The Beat

In this episode of AI @ HLTH on The Beat, Sandy Vance speaks with Dr. Benjamin Nguyen from Transcarent about the innovative Wayfinding platform, which integrates AI to enhance healthcare navigation for employees. They discuss the challenges of healthcare engagement, the importance of personalized experiences, and the role of AI and LLMs in transforming healthcare delivery. Dr. Nguyen emphasizes the need for privacy and security in healthcare AI solutions and shares insights on the future of AI in the industry.In this Episode they discuss:Employees deserve benefits that empower them with guidance.Transcarent aims to simplify healthcare navigation.Wayfinding connects various healthcare solutions in one platform.Healthcare complexity leads to disengagement among employees.AI can provide personalized healthcare experiences.LLMs enhance engagement by tailoring responses to individuals.Privacy and security are paramount in healthcare AI.Transcarent does not train LLMs on customer data.The future of healthcare will see more subtle AI integration.Investing in innovative solutions is key for employers.A little about Dr. Benjamin Nguyen: Dr. Benjamin (Ben) Nguyen, M.D. is a healthcare and AI product leader. At Transcarent, Dr. Nguyen currently leads the Transcarent AI team which is tasked with expanding Transcarent’s suite of AI products while maintaining the highest standards for patient safety. Throughout his career, Dr. Nguyen has led multiple teams building AI products ranging from hospital AI deployment platforms, radiology AI safety applications, chatbots for patients, and AI tools for clinicians. Dr. Nguyen is known as an expert on AI in healthcare, and was recently called to testify before Congress on the subject, educating lawmakers and the public about the potential and safety risks of AI. He is also a guest lecturer at the University of Southern California, where he teaches about AI fundamentals and safety in healthcare. Dr. Nguyen received his Doctor of Medicine degree at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, as well as graduate specialization certificates from the Marshall School of Business and the Viterbi School of Engineering. He is a Bay Area native and lives in San Francisco, California.

About Paul Markovich:Paul Markovich is the president and CEO of Blue Shield of California, a nonprofit health plan generating $24 billion in annual revenue and serving 4.8 million members across various markets in California. With over 25 years of experience at Blue Shield, Paul has driven numerous innovative initiatives, including funding a statewide provider directory, supporting the development of a statewide health information network for holistic patient care, and partnering with the California Medical Association to pilot new care delivery models. His leadership focuses on reimagining healthcare by leveraging technology and creating a system that is both affordable and high-quality.Previously, Paul served as the chief operating officer, overseeing crucial areas such as healthcare services, network management, marketing, and customer operations. He has a history of introducing groundbreaking products and services, including the first California Health Maintenance Organization to allow self-referrals to specialists and online access to member benefits. Paul serves on the boards of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and America’s Health Insurance Plans. A North Dakota native and Rhodes Scholar, he holds a master's degree in philosophy, politics, and economics from Oxford University and a Bachelor of Arts in International Political Economy from Colorado College, where he also played Division I hockey.Things You’ll Learn:Blue Shield of California's collaboration with Salesforce aims to digitize the prior authorization process, making it as seamless as credit card transactions and eliminating the need for outdated fax machines.Rather than making incremental improvements, Blue Shield focuses on creating a new, functional healthcare system with comprehensive digital health records.Successful healthcare innovation requires strong collaborations, as exemplified by the partnership with Salesforce for real-time data integration.Paul emphasizes the importance of learning from failures and aligning with skilled partners to drive meaningful innovations.Blue Shield's nonprofit mission centers on providing affordable, stress-free healthcare access and improving patient care through advanced digital solutions.Resources:Connect with and follow Paul Markovich on LinkedIn.Follow Blue Shield of California on LinkedIn and visit their website

