The Importance of Technology in Healthcare

In episode 81 of The Gradient Podcast, Daniel Bashir speaks to Shiv Rao.

Shiv Rao, MD is the co-founder and CEO of Abridge, a healthcare conversation company that uses cutting-edge NLP and generative AI to bring context and understanding to every medical conversation. Shiv previously served as an Executive Vice President at UPMC Enterprises, managing the provider-facing portfolio of technology investments and R&D. He is a practicing cardiologist in UPMC's Heart and Vascular Institute.

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Outline:

* (00:00) Intro

* (01:34) Shiv’s medicine/technology/VC background

* (05:45) Difficulties for tech in healthcare and how this informs Shiv’s approach

* (10:52) “Productivity with a smile” and how AI can make medicine feel more human

* (12:35) Shiv’s experiences in medicine and how Abridge’s product helps doctors

* (16:10) How the role of a clinical team could evolve

* (19:30) Abridge’s partnerships and real-life use cases

* (23:00) Shiv’s perspectives on concerns about bias/trust/privacy

* (25:25) Clinical decision support vs “automating doctors”

* (29:07) Transparency and Abridge’s user experience

* (35:20) Algorithmic solutionism vs human-focused approaches to technology development

* (38:50) Ways AI might impact healthcare

* (41:10) Generative AI applications

* (45:00) Generative AI opportunities beyond documentation

* (49:25) Innovation and reducing friction, UX

* (50:56) Why people make wild predictions about AI

* (54:25) What it means to “automate away” a doctor, how we’re misusing the medical workforce

* (56:10) Shiv’s advice for people interested in AI + healthcare

* (1:00:04) Outro

Links:

* Abridge Homepage