Why Augmented Intelligence Is the Future of Care with Adobe Population Health CIO Alex Waddell

In this episode of the Shift AI Podcast, Alex Waddell, Chief Information Officer at Adobe Population Health, joins host Boaz Ashkenazy live from Dreamforce in San Francisco for a deep dive into AI adoption in one of the most highly regulated—and most impactful—industries: healthcare.

Alex shares his unconventional journey from Salesforce administrator to CIO, and how Adobe Population Health built a custom electronic medical record (EMR) on the Salesforce platform to support population health case management long before it became an industry buzzword. The conversation explores why traditional EMRs often get in the way of care—and how AI can help remove friction so clinicians can focus on patients, not paperwork.

Together, Boaz and Alex unpack how AI is being applied today to reduce clinician burnout, automate documentation, improve quality assurance, and deliver the right data at the right time. Alex also explains why “augmented intelligence,” not full automation, is the future of healthcare—and why humans will always remain at the center of care delivery.

The episode closes with a thoughtful discussion on AI adoption, clinician trust, and why involving end users directly in building AI workflows is essential for success.

This episode is a must-listen for healthcare leaders, technologists, and operators who want to understand how AI can drive real-world outcomes—not just efficiency metrics.

Key Themes & Takeaways

• Why population health required building a custom EMR from scratch

• The hidden cost of documentation and clinician burnout

• How AI can get “the system out of the way” of patient care

• Using AI for chart summarization, note generation, and QA audits

• Overcoming fear and resistance to AI in regulated environments

• Why adoption—not technology—is the real challenge

• The future of healthcare as augmented intelligence

Chapters

• [00:00] Welcome & Live from Dreamforce

• [01:30] Alex Waddell’s Journey: From Admin to CIO

• [03:39] Building a Custom EMR for Population Health

• [05:45] Data, Interoperability, and MuleSoft

• [06:45] Reducing Clinician Burnout with AI

• [08:24] Voice, Automation, and the Future of Admin Work

• [09:30] Using AI for Quality Assurance at Scale

• [10:49] AI’s Real Impact on Patient Outcomes

• [12:20] “Augmented Intelligence” and the Future of Work

• [14:00] Adoption, Trust, and Bringing Clinicians Along

• [16:00] Learning More & Closing Thoughts

Episode Quote

“An EMR doesn’t change lives. The human interaction does. AI’s job is to get out of the way so clinicians can actually care.”

Connect with the Guests

Alex WaddellChief Information Officer, Adobe Population HealthWebsite: https://www.adobepophealth.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-waddell-066bb914a/

Boaz AshkenazyHost, Shift AI PodcastLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/boazashkenazy/Email: info@shiftai.fm