Episode Overview

Podcast: Becker’s Healthcare Podcast
Guest: Dr. Deepti Pandita, Vice President & Chief Medical Information Officer, UCI Health
Host: Gracelyn Keller
Date: October 7, 2025
Theme: Dr. Pandita discusses current and practical use cases of AI in healthcare, organizational strategies for effective implementation, the importance of governance, and the regulatory landscape influencing the adoption of health IT innovations.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Real-World AI Use Cases in Healthcare

[01:35 – 02:30]

• Current Impact: Dr. Pandita explains that, over the last year, the most impactful AI solutions are primarily administrative tools focused on reducing clinician burden.
  • Examples include:
    • AI-empowered clinical documentation (ambient AI),
    • Tools embedded in the EHR to help draft patient responses,
    • Summarizing notes,
    • Suggesting coding and providing other support to clinicians.
  • Benefits: These tools primarily reduce clinicians’ cognitive load, give them “some time back,” and contribute to improved clinician well-being.

Notable Quote:

“Everything that reduces the cognitive load of the clinician, gives them some time back, improves well-being... Those are the tools that are mostly being deployed at scale today.”
— Dr. Deepti Pandita [02:12]

2. Balancing Innovation with Operational Realities

[02:30 – 04:27]

• Strategic Approach: AI isn’t a “solution in itself”—if workflows or strategies are broken, AI won’t fix them.
  • Effective AI deployment begins with identifying organizational problems that need scalable solutions.
  • The focus is on addressing either universal or significant problems so that the AI implementation is reproducible at the enterprise level.
• Governance:
  • UCI Health maintains a robust AI governance committee involving stakeholders from nursing, medical providers, departmental chairs, ethics, and legal.
  • All potential AI tools undergo a rigorous procurement process, with “checks and balances” before any implementation.

Notable Quote:

“AI is not a solution in itself because if you have broken workflows, broken operational strategies, AI will not fix that... We don’t look at AI as a niche solution. We look at AI as a scalable solution across a problem that we are solving at an enterprise level.”
— Dr. Deepti Pandita [03:03, 03:19]

Memorable Moment:

• Description of UCI Health’s multi-stakeholder engagement for reviewing AI tools and emphasis on governance as a foundation for success.

3. Navigating the Changing Regulatory Landscape

[04:27 – 05:47]

• Complexity of Regulation: The regulatory environment for AI is rapidly evolving and is structurally complex, with both state and federal mandates to manage.
  • As an example, Dr. Pandita cites a recent California law on responsible AI that diverges from federal regulations, creating “a little bit of a conundrum.”
• Organizational Response:
  • UCI Health strives to keep all stakeholders informed and educated about new regulations, ensuring compliance and transparency.

Notable Quote:

“Some of the regulations are not aligned with what the federal regulations are, which creates a little bit of a conundrum. So this is a very confusing space today, for lack of a better word.”
— Dr. Deepti Pandita [05:07]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Everything that reduces the cognitive load of the clinician, gives them some time back, improves well-being... Those are the tools that are mostly being deployed at scale today.”
  — Dr. Deepti Pandita [02:12]
• “AI is not a solution in itself because if you have broken workflows, broken operational strategies, AI will not fix that...”
  — Dr. Deepti Pandita [03:03]
• “We don’t look at AI as a niche solution. We look at AI as a scalable solution across a problem that we are solving at an enterprise level.”
  — Dr. Deepti Pandita [03:19]
• “This is a very confusing space today, for lack of a better word.”
  — Dr. Deepti Pandita [05:07]

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment Description | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------| | 01:35 | Key current AI use cases for clinicians | | 02:51 | Advice on balancing innovation and operational needs | | 03:30 | Governance structures for AI deployment | | 04:44 | The evolving state and federal regulatory landscape |

Takeaways for Healthcare Leaders

• Prioritize AI as a solution to real, scalable organizational challenges—not as a band-aid for broken processes.
• Inclusive governance and multi-stakeholder involvement are critical for successful AI deployments.
• Stay agile and informed regarding fast-evolving regulations at both state and federal levels.

Tone and Style

The conversation is practical, candid, and focused on real-world solutions—reflecting Dr. Pandita’s experience and the everyday challenges facing healthcare leaders as they adopt new technologies in a changing regulatory environment.