← Becker’s Healthcare Podcast
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- [00:02]
A
This is where healthcare leadership comes together. Becker's 16th annual meeting brings more than 3,500 hospital and health system executives and nearly 800 speakers to Chicago April 13th through the 16th. This year's event includes keynote conversations with Dallas Cowboys legend Troy Aikman and former President George W. Bush. For the agenda and event details, visit Beckershospitalreview.com and click on the Events tab in the upper right, click Looking forward to hosting you in Chicago.
- [00:33]
B
Welcome to the Beckers Podcast. I'm Naomi Diaz, Health IT Reporter here at Beckers Healthcare and today I'm so privileged to be joined by Muhammad Siddiqui, CIO at Reed Health. In this episode we'll talk about the key initiatives Muhammad led over the past year, the results stay delivered and the biggest priorities and headwinds facing health system leaders as they look ahead to 2026. We'll also explore what makes the coming year especially challenging and also where the strongest opportunities for organizational growth lie. Mohammad no stranger to the podcast. Thank you so much for joining us today. Really appreciate it and I just want to start us off of course with just introducing yourself and if you could just tell us a little bit about your organization to get us started.
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C
Of course. It's great to be here. My name is Mohammad Siddiqui as I am the Vice President Chief Information Officer at Reed Health. I joined Reed Health in August of 2022 and a very high level. My role is about making sure that technology supports care, support our caregivers and support our community. We serve. Reed Health is a community based health system located in Richmond, Indiana. We serve the east central Indiana and a part of western Ohio. We serve around eight different counties, six in Indiana and two in Ohio. Our patient population include a very large rural footprint and aging community and many patients who face access and workforce challenges that really give the contest matters right. It directly shapes how we think about technology and set our strategic directions. I have spent over 27 years in healthcare IT working in both in the United States and also in the Middle east including time with Cleveland Clinic in Abu Dhabi. These experience really shaped how I think about the scale, safety and execution at Reed Health and my philosophy is very simple. If technology does not make a nurse shift easier or physician decision more informed, we are building the wrong thing that's our North Star and guiding how we think about what's coming next year.
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B
Mohammad I really love that North Star I think encapsulates with so many health systems are trying to achieve here and I would love to circle in just specifically on your organization and ask you what was the most important initiative you feel like you led in this last year and what did you do and kind of go through the results of that?
- [03:08]
C
Oh, absolutely. It's a great point. I think the most important initiative for me which my team led last year was focus on clinician burned out. Right. We really treated this last year as an operational priority. We saw our clinician carrying heavy load every day. Long hours, endless documentation, less time with the patient. It was like asking them to run marathon while carrying an extra weight. So we focus on taking the weight off from their back. We implemented a bridge ambient AI documentation and our goals was very simple. We want our doctors to be doctors again. We want them to be focused on a patient's not a computer keystroke and reduce the clinician burned out. Right. And that's exactly what we accomplished. The technology wise of course the ambient AI, the technology listen to the patients and provide conversation and drop the clinical notes. And a thing that I loved about it is directly integrated in your ehr. So you don't really have to go in two different places to able to send those notes back to the ehr. What it does and output of course it reduce the clinical work is protect the quality, is maintain the trust. Right. And the results have been significant. Our clinicians have two to three hours a day back on their calendars. Conversation with the patient feel more natural nowadays. Right. And satisfaction has improved. And it comes to the point where we even getting in our Google reviews and ratings patients are mentioning that hey listen my doctors be able to spend more time with us now. I'm glad that Reed is forward thinking organization who's implementing this an amazing technology. So it really, really excite me that the best ROI that I get out of it from 2025 and AI that's ambient AI.
- [05:10]
B
Wow. I mean those results are astonishing to hear. Two to three hours back in their calendar is amazing to hear. I know it's been amazing to see the results of Ambient this year, Mohamed. So I appreciate you sharing those compelling results on how that's working.
- [05:27]
C
Health.
- [05:28]
B
I want to ask too. I know you mentioned, you know, making doctors be doctors again. But looking ahead, what are some other big priorities and headwinds you're kind of focused on in the upcoming year for 2026.