In this episode, host Sandy Vance talks with Bill Miller, CEO of WellSky, about the evolving role of analytics in healthcare and its impact on patient care. Bill emphasizes that the healthcare industry must invest in AI solutions to tackle pressing challenges, such as the home-based care staffing crisis, reducing clinician "pajama time," ensuring smoother transitions from hospital to post-acute care and streamlining workflows within existing electronic health record systems. These advancements will enable clinicians to focus on what truly matters—providing human-centered care. Bill also discusses WellSky's collaboration with Google to develop AI tools designed to support, not replace, clinicians.In this episode, they talk about:What WellSky does for the healthcare industry, specifically in direct careHow WellSky helps clinicians deliver optimal patient careWellSky's balanced approach to AI in healthcareThe importance of proactive versus reactive strategiesSupporting clients in and out of hospital settingsAccelerating the referral process with AI solutionsThe rationale behind WellSky’s partnership with GoogleThe future of WellSky and AI in healthcareA Little About Bill:Bill Miller is the CEO of WellSky and a recognized leader in the healthcare industry. He has a rich background including more than 25 years of groundbreaking growth strategies and technological innovation in the healthcare marketplace and a proven track record of launching and leading highly successful healthcare IT companies. Under Bill’s leadership, WellSky has become one of America’s largest and most innovative healthcare technology companies, serving more than 20,000 clients across acute, post-acute, and community care. He has overseen the strategic acquisition of more than 14 companies to the WellSky portfolio, helped establish the WellSky Foundation, and guided the company into new marketplaces with innovative technology and services shaping the industry. Before joining WellSky in 2017, Bill served as the CEO of OptumInsight, a division of Optum, which is the health services platform of UnitedHealth Group. Under Bill’s direction, OptumInsight experienced unprecedented revenue growth, expanded margins, and claimed a transformative position in the health services market. He led the evolution of Optum into the leader in healthcare analytics and launched several tech-enabled business platforms. Before OptumInsight, Bill served as senior vice president of technologies at Cerner Corporation, where he had global responsibility for the company’s managed services, outsourcing, and technology services business units. Bill currently sits on the board of directors for Lyric and Lifestance, both in the healthcare sector and the WellSky Foundation. A graduate of the University of Kansas, Bill earned his bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s degree in urban planning and public policy. He enjoys spending time with his three children Ellie, 24, Belle, 21, and Matthew, 20.

Host Sandy Vance is behind the mic in this episode with Chris Chang, CEO and Co-Founder at GradientAI. Have any questions for Chris? Reach out via email or check out their website.They explore why GradientAI focuses specifically on the healthcare industry and how its innovative solutions are enhancing patient care and operational efficiency. They also address common concerns surrounding AI adoption and share exciting use cases and future developments. Listen in as Sandy and Chris navigate the intersection of GradientAI and AI in healthcare, revealing the potential to reshape the future of medicine.GradientAI enables enterprises to automate their complex data workflows using its AI-powered data-reasoning platform. They work with many integrated care providers and health tech companies to power processes across the organization, from medical note auditing to the improvement of care to patients, benefit management, claims processing, and data reconciliation. Enterprise AI automation in healthcare, powered by Nightingale - a domain-specific model designed specifically for healthcare.In this episode, they talk about:Why GradientAI Focuses on Healthcare and the Benefits of AI in HealthcareHow GradientAI Helps the Healthcare IndustryPros and Cons of Workflow Tools That Limit Information in HealthcareThe Transformative Technology of AI in the Healthcare IndustryUse Cases, Trials, and Development of AI in HealthcareAddressing Concerns of Those Wary About AI in HealthcareThe Future of GradientAI and AI in HealthcareA Little About Chris:Chris is the Co-Founder and CEO at Gradient, who most recently led Studio AI at Netflix and was an architect of early domain expert LLMs for content production and intelligence. Prior to joining Netflix, Chris held a variety of leadership roles at Pinterest, Opendoor, and Meta. Chris started his career in finance and holds a dual bachelor's degree in computer science and business and a master's degree in computer science from UPenn.

 In this conversation, Sandy Vance speaks with Pratap Khedkar, CEO of ZS, about the pressing issues in healthcare, particularly the scarcity of providers and the potential of AI to create healthcare abundance. They discuss the gaps in the current healthcare system, the global provider shortage, and the role of AI in addressing these challenges. Khedkar emphasizes the importance of trust in AI, the need for regulatory frameworks, and shares real-world use cases of AI improving patient care and clinical trials. The conversation concludes with a look ahead to ZS's vision for the future of healthcare and the integration of AI.In This Episode, they talk about : ZS aims to improve life through healthcare innovation.Healthcare gaps are widening, leading to patient dissatisfaction.AI can help bridge the gap between data and human capability.The US faces a significant shortage of healthcare providers.Trust in AI is a major barrier to its adoption in healthcare.AI can predict patient drop-off rates for medications.Regulatory frameworks are needed for AI in healthcare.Collaboration between public and private sectors is essential for AI standards.AI tools can enhance the patient experience and reduce burnout.The future of healthcare will involve a synergy between humans and AI.A little about Pratap:Pratap was elected CEO of ZS in July 2021. Prior to this, he led the firm’s global pharmaceuticals practice for nine years, as well as a practice focused on the dynamics of healthcare ecosystems. He founded and led its advanced data science capability track, which focuses on AI.

