Summary4 min read

Podcast Summary: Becker’s Healthcare Podcast

Guest: Charlette Stallworth, MBA, Vice President of Business Development and Innovation at Stanford Medicine Children’s Health
Host: Scott King
Date: September 28, 2025
Episode Theme:
Exploring the intersection of digital innovation, artificial intelligence (AI), and operational realities in pediatric healthcare, with leadership insights on governance, legislative impacts, and the path forward for technology-driven care.

Main Theme & Purpose

This episode centers around how Stanford Medicine Children’s Health, led in part by Charlette Stallworth, is leveraging AI and other digital innovations to improve clinical workflows, patient engagement, and operational efficiency—all while navigating regulatory environments. Charlette also shares career insights and advice for healthcare leaders intent on harmonizing innovation with foundational values.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Charlette Stallworth’s Professional Journey

[01:11 – 03:13]

Diverse career: U.S. Army officer, transitioned into commercial banking, then healthcare capital finance, research, and now business development.
Her current mission: Structuring and growing partnerships with varied entities (healthcare systems, schools, startups, tech companies) to advance healthcare delivery through innovation.

“Each one of those roles has prepared me for my current position...where one of my key responsibilities is developing, structuring, [and] growing partnerships with entities that help advance our mission.”
— Charlette Stallworth [01:23]

Transition into Healthcare

[02:08 – 03:13]

Cites the role of mission-driven opportunities and the unique appeal of seeing innovation, business, and analysis converge.
Experience as a consultant turned team member in a healthcare system laid the groundwork for her passion for healthcare development.

AI Adoption & Use Cases in Pediatric Healthcare

[03:13 – 05:01]

Over half of medical practices leveraging AI in some form.
Key AI applications at Stanford:
- Ambient listening technology: Automatically transcribes clinical conversations for physician review.
- AI-enhanced scheduling: Reduces missed appointments.
- Agentic AI: Used for access, HR, quality/safety, revenue cycle, and digital systems—handling routine tasks with high accuracy and freeing staff for more complex work.
“Agentic AI can complete routine tasks with high levels of accuracy and really allowing the human team members to focus on more complex tasks.”
— Charlette Stallworth [04:22]

AI Learning Curve and Human Oversight

[05:01 – 06:06]

AI’s role will gradually evolve from supporting routine automation to handling complex decisions—still with a “human in the loop.”
The goal is for AI and humans to co-evolve, with increasing autonomy given to AI as its accuracy and sophistication grow.

“Some of that incremental advancement is inevitable... it's just the function of AI and our human nature, right? To continue to push for something more.”
— Charlette Stallworth [05:49]

Leadership, Governance, and Balancing Innovation

[06:06 – 07:40]

Advice to leaders: Stay patient-focused. Incorporate patient feedback into digital health solutions.
Governance is foundational:
- Establish strong, clear protocols—especially around data and ethical compliance.
- Charlette chairs the organization’s AI Oversight Committee to ensure responsible adoption.
“It’s really about harmonizing that kind of cutting edge technology with our foundational values and operational realities.”
— Charlette Stallworth [06:41]

Legislative Impact on Healthcare IT

[07:40 – 08:37]

Continuous monitoring and proactive relationship building with policymakers.
Advocacy for continued telehealth flexibilities beyond 2026.
As a Silicon Valley-based system, Stanford Children’s is eager to pilot new, secure, patient-centered digital health technologies.

Advice for Leaders Facing Technological Advancements

[08:37 – 09:27]

Emphasizes curiosity, bravery, ethical integrity, and patient focus.
Encourages leaders to keep an eye on the future and dream big about technological innovation (referencing “tricorders” and “universal translators” from science fiction).

“We have to continue to be curious and brave and ethical and always patient focused… as we acquire and partner in technologies that support our shared mission.”
— Charlette Stallworth [08:47]

Leadership Evolution

[09:27 – 10:04]

Charlette shares a personal reflection: She’s always learning from her experiences and others’, guided by curiosity and a commitment to doing what’s right.