- [05:40]
C
Of course. So as we look forward 2026 our our strategic priority focus on resilience and execution. Right. First, in responsible AI experience we are moving beyond the documentation. We need to think beyond the ambient AI and how can we bring in clinical decision support within that ambient AI. And I know that our vendor is working on this implementation as well. So our focus is there. Our second focus that we are really working nowadays is interoperability. Right. Data needs to move with the patient across setting without friction. So that's something we're focusing on right now. And of course third which is keeping me up at night. The cybersecurity healthcare remain is a prime target. We continue to invest in protection and monitoring and I believe I would add the fourth one there. Probably the virtual care gonna go more expand the role and probably be the hospital at home and especially in a rural community where in some of our patient has to drive maybe hour and a half to see a cardiologist and oncologist for infusion. So maybe that's. Those are some of the things that we will be focusing in 2026. We also face evolving AI regulation changes and something just come out just this week and of course the workforce constraint in a specialized role. So these are some of the things we're going to be focused on there as well. But technology adoption is the key. I mean technology change in people change as well. So we're focusing on those. Some of those things that we're working at rehab.
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B
Amazing examples there. I really love to how you mentioned data needs to move with the patient without friction and just a hyper focus there. I think such an amazing work. And call out on your end there Mohamed. I want to ask to just continuing on that feed of maybe some headwinds. What do you feel like in your seat is the hardest thing you'll have to do in 2026 as we look to this next year?
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C
I think the hardest thing for me would be the maintaining the trust while moving faster with AI. Right. I think the opportunity is significant. We see real potential to improve outcomes, reduce the cost. At the same time healthcare carries responsibilities. Right. One misstep around bias, privacy or clinician trust can slow progress for years. And we don't want to do that. Right. There is no established playbook. We are building one as we go. That means balancing speed with governance, helping providers feel supported and keeping equity front center. It also means building understanding across the whole organization right from the front lines to the executive team. But in the same time I think the leadership matters. Right. Knowing when to move, knowing when to pass and knowing when to stop. And these are very, very critical.
- [08:39]
B
Yeah, yeah. I've had a lot of conversations with CIOs this this past year and just saying hey, how do we kind of educate everyone from those and those taking patients in the ED to our clinicians on AI. I think such a smart move there again Mohamed, to hit on. I want to round us out today with today's conversation. We covered a lot from what you're planning to execute in 2022 as well as those headwinds. But where do you see the best opportunities for organizational growth in this next year for Reed Health?
- [09:09]
C
Absolutely, Laura. So I think I see three main opportunity areas. First in operational performance, artificial intelligence applied to staffing, revenue cycle, of course in operational efficiency, help us work smarter and redirect resources back to the patient care. So that would be the first one. The second one is a virtual care. We have an opportunity to build durable virtual care pathways. The chronic care and prevention, closing the care gaps. This expand access for the rural health and reduce pressure on physicians or the physical facilities. I mean we should be get out from the brick and mortar model, right? And I believe as I said to you, third is the data. I mean health systems sit on enormous amount of information with strong governance and analytics. We move from reactive care to the proactive care. And these are not IT projects to be honest. These are enterprise projects. I believe by 2026 AI become part of daily operations, budgeting, risk management, workforce planning. I think all will come in there as well. Many health system already run more AI than they realize they're running AI. The next fix require I think discipline, clear ownership and I believe the clear outcome and clear stop decision where to stop. I think this is going to be very, very critical.
- [10:37]
B
Yeah, all great points there Mohamed. And I love, like I said, that sentiment of proactive care to reactive care. Excited to continue to see that those initiatives become concrete in 2026. That's all of my questions I had for you today, Mohamed. And for the Becker's Healthcare podcast. Just want to extend a huge thank you to you for always hearing your perspective, your leadership priorities and just how you're navigating challenges as healthcare continues to change. And thank you all for listening today. We'll see you next time on the Beckers Healthcare Podcast.
- [11:06]
C
Thank you, thank you.