In order to deep dive into these topics, Sandy chats with Tariq Khan from Reteta about the new possibilities for AI in improving care visibility and advancing diagnostics and therapeutics. Tariq talks about AI for clinical documentation and revenue management, AI in wearable sensors/digital biomarkers and digital therapeutics design (including validation studies), pharmacovigilance automation, and ai-driven EHR and real-world health data processing.In this episode, they talk about:Reteta is an AI platform and app that integrates with EHR and automates patient charting and notesCare delivery processes and back office processesIn what ways can AI enhance patient outcomes while simultaneously lowering costsExamples of AI applications that have successfully improved care visibilityAI is pushing the boundaries of diagnostics and therapeutics in both healthcare and life sciencesThe role of AI will evolve in the next 5 years within these fieldsExamples of AI applications that have successfully improved care visibility and patient managementHow AI is pushing the boundaries of diagnostics and therapeutics in healthcare and life sciencesThe significant contributions of AI to advancing health equity in diverse populationsPredictions on how AI will evolve over the next five years in healthcare and life sciences.Case studies where AI has significantly transformed specific aspects of healthcare and life sciencesA Little About Tariq:Tariq Khan is an enterprise strategist for AI transformation working with C-suite clients to realize the re-invention of business using AI. He has cofounded GenAI product startups to lead the transformation of healthcare and life sciences from the front. He serves as the Chief Technology and Chief AI Officer at Reteta.

In this episode, host Sandy Vance is chatting with CTO & Co-Founder Mark Stoehr, and Jack Ryan, Chief Product Officer, both from XSELL, the leader in conversational AI for contact centers. They’re here to discuss their innovative eXpert Language Model (XLM), designed for real-time dialogue. They will explore the key challenges facing the industry, the benefits of AI in enhancing agent efficiency and customer satisfaction, and gain valuable insights into the future of AI in contact centers. Whether you’re a tech enthusiast or a healthcare professional, this conversation promises to shed light on how generative AI is reshaping the landscape. In this episode, they talk about:XSELL’s Journey into the Healthcare SpaceThe Benefits of Generative AI's AdaptabilityFeedback, Reviews, and Use Cases for XSELLThe Role of AI in Contact CentersDelivering High Value to Organizations with Low InvestmentHow Insurance Companies Are Using and Considering Generative AIThe Importance of Respecting Domain ExpertsXSELL’s Vision for the Future of Generative AI in HealthcareA Little About Jack and Mark:Jack Ryan is Chief Product Officer at XSELL. Jack comes to XSELL from a job leading user-facing products at Google Meet, AWS (Amazon Connect), and Qualtrics. As a technical lead, Jack worked across engineering, product, and UX to drive innovation and deliver exceptional user experiences.Mark Stoehr is the CTO and technical Co-Founder of XSELL Technologies. While he was pursuing PhD in Computer Science from University of Chicago, he met co-founder Matt Coughlin and developed the vision of an AI that is trained to replicate great performance by a company's agents. Prior to that, during his PhD program, he had spent some time working on Google Home and consulted for several start-ups.If you want to reach out to XSELL with questions or comments, email their marketing team at marketing@xselltechnologies.com

In this episode, host Sandy Vance chats with Raleigh Murch (the Managing Director of AI for HCLS at NTT DATA) and Dr. John Frownfelter (the Healthcare Industry Consulting Director at NTT DATA).Join Sandy, Raleigh, and John as they explore the evolution and future of NTT DATA in healthcare innovation, highlighting key promising areas for AI integration. The discussion will also cover how organizations can grow and mature in their AI awareness, the importance of establishing robust governance structures, and the ongoing concerns within the healthcare community regarding AI solutions.Raleigh and John also explain how NTT DATA is transforming healthcare and the importance of foundational processes when using GenAI. It will also showcase how we implement various GenAI solutions for our healthcare clients today. Discover more about NTT DATA's and GenAI's impact on Healthcare in this podcast at HLTH 2024. Don't miss this insightful conversation that could shape the future of healthcare!In this episode, they talk about:The Evolution and Future of NTT DATA in Healthcare InnovationKey Promising Areas for AI Integration in HealthcareOrganizational Growth and Maturity in the Era of AI AwarenessEstablishing Governance Structures and Enhancing Data Maturity for HealthcareAddressing Concerns: The Healthcare Community's Hesitation Towards AI SolutionsA Little About Raleigh:Raleigh Murch is a Managing Director for AI supporting NTTDATA’s Healthcare and Life Sciences vertical. Raleigh led the Technology organization for Slalom for the South-Central Region and was a regional SME for GenAI. Before Slalom, Raleigh was a leader within AWS’s Global Specialty Practice for AI/ML with a deep focus on computer vision and edge IoT solutions. His past roles include being a Silicon Valley founder for a maritime engine analytics company, embedded hardware prototype consultant, and a long career in the industry as a product and engineering org leader. Raleigh has been working in emerging technologies for most of his career and works hands-on with company leaders to help define the art of the possible in the industry.A Little About John:John Frownfelter, MD, FACP Healthcare Industry Consulting Director- Lead for Data-Driven Health, NTT DATA. Dr. Frownfelter brings more than 20 years of physician leadership experience to bear on the challenges in healthcare today. His HealthIT leadership roles in the c-suites of large provider organizations including Henry Ford Health, UnityPoint Health, and Trinity Health, are augmented by more recent work in consulting and with healthcare startups. He has a broad range of expertise in organizational care transformation, change management with health IT, strategic planning, and leveraging analytics to empower organizations at all levels. At NTT DATA Dr. Frownfelter is leading several initiatives including digital transformation through virtual care at home and Generative AI for healthcare.   