“I’m always driven by doing the right thing and I think that’s kind of my guiding light in leadership.”
— Charlette Stallworth [09:56]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On career path:

“Like a lot of consultants, bankers, attorneys…hired by a client, but really love our mission.”
— Charlette Stallworth [02:42]
On AI in healthcare:

“At Stanford Medicine Children's Health, in our clinical space, our providers have access to ambient listening technologies that can create clinical notes for review and update by the physicians.”
— Charlette Stallworth [03:47]
On balancing innovation with operational constraints:

“Remain patient-focused and patient centric…Another key thing...is really developing that robust governance framework.”
— Charlette Stallworth [06:31, 06:54]
On future tech inspiration:

“Technologies that we have seen in movies and read about in books...could advance to the next tricorder or universal translators, which will benefit health for all our local and global communities.”
— Charlette Stallworth [09:10]

Timestamps for Important Segments

01:11 — Charlette’s career background
03:13 — How AI is used at Stanford Medicine Children’s Health
05:01 — Moving toward more complex AI use cases
06:29 — Advice for balancing innovation with operations
07:40 — Legislative changes shaping healthcare IT
08:46 — Top advice for healthcare leaders
09:32 — Charlette on leadership evolution

Final Takeaways

Charlette Stallworth underscores that healthcare innovation should always be tethered to ethical governance and patient-centered values. She highlights pragmatic AI applications already in use, points to the necessity of robust oversight as technology evolves, and encourages leaders to maintain curiosity and courage as healthcare enters an ever-more digital future. Her personal approach is holistic—rooted in experience, guided by values, and always looking toward what’s possible.

