Podcast Summary: Becker’s Healthcare Podcast – Dave Newman, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Virtual Care at Sanford Health (December 22, 2025)

Episode Overview

In this episode, assistant editor Giles Bruce interviews Dr. Dave Newman, Chief Medical Officer of Virtual Care at Sanford Health, which is recognized as the nation's largest rural healthcare system. The conversation delves into the intersection of AI and virtual care in healthcare, focusing on responsibility, patient outcomes, provider satisfaction, rural health disparities, agentic AI, governance, and the future of medical education.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. When Is It Irresponsible Not to Use AI in Healthcare?

• Story of Bruce and Type 1 Diabetes: Dr. Newman recounts the life-changing impact of closed-loop, AI-enabled insulin pumps on a challenging patient case, emphasizing how AI outperforms conventional care and shifts the provider’s role.

  • Quote:
    • “All of a sudden, it was like every eight seconds he had an endocrinologist sitting with him that could make decisions based upon how his blood sugars were acting.” – Dr. Dave Newman [02:13]
  • Insight: AI can individualize and automate care to an extent that “partnering with technology” becomes imperative, not optional.
  • Analogy:
    • “I would be really, really skeptical if they were using the abacus to do my taxes right. Like, I want them using Excel. … I’m going to be skeptical if my doctors aren’t using AI if it’s the best available tool.” – Dr. Dave Newman [03:41]

• Expansion to Other Clinical Areas: AI is proving valuable in fields like pathology and chronic kidney disease detection, but clinicians must drive its implementation while ensuring a human-in-the-loop for oversight.

2. Ambient AI Documentation: Why It Succeeds

• Provider Satisfaction: Adoption of ambient documentation solutions has been enthusiastically received.
  • Quote:
    • “I joked about having a riot now—I think I would have a riot if we took away Ambient Experience.” – Dr. Dave Newman [04:50]
  • Data Points:
    • 100% want to keep using it
    • 90% reported greater job satisfaction
    • 95% reported less mental fatigue
  • Anecdote: Pediatric oncologist Sam, notorious for documentation backlog, regained control of his workflow and work-life balance with ambient AI.
    • Quote:
      • “He came up and he gave me a big hug and he said, ‘I can’t believe that I’ve got my life back.’” [05:31]
• Impact on Patient Experience: Patients feel more seen and heard as physicians can focus on them instead of a computer screen.

3. Virtual Care: Reducing the Rural Burden

• Travel Reduction: Virtual care saves rural patients an average of 176 miles per visit.
  • Quote:
    • “It is time off of work, it is meals, it is hotels, it is putting your dog in doggy daycare, it is missing your kids’ gymnastics events. … We’re really bringing the power back to the patients.” – Dr. Dave Newman [07:09]
• Innovative Use Case: Dr. Seth, bone marrow transplant specialist, cut inpatient stay from 5-6 weeks down to 2-3 weeks by leveraging virtual follow-ups.
• Improved Access and Continuity: Virtual platforms enable local clinics and home-based care, crucial for the rural Midwest.

4. Agentic AI: Outreach and Care Gap Closure

• Campaign Outcomes: Agentic AI campaigns improved connect rates for outreach, achieving over 8/10 patient satisfaction and enabling 16% of patients to engage in 20-minute conversations.
  • Quote:
    • “Would I rather talk to an agent to get my colonoscopy scheduled than not get my colonoscopy? Absolutely. That’s the feedback we’ve been getting.” – Dr. Dave Newman [09:35]
• Workforce Impact: AI agents help bridge workforce shortages, reaching thousands more patients for screenings and appointments.

5. AI Governance: Balancing Safety, Trust & Innovation

• Governance Frameworks: Emphasizes cross-disciplinary evaluation: clinical effectiveness, operational fit, cybersecurity, fiscal responsibility, scalability, and real-world outcome measurement.
  • Governance in Practice:
    • “He had never heard of governance. So it’s up to us to communicate the strategy with everybody that has these products. We have to make sure they’re safe and effective, which means that they have to be safe and effective through a doctor’s lens. … But there also has to be an operational lens, cybersecurity…” [10:45]
• Real-Time Monitoring: Developing dashboards to ensure AI performance aligns with the local patient population, not just the data on which it was trained.

6. AI-Enabled Virtual Reality in Medical Education

• Revolutionizing Training: VR allows step-by-step surgical practice, exploration of anatomical layers, and real-time problem-solving.
  • Quote:
    • “The learning is substantially improved. … They can hit a button on their virtual reality goggles and the skin will be removed so they can look at musculature. … They can have the AI prompts have problem solving.” – Dr. Dave Newman [13:01]
• Future Skill Sets: Future clinicians will need to be adept at crafting AI prompts and understanding workflows.
  • Generational Perspective:
    • “My kids now… are amazing at using AI. They’re great at designing their own prompts. Doctors need to get good at prompts to be better at doing medicine.” [13:59]
• Educational Commitment: Sanford Health is developing quick training videos and sandbox environments to help all clinicians—including older ones—adapt to new tools.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On AI responsibility:
  “At some point we have to partner with the technology.” – Dr. Dave Newman [02:58]

• On the impact of ambient AI:
  “100% of the providers that have used this have said they want to keep doing it… 90% have reported greater job satisfaction and 95% have reported less mental fatigue.” [05:41]

• On telehealth in rural America:
  “We’re really bringing the power back to the patients.” [07:16]

• Patient feedback on agentic AI:
  “People want to close their care gaps. … The rate limiting step now is we don’t have the workforce.” [09:41]

• On AI governance:
  “We need to make sure the results are accurate for our patient populations, not just the patient populations the AI ventures were tested on.” [11:38]

• On VR in education:
  “Doctors need to get good at prompts to be better at doing medicine.” [14:05]

Key Timestamps

• 00:34 — Dr. Newman introduces Sanford Health’s mission and scope.
• 01:26 — When it’s irresponsible not to use AI: diabetes care and beyond.
• 04:20 — Provider satisfaction and patient experience with ambient AI documentation.
• 06:59 — The value and outcomes of virtual care in rural regions.
• 09:05 — Agentic AI’s role in closing care gaps.
• 10:27 — Foundations and reality of AI governance at Sanford Health.
• 12:24 — Virtual reality transforming physician education and the evolving clinician skill set.

Overall Takeaways

Dr. Newman presents a compelling, pragmatic vision for how AI, virtual care, and immersive technology are transforming clinical outcomes, provider experience, and the future of rural healthcare. Sanford Health stands at the forefront by investing in workflow-enhancing tools, outreach innovations, and targeted education for clinicians at all stages. The end goal: better outcomes, less clinician burnout, and equitable access for rural communities—all while maintaining patient safety and trust through robust AI governance.