Podcast Summary

Becker’s Healthcare Podcast:

Episode: Driving Pediatric Innovation with AI and Digital Therapeutics at Children’s Nebraska
Date: February 8, 2026
Host: Chris Sosa
Guest: Ryan Cameron, Chief Information and Innovation Officer (CIIO), Children’s Nebraska

Episode Overview

This episode explores how Children’s Nebraska is leading pediatric healthcare innovation through artificial intelligence (AI), digital therapeutics, and technology-driven solutions—especially focusing on equitable access, behavioral health, and the rapid integration of cutting-edge tools like virtual reality (VR). Ryan Cameron shares firsthand experiences advancing the organization’s mission to serve children across Nebraska and the broader region, highlighting the importance of innovation, collaboration, and people-centric care.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. About Children’s Nebraska and CIIO Role

• Dual CIO + Innovation Role:
  • Ryan Cameron oversees all IT functions plus a dedicated innovation center—the Mammal Innovation Center (10,000 square feet, opened just over a year ago) ([00:38]).
• Growth & Expansion:
  • Only private, freestanding children’s hospital in Nebraska (230+ beds, with a new 40-bed Behavioral Health and Wellness Center opening January 7).
  • Offers over 50 specialties and robust primary care ([00:38]).

2. Most Important Initiative of the Past Year: "Hey Medicaid"

• What is "Hey Medicaid"?
  • An AI-driven, agentic application/platform to simplify Medicaid certification/recertification for families ([03:46]).
  • First of its kind, offering 17 languages with real-time translation, fully voice-enabled, and designed for intuitive use by young families.
• Purpose & Impact:
  • Eases access to healthcare by removing administrative friction, allowing focus on care ([03:46]).
• Quote:
  • “Helping really ease the complexity of that process is important for us; when we can shift the conversation about access and make it about care—that really is impactful for parents, for families, and of course for the kids that we support.” – Ryan Cameron [03:46]
• Consumer-Tech Inspiration:
  • "Whatever I want to listen to...I just speak into the air...With Hey Medicaid, that's really our starting vision point." – Ryan Cameron [05:08]

3. 2026 Priorities & Headwinds

a. Accelerating Digital Therapeutics

• VR in Behavioral Health:
  • Supported by a major grant from the James M. Cox Foundation, Children’s Nebraska integrates virtual reality as an essential tool in behavioral health and therapy ([07:04]).
  • Collaborates with other hospitals to co-develop and share digital content—creating an innovation ecosystem rather than siloed solutions.
• Quote:
  • “Virtual reality can be an incredible and helpful tool...because the platform is digital, and we live in this iTunes-esque environment where you can share resources very easily with other hospitals.” – Ryan Cameron [07:04]

b. AI-Powered Rapid Content Creation

• AI enables clinicians to build custom simulations and rich media instantly—potentially even tailoring therapy content to each patient ([09:42]).
• Memorable moment:
  • “We are living in a future, and I mean an immediate future, not a five-year horizon, I mean within months, where everybody is a developer and you can utilize prompt-based AI technology...to generate rich media content.” – Ryan Cameron [09:42]
• Acknowledges both promise and risk: rapid innovation must be balanced with robust safeguards to ensure security and safety ([12:04]).

4. Challenges in Pediatric Care Delivery

• Staffing Crisis:
  • Shortage of specialists and nurses cannot be resolved solely by recruitment ([13:29]).
• Rural Health Access:
  • Commitment to delivering equivalent care to rural and metropolitan children, despite provider shortages and pediatric unit closures:
    • “The kiddos that we serve that are in our metro areas should get high quality [care] and so should everybody that lives in ag and farming communities as well, they should be equal.” – Ryan Cameron [13:29]
• Financial Viability:
  • “No margin, no mission”—the need for fiscal stewardship amid uncertainties ([13:29]).
• Internal Focus:
  • “Children’s Nebraska has a program, it’s our people first promise. Sometimes that investment means let’s find a way to upscale, let’s find a way to understand automation and AI a little better.” – Ryan Cameron [13:29]

5. Growth Opportunities and Vision

• Beyond Building Hospitals:
  • Emphasis on meeting families where they are—leveraging telehealth and virtual care to address long travel times for rural patients ([16:16]).
• Broader Technology Horizon:
  • “Most people, their horizon is way too low. You have to be leaning into what is work going to look like, what is life going to look like...at the end of 2026 but also in the next three to five years...it’ll be profoundly different for everybody…” – Ryan Cameron [16:16]
• Automation and Workflow Optimization:
  • Aim to reduce administrative burden via technology so clinicians can focus fully on patient care ([16:16]).

Notable Quotes

• "I've been with the organization just over four years and...I'm continuously learning and just to be a part of an organization that's very growth oriented and focused, really getting out there and meeting our patients where they're at and pushing kind of pediatric healthcare as a whole, it's just been super exciting." – Ryan Cameron [02:31]
• "We want to do our best not only as an organization serving our region and our state, but to be highly collaborative with other children's hospitals and to really build an innovation ecosystem where all children can really benefit." – Ryan Cameron [07:04]
• “It is a very plausible reality. It's crazy that the cost of entry to be innovative right now is next to zero. And to invite all of your providers and your ops people and all these great skilled people that work in a hospital to be a part of that development process is a total game changer.” – Ryan Cameron [12:04]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:38] – CIIO Role and Mammal Innovation Center
• [03:46] – Launching "Hey Medicaid" platform
• [05:08] – Inspiration from consumer tech for healthcare access
• [07:04] – Digital therapeutics, VR, and collaboration
• [09:42] – AI-driven customization and rapid development
• [12:04] – Balancing innovation with patient safety and security
• [13:29] – Challenges: workforce, rural care, people-first strategy
• [16:16] – Growth: telehealth, automation, vision for future care

Concluding Thoughts

Ryan Cameron paints an agile, hopeful picture of pediatric care, focused on bold innovation and collaboration—while maintaining critical awareness of the industry’s staffing and access challenges. Children’s Nebraska stands as a case study in moving beyond the hospital walls, embracing rapid-cycle tech development, and staying people-first even as AI and digital therapeutics reshape pediatric care.