In this episode, host Sandy Vance chats with Sharmin Nasrullah, the GM of Life Sciences Clinical. In this insightful conversation, they explore how AI and data are revolutionizing the landscape of clinical trials, paving the way for holistic and personalized approaches in the pharmaceutical industry. Tune in to discover the innovations shaping next-generation trials and how organizations are leveraging technology to enhance patient experiences and outcomes.In this episode, they talk about:The birth of Salesforce’s Life Science Cloud platformWhat Salesforce is doing in the clinical trial spaceUnderstanding recruitment processes in clinical trialsHow Salesforce eases the research burdens for sponsors and sitesPatient information transfer from providers to Salesforce Life Science Cloud PlatformThe impact of AI advancements on the clinical trial processSystems replaced by Salesforce’s cloud applicationHow the cloud system matches patients with clinical trialsA Little About Sharmin:Sharmin Nasrullah is the GM of Life Sciences, Clinical at Salesforce. As General Manager, Sharmin leads the overall product strategy and go-to-market strategy for the R&D clinical suite of applications and products on Life Sciences Cloud, leveraging the best of the Salesforce platform and ushering in a new wave of innovations in clinical development.Before Salesforce, Sharmin held several leadership positions across the industry including leading digital health enterprise architecture at AstraZeneca, leading product and sales strategy in clinical data management at Veeva Systems, and leading clinical operations at Stanford University’s academic research organization.Sharmin holds a Master of Science in Bioengineering from Stanford University and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Waterloo.

In this episode of The Beat Podcast, host Sandy Vance sits down with Sam Dorison, Co-Founder and CEO of ReflexAI, to explore the transformative role of AI technology in healthcare. From its origins at the Trevor Project to its groundbreaking applications today, ReflexAI is revolutionizing patient care through advanced AI-driven simulations. Join us as Sam delves into how ReflexAI’s innovative solutions are addressing critical challenges in the healthcare industry, enhancing patient support, and improving training environments. Discover the impact of ReflexAI’s technology and get an insider’s look at how it’s shaping the future of healthcare.ReflexAI helps maximize training and quality assurance platforms using AI in order to help cut costs and increase efficiency. You can email questions and reach out to Sam at contact@reflexai.com. In this episode, they talk about:The evolution of ReflexAI from its inception at the Trevor Project.How ReflexAI leverages AI technology to tackle challenges in the healthcare industry.Creating Healthcare Flight Simulator for front line cliniciansSpecific use cases where ReflexAI’s AI-driven simulations have been particularly impactful in healthcare settings.How ReflexAI’s AI-driven simulations enhance patient support and training across various healthcare environments.An overview of the mechanics behind ReflexAI and its impact on improving patient care.A Little About Sam:Sam Dorison is the Cofounder and Chief Executive Officer at ReflexAI. An expert in artificial intelligence strategy and product deployment, Dorison has been involved with AI-powered products in industries ranging from mental health to cybersecurity to smart cities.Before launching ReflexAI, he served as Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer at The Trevor Project, the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ young people. There, he published five peer-reviewed articles on mental health and oversaw teams including crisis services, training, research, technology, and finance. Dorison previously worked at McKinsey & Company and Harvard Kennedy School. He graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs. He also holds an LL.M. from Cambridge University and a master’s degree from University College London, both as a Marshall Scholar. Beyond ReflexAI, Dorison is heavily involved in causes that support families impacted by cancer. Dorison lives in New York City with his husband.