Information technology has historically been managed independently throughout the hospitals and the Keck School of Medicine. Some individual departments within these units may have also had dedicated IT staff for supporting desktops or customized business applications. Other departments relied solely on ITS and their help desk for computing support. There was no unified, centralized support for the units on the Health Science Campus.
In May of 2005 the group known as Keck Tech originated by supporting the Office of Administration & Finance in the Keck School of Medicine. Before long Keck Tech's staff grew and began supporting other departments within the Keck School of Medicine on a subscription basis. Within a few years the customer base grew from 23 users to over 500 users in various departments.
After USC purchased University Hospital and Norris Cancer Hospital in March of 2009, the university's provost hired Mitchell Creem as chief executive officer of the hospitals. In September of 2009, Mark Amey was hired by Creem and Carmen Puliafito, dean of the Keck School of Medicine, to lead the development and implementation of information technology strategic plans and procedures among USC University Hospital, USC Norris Cancer Center, the Keck School of Medicine and the Doctors of USC. With unified strategic direction, systems and procedures will become streamlined to enhance communication and productivity of both faculty and staff across these units.
According to Amey, "The goal is to create a fully integrated health care delivery system where these separate units work as one, enhancing the clinicians' effectiveness, the patients' experience, and ultimately the clinical outcomes that we provide."
Please visit the new website for Health Sciences Information Technology (HSIT).