Owensboro Health has named Dr. Bridget Burshears as its new Chief Medical Informatics Officer, selecting a longtime physician leader to help guide the system’s clinical technology strategy.
Burshears has been with Owensboro Health since 2011, spending more than a decade as NICU medical director before transitioning to Assistant Chief Medical Informatics Officer in March 2024. She recently moved into a role with Optum but will continue to serve part-time as a neonatologist for Owensboro Health Medical Group. Officials said an additional neonatologist has been hired to ensure coverage in the specialty.
Burshears said neonatology remains central to who she is as a physician.
“Neonatology has always felt like a calling to me. I chose that career from a very early age and never changed my mind,” she said. “I love walking alongside families during some of the most stressful moments of their lives, and nothing compares to seeing them go home or return for the NICU reunion.”
Her interest in informatics grew out of her years of hands-on experience using and helping build electronic health record systems.
“I’ve used some form of EHR for most of my medical career and helped build our NICU’s system when we went live in 2012,” she said. “I loved the challenge and the opportunity to improve the EHR for providers across Owensboro Health. Becoming more involved in informatics was an extension of wanting to help a larger community.”
As CMIO, Burshears said her focus is on connecting frontline providers with the technology that supports their work.
“My clinical background helps me understand exactly how one alert, one click or one workflow change can affect a provider’s day,” she said. “If we can make clinicians more efficient, we allow them to focus on what matters most — excellent patient care.”
She said the principles that guided her NICU leadership continue to shape her approach in the informatics role.
“In everything we do in healthcare, being a servant leader is essential,” she said. “In the NICU, it meant serving families. As CMIO, it means serving providers by ensuring they have the tools they need to care for patients safely and efficiently. And teamwork, the foundation of NICU care, is equally vital in delivering technology across the system.”
Burshears said her priorities include optimizing clinical systems, improving usability, and harnessing emerging tools such as artificial intelligence.
“AI will dramatically influence how we deliver healthcare,” she said. “We’re already using ambient listening to let providers fully engage with patients while generating accurate notes. The possibilities ahead — from better summarizing histories to supporting nurses in real-time documentation — will improve care and reduce burden.”
Her goal, she said, is simple: let clinicians get back to what brought them to the field in the first place.
“Most healthcare workers chose this field to help people,” she said. “Technology should lighten their load, not add to it.”
Owensboro Health Chief Medical Officer Dr. Francis DuFrayne said Burshears brings both credibility and vision to the CMIO role.
“Dr. Burshears is widely respected as both a clinician and a partner in innovation,” he said. “Her ability to understand the real-world needs of providers while driving system improvements makes her an exceptional fit for this role. We are fortunate to have her leading our informatics strategy as we advance toward a more connected, efficient, and patient-centered future.”
For Burshears, the appointment is both meaningful and motivating.
“It’s an honor to serve Owensboro Health on a system level,” she said. “I look forward to partnering with my colleagues to ensure our providers have the tools they need to continue offering the best care possible to the patients in our community.”
