Jill McKinney, Chief Nurse Informatics Officer, Novant Health

Summary

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Podcast Episode Summary

Podcast: Becker’s Healthcare Podcast
Guest: Jill McKinney, Chief Nurse Informatics Officer, Novant Health
Host: Gracelyn Keller
Date: November 21, 2025
Event: Recorded at the 10th Annual Health IT, Digital Health, and RCM Meeting

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Main Theme / Purpose

This episode centers around the practical applications of artificial intelligence (AI), digital health technology, and evolving legislation in healthcare, through the lens of Jill McKinney’s experience as Chief Nurse Informatics Officer at Novant Health. Jill discusses successful AI implementations, strategies for balancing innovation with operational realities, navigating legislation, and advice for healthcare leaders amid rapid technological evolution.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Jill McKinney's Background at Novant Health

• Novant Overview: Large nonprofit health system with operations in North Carolina and South Carolina, encompassing 19 hospitals and serving about 5 million patients.
• Jill’s Career Path:
  • "I started out there as a staff nurse and then went into IT about 15 years ago, gradually working myself up to Chief Nursing Informatics Officer." (00:48)

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The Real Impact of AI in Healthcare

• AI Adoption Trends:
  • Nearly half of medical practices used AI in the past year.
  • AI is transitioning from a "buzzword" to tangible improvements in care delivery.
• High-Impact AI Use Cases:
  • Clinical Documentation Support:
    • Ambient listening to support providers.
    • Predictive analytics for identifying at-risk patients (readmission, ED admission, sepsis, etc).
  • At Novant Health:
    • Implementation of ambient listening for ambulatory clinic providers.
    • Improved physician satisfaction, reduced after-hours work ("pajama time"), and better reimbursement outcomes.
      • Notable mention: Dr. Aaron Malikzanian led the ambient listening initiative.
    • "It takes away some of that cognitive burden from the physician in helping with their notes and documentation." (01:59)
• Notable Quote:
  • "AI has really changed from being just a buzzword to actually being used in real patient care scenarios." — Jill McKinney (01:35)

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Balancing Innovation and Operational Realities

• Dual Responsibility:
  • "It's a dual responsibility, continuing to care for the patients while introducing these AI tools that can also assist." (03:25)
• Operational Constraints:
  • High costs, legislative impacts, and technology integration challenges.
• Example - Virtual Monitoring (“Tele Sitter”):
  • Virtual monitoring for patients who require sitters.
  • Allows monitoring more patients with fewer resources, addressing both workforce shortages and patient safety.
  • "Virtual monitoring enables us to monitor more patients with less resources and has been very, very impactful for us." (03:40)
• Agility & Team Mindset:
  • Importance of agile teams that can quickly adapt and find new solutions for patient care.

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Navigating Legislative Changes

• Recent Legislation:
  • Emphasis on interoperability (TEFCA), reimbursement changes for virtual care, and uncertainty due to possible government shutdown.
    • "There's been a lot of federal and state pushes on interoperability. Everyone's been working this year to implement tefca." (04:19)
  • Impact on Medicare reimbursement for virtual care if Congress does not act.
  • Despite the uncertainty, Novant commits to continuing current practices pending further decisions.
• Advocacy:
  • Jill’s participation in North Carolina Healthcare Association's Advocacy Day, meeting directly with legislators from both parties to discuss their healthcare priorities.
    • "I actually was able to visit with some of the state legislators, both Republican and Democrat, and really understand their stance on the healthcare items that are on the agenda for this year." (04:51)

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Advice for Healthcare Leaders

• Strategic Tech Adoption:
  • Leaders should focus on technology that produces "meaningful improvements" rather than simply adopting new tools quickly.
  • Emphasis on reducing clinician burden and improving patient care outcomes.
• Key Quote:
  • "The leaders that will be most successful are not the ones that are implementing the AI solutions the fastest, but the ones that are really implementing those that really drive significant improvements in patient care and reduction of the burden on our clinicians." — Jill McKinney (05:31)

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Memorable Moments & Notable Quotes

• On AI moving beyond hype:
  "AI has really changed from being just a buzzword to actually being used in real patient care scenarios." — Jill McKinney (01:35)

• On ambient listening benefits:
  "It takes away some of that cognitive burden from the physician in helping with their notes and documentation." — Jill McKinney (01:59)

• On balancing innovation with care:
  "Really, the innovation is only going to work when it fits into real care scenarios." — Jill McKinney (03:20)

• On technology and leadership:
  "The leaders that will be most successful are... the ones that are really implementing those [technologies] that really drive significant improvements in patient care and reduction of the burden on our clinicians." — Jill McKinney (05:31)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Jill McKinney’s Background & Novant Health: 00:48 – 01:13
• AI Use Cases & Implementation at Novant: 01:35 – 02:50
• Balancing Innovation & Operations (Tele Sitter example): 03:11 – 04:06
• Legislative Impact & Advocacy: 04:18 – 05:17
• Advice for Leaders: 05:26 – 05:53

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Summary Takeaways

• Practical AI use—especially ambient listening and predictive analytics—is already improving provider satisfaction and operational efficiency at Novant Health.
• Adopting new technology requires balancing operational constraints and aligning with real clinical needs.
• Healthcare leaders should be strategic, focusing on meaningful improvement rather than speed, especially as regulation and reimbursement rapidly evolve.
• Legislative engagement and advocacy are increasingly vital as rules shift around interoperability and virtual care reimbursement.

