Becker’s Healthcare Podcast Ginny Torno, Senior Director, Innovation & IT Clinical Systems at Houston Methodist
Nov 15, 2025
Ginny Torno, Senior Director of Innovation and IT Clinical Systems at Houston Methodist, shares her expertise in deploying AI to enhance healthcare. She discusses innovative AI tools that predict patient decline and optimize operations like OR scheduling and radiology assistance. Ginny emphasizes the importance of strong governance and pilot testing for new technologies. Additionally, she highlights the impact of legislation on physician workflows and stresses the need for measurable ROI and vendor stability in tech adoption.
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Prioritize AI With Clear Clinical Or Operational Benefit
- Houston Methodist prioritizes AI that improves patient care, clinician experience, or operations.
- Predictive models, OR efficiency tools, radiology assistants, and ambient dictation deliver measurable clinical and workflow benefits.
Predicting Patient Decline Before It Happens
- An AI model predicts patient decline from vital-sign trends so teams intervene before a code.
- This has helped avoid deterioration and improved patient outcomes in practice.
AI To Boost Operating Room Throughput
- An OR operational-efficiency AI identified cleaning and utilization imbalances across rooms.
- Acting on its recommendations allowed Houston Methodist to open more surgical cases and speed patient care.