Becker’s Healthcare Podcast Summary

Guest: Dr. Laren Tan, MD, MBA, Chair of Medicine at Loma Linda University School of Medicine & COO of Loma Linda University Faculty Medical Group
Host: Giles Bruce, Becker's Healthcare
Released: December 29, 2025
Main Focus: Adoption and impact of AI and digital health technologies in clinical practice, leadership, and education

Episode Overview

This episode explores how AI and digital tools are transforming clinical workflows at Loma Linda University Health. Dr. Laren Tan discusses the balance of optimism and caution among clinicians, the real-world effects of AI—particularly ambient documentation—and leadership strategies for driving cultural change across specialties. Star Wars metaphors frame the changing relationship between clinicians and technology, while actionable insights offer a roadmap for AI integration, future medical education, and workforce wellbeing.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

A New Hope: What AI Means in Healthcare

• Star Wars Metaphor: Dr. Tan compares clinicians’ battle against administrative burdens to fighting an empire, and AI as “A New Hope.”

  “There's so much pressure that we're feeling, as if we're fighting an empire, right? ... Only this empire that we're battling has to deal with the clicks, the inboxes, the documentation...” — Dr. Tan [02:30]

• Hope Defined: “A new hope” is not just about easier workflows, but about both “relief and renewal” of clinicians’ purpose [03:15].

AI Tools Restoring Human Connection

• Ambient AI Documentation: Seen as the most impactful, allowing clinicians to focus on patient interaction versus typing.

  “Through utilizing... ambient AI documentation, now our eyes are actually replacing the typing...the eye contact with our patients.” — Dr. Tan [05:15]

• Measurable Outcomes:
  • Reduced after-hours documentation by 10–35%
  • Faster note completion (from hours or days to minutes)
  • Physician-reported increased presence with patients
  • Improved patient experience scores
    [06:00]
• Caveat: Technology is only as effective as its use:

  “Just because you have some new AI technology, it doesn’t necessarily mean it actually relieves everything. It’s how we’re going to end up needing to use it...” [05:50]

Culture Beats Technology—Rolling Out AI

• Surgeons as Mandalorians: Drawing on Star Wars’ Mandalorians, Tan notes the deep-rooted cultural “armor” in some specialties.

  “Our surgeons...are precision-driven. They don’t tolerate inefficiency or loss of control...Culture beats technology every single time.” — Dr. Tan [08:00, 07:57]

• Adaptation Strategies:
  • Recognize sub-cultures (surgeons want proof, primary care wants relief/speed, trainees value fluency/safety)
  • Frame AI as a “silent assistant” tailored to each specialty’s needs
    [09:00–10:00]
• Peer Influence Over Mandate:

  “All it took was just one or two early adopters, one or two different surgeons...So, you know, at least for me...the narrative has truly changed.” — Dr. Tan [12:15]

  • Early adopters can shift group attitudes faster than executive orders

AI Literacy for Future Physicians

• Training Approach:
  • Integrate hands-on AI tools into residency/fellowship to ensure comfort and fluency post-graduation
  • Teach ethical use, bias recognition, synthesizing evidence, and accountable, patient-centered application of AI
    [14:00]

  “It is our responsibility to make sure learners can safely and use this technology in a transparent way...” — Dr. Tan [14:22]

• Skillset for Tomorrow:
  • Ability to explain and justify AI use to patients
  • Accountability for decisions involving AI
    [15:40]

Vision for the Next Five Years

• Measuring Success:
  • Not about fewer clinicians doing more thanks to AI (that’s a failure)
  • Aim: More clinicians practicing at the top of their license, less time on administrative tasks, improved wellbeing, and patient connection
    [16:38–18:55]

  “We’ve talked about this for years, burnout...the burnout curves really should be bending downward if we’re utilizing AI in the right manner.” — Dr. Tan [17:45]

• Ultimate Goal:
  • Clinicians leaving work with energy for their personal lives
  • Medicine regaining its appeal for new entrants
  • Patients feeling genuinely heard and cared for

  “I don’t think AI is the hero of the story. I think our clinicians are going to continue to be the heroes of these stories...” [19:09]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Star Wars “New Hope” parallel:

  “I wasn’t trying to just be cute, I was really being honest. There’s so much pressure that we’re feeling, as if we're fighting an empire.” — Dr. Tan [02:30]

• On ambient AI’s impact:

  “Now you are actually looking at me [the patient], let alone also...some clinicians...are still looking at the computer screen...So just because you have some new AI technology, it doesn't necessarily mean it actually relieves everything.” — Dr. Tan [05:27]

• On cultural resistance:

  “Culture beats technology every single time...Subculture eats culture, even at that. So we have to tailor our adoptions.” — Dr. Tan [08:32]

• On changing provider mindsets:

  “You don’t want to rip [the armor] off...we have to earn that right in order for them to loosen it.” — Dr. Tan [11:30]

• On future physician skills:

  “Tomorrow’s physicians...need to be able to answer these questions on how to explain AI and decisions to their patients, how they're going to be accountable.” — Dr. Tan [15:40]

• On long-term workforce success:

  “I don’t think AI is the hero of the story. I think our clinicians are going to continue to be the heroes...but we need to position ourselves...to make sure we’re using it responsibly for the future of medicine." — Dr. Tan [19:09]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Dr. Tan’s roles and introduction: [01:17]
• Star Wars/A New Hope analogy: [02:30]
• AI’s effect on “bringing clinicians back” to patients: [04:23–06:26]
• Cultural resistance, especially among surgeons: [07:57–10:52]
• Converting early adopters: [11:18–13:36]
• Integrating AI literacy for residents: [13:57–16:17]
• Vision for AI impact in the next five years: [16:38–19:09]

Final Thoughts

Dr. Tan’s candid, metaphor-rich perspective highlights that AI’s promise lies not in replacing clinicians or fast-tracking burnout, but in restoring meaning and connection in medical practice. Responsible deployment, cultural adaptation, real measurement, and education are all themes front and center—and the “new hope” is ultimately for empowered clinicians and satisfied patients, not simply efficiencies for their own sake.