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Transcript

[A]

Philips is a health tech leader focused on innovation that improves the health and well being of people. Our healthcare technology and informatics solutions help care teams diagnose, treat and manage more patients with greater precision, speed and confidence. Across the care journey with Philips, clinicians are empowered with streamlined insights in the moments that matter for every patient. Better care for more people. Philips.

[B]

This is Gracelyn Keller with the Becker's Healthcare Podcast and we are live at the 10th annual Health IT, Digital Health and RCM meeting. I'm currently joined by Jill McKinney who serves as the Chief Nurse Informatics Officer at Novant Health. So Jill, thanks for being here. Let's start off by having you share a little bit more about yourself and your work in healthcare.

[C]

Sure. So I have actually been with Novant Health for the last 25 years of my career. Novant's a large nonprofit organization In North Carolina, South Carolina. We have 19 hospitals, about 5 million patients. I started out there as a staff nurse and then went into it about 15 years ago, gradually working myself up to Chief Nursing Informatics Officer.

[B]

Wonderful. Well, lovely to have you here and let's start our conversation talking about AI. Obviously that's a hot topic right now everywhere, but specifically in health care. So nearly half of medical practices reported using AI in some capacity in the last year and it remains a key topic for health IT leaders. So from your perspective, what are the use cases that are making a difference right now and how are you leveraging those in your organization?

[C]

Yeah, so I think AI has really changed from being just a buzzword to actually being used in real patient care scenarios. I think the ones that are going to be the highest impact are those that actually improve the workflows that our clinicians are experiencing issues with today. Clinical documentation support such as ambient listening, predictive analytics, measuring patients for those that are risk for readmission, risk for admission from the ed, high risk patients such as sepsis deterioration. At Novant, we have implemented ambient listening for our ambulatory clinic providers and we have seen a significant improvement satisfaction from the physician perspective. I will give a plug in for Dr. Aaron Malikzanian who has led that initiative for Novant and seen improvements in reimbursement for the physicians using ambient listening, some decrease in pajama time and decrease in after hours utilization, but most of it comes in just physician satisfaction because it takes away some of that cognitive burden from the physician in helping with their notes and documentation. Absolutely.

[B]

And going off of that as virtual care does expand from AI enabled tools and remote monitoring to broader digital health platforms, introducing These new technologies can bring challenges. So what advice do 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?

[C]

Yeah, so I think that really there's, there's so much right now legislative impact into what we're doing and there's, you know, there's the cost of the technology and really, from our perspective, it's a dual responsibility, continuing to care for the patients while introducing these AI tools that can also assist. And really, the innovation is only going to work when it fits into real care scenarios. Such as we implemented tele sitter for monitoring patients because we had so many patients that needed the virtual monitoring or they needed a sitter at the bedside. So the virtual monitoring enables us to monitor more patients with less resources and has been very, very impactful for us. So I think that we have to have teams that can be agile and quickly shift and think about new ways to provide care to patients.

[B]

And shifting gears slightly, how are you seeing recent legislation, both at the state and federal levels, affect healthcare organizations and healthcare IT specifically? And have you adjusted strategies in response to this?

[C]

Yeah, so the legislation, you know, there's been a lot of federal and state pushes on interoperability. Everyone's been working this year to implement tefca. There's reimbursement questions out there for virtual care and AI. I will say that right now we have a looming shutdown of our government and that will impact, you know, if a decision is not made that impacts the reimbursement for our virtual monitor, our virtual visits for Medicare patients. Just today, NAVANT actually committed to continue as is until there is a decision around that. I had the opportunity earlier this year to actually participate in a North Carolina Health Care Association Legislature day where I actually was or advocacy day where I actually was able to visit with some of the state legislators, both Republican and Democrat, and really understand their stance on the health care items that are on the agenda for this year.

[B]

And as we wrap up our conversation, I'd love to know your top piece of advice for healthcare leaders as they prepare for further advancements in technology and rising demands for care.

[C]

Sure. I think really the best advice I can give is to adopt the technology that is aligning with meaningful improvements. I think the leaders that will be most successful are not the ones that are implementing the AI solutions the fastest, but the ones that are really implementing those that really drive significant improvements in patient care and reduction of the burden on our clinicians. Absolutely.

[B]

Well, Jill, thank you so much for taking the time to share these insights and thoughts with me today on the Beckers Healthcare Podcast. Again, we are recording live at the 10th annual Health IT Digital Health and RCM meeting. Thank you, thank you.