Becker’s Healthcare Podcast Kathleen Fear, Senior Director, Digital Health & AI at University of Rochester Medical Center
Nov 11, 2025
Kathleen Fear, Senior Director of Digital Health & AI at the University of Rochester Medical Center, discusses her role in shaping AI strategy to enhance patient access and operational efficiency. She shares compelling use cases driving measurable ROI, such as scheduling improvements and care gap identification. Kathleen highlights how generative AI tools empower staff and how regulations shape innovative, responsible solutions. She advises healthcare leaders to stay optimistic yet cautious as they navigate this transformative era in healthcare technology.
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Two-Tier AI Strategy
- URMC groups AI use cases into high-ROI operational targets and general-purpose tools for everyday work.
- This dual approach balances measurable system gains with empowering staff to solve local inefficiencies.
Prioritize Measurable ROI
- Focus AI projects on measurable priorities like revenue, cost savings, and patient access improvements.
- Track outcomes such as scheduling, denials management, and care-gap identification to prove ROI.
Power Of Local AI Tools
- General-purpose AI (chatbots, custom assistants) solves many small, local pain points that vendors won't productize.
- Empowering staff to build local assistants increases productivity without large centralized builds.