Ryan Smith Named New VP and CIO at Intermountain Healthcare

Smith will replace longtime venerated CIO Marc Probst, who is retiring.

There's a changing of the guard in information technology (IT) leadership at Intermountain Healthcare. Ryan Smith, MBA, has been named the new vice president and chief information officer for Intermountain Healthcare, replacing longtime IT leader Marc Probst, MBA, who is retiring.

Smith was selected following a nationwide search. As CIO he will lead the care transformation information systems team and partner with other Intermountain teams to implement innovative digital, data, and technology platforms and solutions, according to a news release. He starts his new role June 29.

“Ryan is a proven leader who understands and exemplifies Intermountain’s mission, vision and values and brings extensive experience in successfully managing complex, dynamic information systems,” said Dan Liljenquist, Intermountain’s senior vice president and chief strategy officer. “Ryan is the perfect fit to step in and lead our CTIS team and partner with other Intermountain teams to implement innovative digital, data, and technology platforms and solutions—all with the goal to deliver extraordinary customer experiences, improve quality, and increase value.”

(Ryan Smith, VP and CIO, Intermountain Healthcare; photo courtesy of Intermountain Healthcare)

"Virtually every healthcare organization across the country is experiencing an unprecedented change to their normal business and clinical operations these past several months, says Smith. "Some of these changes will prove to be temporary in nature, while others are providing an open view into what will rapidly become the 'new normal' in our industry. My primary areas of focus will be to rapidly position our information systems and teams to support this transformational journey ahead, especially around the continued shift to value based care, digital consumer experiences, and supporting new care delivery models. I believe that we will all look back two years from now and realize that this was the most pivotal time in our era of healthcare – that it functioned as a launchpad for rapidly transforming our industry in ways that would have otherwise taken at least another decade."

Probst, who served as Intermountain's vice president and CIO since 2003, is renowned in healthcare IT circles. Earlier this year he was named the 2019 John E. Gall Jr. CIO of the Year by the joint boards of the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) and the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS). The associations credited him with "being at the forefront of change in the healthcare IT industry."

At that time Probst told HealthLeaders, "I'm really proud of the team that we've been able to develop and morph over the years." Smith was a member of that team, and has extensive experience working for the Salt Lake City-based health system, serving in a variety of information technology leadership roles at Intermountain Healthcare from 1994 to 2013.

Probst posted a note of congratulations to Smith this morning on Twitter, commenting that "he is a friend and an excellent HCIT professional."

Previously, Smith served as senior vice president and chief information officer at Banner Health in Phoenix, from 2013-2018, where he "introduced innovative digital business strategies, supported geographic expansion, and built a highly successful strategic partnership with Cerner, a health information technology company," according to the release.

Most recently, Smith worked as senior vice president at Health Catalyst in Salt Lake City from 2018 to 2020, where he advised senior healthcare executives across the country on how to leverage data and technologies to streamline operations, support growth, increase quality, and improve customer experience.

Smith earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Utah and an MBA-IT management degree from Western Governors University.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to include additional information HealthLeaders obtained from Intermountain representatives.