pennsylvania.

Dr. Murphy earned her Doctor of Philosophy in business administration from the Temple University Fox School of Business. She holds a Master of Business Administration from Marywood University, a Bachelor of Science in liberal arts from the University of Scranton, and a diploma in nursing from the Scranton State Hospital School of Nursing.

An author and national speaker on health policy and innovation, Dr. Murphy also serves as a clinical faculty member at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine. Dr. Murphy was named by Modern Healthcare as one of the 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives in 2021. She was recently named by Becker’s list of Women Power Players in IT and 30 Great Chief Innovation Officers to Know.