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Transcript22 lines

[00:02]
A
@ Athenahealth, we know your ambulatory practice wants healthier a healthier business, healthier care teams and healthier patients. But the complexities of modern healthcare tech make it hard for you and your care teams to focus on what matters most. That's where athenahealth can help our AI native all in one solutions reduce administrative burdens, streamline billing and payments, and deliver critical insights when clinicians need it most. That means fewer clicks, more time for patients, and stronger bottom Practicing medicine is complex, but running a practice can be that much simpler. With Athenahealth, see how simpler is healthier at athenahealth.com.
[00:44]
B
Hello everyone, this is Scott King with the Becker's Healthcare Podcast. I'm thrilled today to be joined by Charlette Stallworth, Vice President, Business Development and Innovation, Stanford Medicine Children's Health. Charlette, how are you doing today?
[00:57]
C
Hi, I'm well, Scott. How are you?
[00:59]
B
I'm great. Thanks so much for joining us. I know we're going to kind of dive into some of the big issues facing healthcare today. Before we get started, I just kind of want to ask you a little bit about your background and your work in healthcare. If you don't mind sharing.
[01:12]
C
I am happy to share. So my professional background includes serving as an officer in the United States army and then after graduate school I was a commercial banker and then entered healthcare in capital finance, then research, and now finally business development. And I'll say each one of those roles has prepared me for my current position at Stanford Medicine Children's Health, where one of my key responsibilities is developing structuring, growing partnerships with entities that help advance our mission. And so those are relationships with health care systems, hospitals, community physicians, counties, school districts, tech companies and startups. And really thinking about how we use innovation to enhance and build those solutions that improve healthcare for our patients and our communities.
[02:08]
B
Well, thank you for sharing that background information and thank you even more for your service. We appreciate that. And I just curious to follow that up. What made you want to get into healthcare after being in the military?
[02:19]
C
Yeah, so like everyone, it's, it's like a journey, right? And there are different choices that come up. So really I left the the army and went to graduate school at Baylor, got my MBA and became a banker first at JP Morgan and then at BBVA Compass. And then one of my clients as a banker was a healthcare system, Scott and White in, in Texas and ended up joining them. They made an offer for me to join in capital finance and managing their debt, leasing bonds, that part of the business. So like a lot of consultants, bankers, attorneys, you know, hired by a client, but really love our mission and really aligned with the kind of the innovation, the business and the analysis all coming together in business development is, you know, really appealing to me.
[03:13]
B
That's a really interesting trajectory there for your career. You know, something I want to ask you about is our research has told us that nearly half of medical practices reported using AI in some capacity last year, and it remains a key topic for health IT leaders. From your perspective, what are the use cases that are making a difference right now and how are you leveraging them in your organization?
[03:38]
C
Yeah, I really appreciate this question. AI is very intriguing and I would say the use cases create efficient efficiencies in workflows that are compelling for all industries and particularly healthcare, as we've been kind of poised for innovation for a few years now. You know, at Stanford Medicine Children's Health, in our clinical space, our providers have access to ambient listening technologies that can create clinical notes for review and update by the physicians. Additionally, we are developing AI solutions to improve efficiencies in scheduling and decrease the number of missed appointments. We're also looking into agentic AI solutions focused on access, human resources, quality and safety, revenue cycle and digital information systems. As you know, agentic AI can complete routine tasks with high levels of accuracy and really allowing the human team members to focus on more complex tasks. And you know, some of those routine tasks really kind of go across departments like troubleshooting or problem solving and then like for revenue cycle, billing, questions and payment processing. So we're super excited about AI, agentic AI and all of the ways it can enhance our mission and the work we do at Stanford Children's with the.
[05:02]
B
Different types AI you were just mentioning, what do you think it will take to kind of bridge the gap from using AI in health systems from the routine tasks you just mentioned into kind of the more complex ones?
[05:13]
C
I think really, you know, the, the advancements we're seeing, you know, there are those kind of incremental advancements. So as we're using agentic AI for those routine tasks and it the AI continues to learn and you know, typically we're looking at a human in the loop for certain more complex tasks. So I think as the AI continues to learn and their uses and tests to determine if it can handle that next level, maybe with the human taking another action versus, you know, stopping everything for the human to make a decision, maybe the AI makes the decision and consults the human or there'll be another way to look at it. But I think Some of that incremental advancement is inevitable. Right. It's just the function of AI and our human nature. Right. To continue to push for something more.
[06:07]
B
Absolutely. And I think it sounds like a lot of health systems are going to try to keep humans involved in the process, obviously, as long as possible. Getting to the next question, I want to ask what advice you have for leaders navigating everything from governance to patient engagement, and can you share an example of how your organization has balanced innovation with operational constraints?
[06:29]
C
Sure. So advice I would say, you know, at Stanford Children's, we definitely are embracing digital innovation and it's really about harmonizing that kind of cutting edge technology technology with our foundational values and operational realities. And I would just say some of the advice I would give is just remain patient focused and patient centric. So we want to prioritize the patient experience and engagement. We want to use patient feedback to tailor digital health solutions and make them as intuitive and as beneficial as possible. And I think another key thing, and maybe even before you get started, is really developing that robust governance framework. So you want to implement clear governance structure to guide the technology adoption and set clear policies, especially on establishing data governance protocols and ensuring compliance with legal and ethical standards. I am chair of our AI Oversight committee and this is work we're doing to understand AI solutions that we've already integrated into the organization and then new solutions that we're considering.
[07:41]
B
How are you seeing recent legislation, both at the state and federal level, affect healthcare organizations and healthcare IT specifically? Have you adjusted strategies in response to that?
[07:52]
C
Yeah. Stanford Children regularly monitors federal and state legislation that impacts our families and patients and health system. And we proactively build relationships with our federal and state policymakers in order to educate them on children's hospital issues. So we really hope that federal flexibilities regarding telehealth services continue into 2026 and beyond. And considering that we are a healthcare system headquartered in Silicon Valley, we are really excited about digital health innovation and piloting new technologies with a focus on providing efficient, secure, patient centered healthcare.
[08:37]
B
If you had to give one top piece of advice for healthcare leaders as they prepare for further advancements in technology and rising demands for care, what would it be?
[08:46]
C
I would say we have to continue to be curious and brave and ethical and always patient focused as we acquire and partner in technologies that support our shared mission to provide high quality health care to children and families. And then of course, I'm always motivated by, you know, technologies that we have seen in movies and read about in books. So I think we have to remember that our use of, say, AI and virtual reality and wearables and other technologies could advance to the next tricorder or universal translators, which will benefit, you know, health for all our local and global communities.
[09:28]
B
And my last question for you, Charlotte, how are you evolving as a leader?
[09:32]
C
How am I evolving? That's a great question, Scott. I think I'm evolving very well as a leader. I think we all grow based on our own experiences and experiences of others, right? So always I'm very curious and always learning and really trying to be the best leader I can be and hold true to my values. And, you know, I'm always driven by doing the right thing and I think that's kind of my guiding light in leadership.
[10:04]
B
Appreciate the response and your thoughts there. Thanks so much, Charlette. It was great to have you on the podcast. Hope to work with you again very soon.
[10:11]
C
Thanks so much, Scott.
[10:14]
A
At athenahealth, we know your ambulatory practice wants healthier a healthier business, healthier care teams and healthier patients. But the complexities of modern healthcare tech make it hard for you and your care teams to focus on what matters most. That's where athenahealth can help our AI native all in one solutions reduce administrative burdens, streamline billing and payments, and deliver critical insights when clinicians need it most. That means fewer clicks, more time for patients, and stronger bottom lines. Practicing medicine is complex, but running a practice can be that much simpler with Athenahealth. See how simpler is healthier@athenahealth.com.