Omkar Kulkarni, VP, Chief Transformation Officer, Children's Hospital Los Angeles

Summary

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Becker’s Healthcare Podcast: Interview with Omkar Kulkarni, VP, Chief Transformation Officer, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

Date: October 31, 2025
Host: Chanel Bunger (Becker’s Healthcare)
Guest: Omkar Kulkarni

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Episode Overview

This episode features Omkar Kulkarni, VP and Chief Transformation Officer at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, discussing the practical realities of healthcare transformation with a focus on artificial intelligence (AI) and technology adoption. The conversation explores current impactful AI use cases, strategies for balancing innovation with operational and financial constraints, the evolving role of patient engagement in digital healthcare, and advice for leaders navigating health IT amidst tightening margins and increasing tech options.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

Omkar Kulkarni’s Role and Philosophy

[00:53]

• Kulkarni introduces his unique role at the crossroads of innovation and transformation.
  • His mission: “How do we look at new ideas, new solutions, new technology and marry them and bridge them with the most pressing problems that my hospital and my health care system is facing so that ideally we can deploy the right solutions to solve the most pressing problems.” (Omkar Kulkarni, 00:53)

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AI Adoption and High-Impact Use Cases

[01:39]

• Kulkarni highlights AI medical scribe technology as a game-changer:

  • AI scribes use ambient listening to capture and document patient-provider interactions.
  • Benefits:
    • Improved accuracy and efficiency in documentation.
    • Physicians spend more time engaging directly with patients and families.
    • Enhances overall patient-provider experience.

  “One of the biggest use cases that’s been beneficial for us has been... artificial intelligence scribe to help improve documentation for physicians and clinicians... so that patients can spend more time looking at and speaking with their doctor.”
  (Omkar Kulkarni, 01:39)

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Balancing Innovation with Operational Constraints

[02:34]

• The landscape of virtual care is broadening rapidly, with families turning to AI agents like ChatGPT for healthcare information—effectively “Dr. ChatGPT” replacing “Dr. Google.”

• Healthcare providers must:

  • Integrate technology thoughtfully into patient engagement to ensure patients receive accurate, trusted information.
  • Offer multiple vetted channels—websites, digital tools, personalized advice—to guide patient inquiries.

  “As providers of health care, we need to make sure that we are properly integrating the right technology... Because increasingly Dr. ChatGPT is kind of the new Dr. Google.”
  (Omkar Kulkarni, 02:34)

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Navigating Financial and Regulatory Pressures on Health IT

[04:02]

• Financial pressures and shrinking margins in healthcare are a reality.

• Emphasis on:

  • Demonstrating clear and measurable ROI for health IT and new technologies.
  • Maintaining discipline in tech adoption to avoid past mistakes with over-promised, under-delivering solutions.
  • Being stewards of limited resources.

  “For healthcare IT, we need to continue to demonstrate the value... especially for new technologies that leverage AI. There’s a lot of promise... but we have to quantify it... if we don’t... we could run into some of the same issues we had in the past.”
  (Omkar Kulkarni, 04:02)

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Leadership Advice for Advancing Technology Adoption

[05:27]

• Focus on the end-user experience—for both clinicians and patients/families.

• User experience is now even more critical as patients exercise greater choice among tech tools.

• Strategies:

  • Evaluate health IT solutions based on user preference and real behaviors.
  • Measure Net Promoter Score (NPS) and tool effectiveness in addressing pain points.
  • Link adoption and user satisfaction directly to ROI.

  “I would recommend that everybody think about what the end user experience is going to be…for health IT leaders to really evaluate and make choices based on user preference and user behavior. …Ultimately, customer adoption or end user adoption is a key metric that’s going to drive the return on investment.”
  (Omkar Kulkarni, 05:27)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On integrating AI into patient engagement:
  “Because increasingly Dr. ChatGPT is kind of the new Dr. Google.”
  (Omkar Kulkarni, 02:34)

• On financial discipline with new tech:
  “We have to quantify [promise]...if we don’t... we introduce AI technologies without discipline...we could run into some of the same issues we had in the past.”
  (Omkar Kulkarni, 04:02)

• On user-centric innovation:
  “Customer adoption or end user adoption is a key metric that’s going to drive the return on investment for all health IT leaders across the country.”
  (Omkar Kulkarni, 05:27)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:53 – Omkar Kulkarni on his dual role in innovation and transformation
• 01:39 – AI scribes and improved clinical documentation
• 02:34 – The new digital patient: ChatGPT as a health information source
• 04:02 – Tightening margins, ROI, and disciplined AI adoption
• 05:27 – Leadership advice: prioritizing end-user experience and user-driven ROI

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Summary

Omkar Kulkarni’s conversation delivers practical, insightful perspectives on AI adoption and technology transformation in pediatric healthcare. He emphasizes balancing bleeding-edge innovation with financial reality, inspiring leaders to put user experience and measurable results at the heart of their digital health strategy. With families turning to AI for health information, thoughtful integration combined with strong operational discipline and user-centered design are crucial to delivering true value as the healthcare landscape evolves.

Transcript

[A]

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[B]

Hello and welcome to the Becker's Healthcare Podcast. My name is Chanel Bunger. I'm currently recording live at the 10th annual Health IT Digital Health and RCN meeting in Chicago and sitting down with Omkar Kulkarni, the Vice President and Chief Transformation Officer at Children's Hospital Los Angeles. Thank you so much for joining me.

[C]

Thank you for having me. Perfect.

[B]

Well, to get us started, could you please share a bit about yourself and your work in healthcare?

[C]

Sure. My name is Omkar. I. I sit at the intersection of innovation and transformation which to me is how do we look at new ideas, new solutions, new technology and marry them and bridge them with the most pressing problems that my hospital and my health care system is is facing so that ideally we can deploy the right solutions to solve the most pressing problems.

[B]

Perfect. And we all know that AI is a huge buzzword right now, especially in health care, and nearly half of all medical practices are using it in some capacity in the last year. From your perspective, I'm curious to know what are some use cases that are making a huge difference for you right now and how are you leveraging them in your organization?

[C]

I think one of the biggest use cases that's been beneficial for us has been around the use of the artificial intelligence scribe to help use to help improve documentation for physicians clinicians by leveraging ambient listening to understand what's happening between the patient and provider so that we can improve documentation accuracy and efficiency so that patients can spend more time looking at and speaking with their doctor. And the doctor can really focus on the patient family experience.

[B]

Absolutely. And as virtual care expands from AI enabled tools to remote monitoring to broader digital health platforms, introducing new technology brings challenges. If you could share some advice to other healthcare leaders navigating everything from governments to patient engagement, what would you tell them? And can you share an example of how your organization has balanced innovation with operational constraints?

[C]

So there are more and more options available for patients and families, consumers of healthcare. There are many families that are looking at AI agents, ChatGPT, other large language model solutions for answers when they previously used Google and you know, Internet search. And so as we think about how we can help our families achieve their health care outcomes, we need to realize that they are looking at more sources of information for, for more, more technology options to get the information they're looking for. So as providers of health care, we need to make sure that we are properly integrating the right technology into the engagement we have with our patients so that when they're looking for answers, when they're looking for a new appointment, when they're looking for, you know, information about different treatment options that we are, we are pointing them to the right information, whether it's through our website, whether it's through the tools we provide them, or whether it's through advice that we give them. Because increasingly Dr. Chatgpt is kind of the new Dr. Google in a sense. And so just as providers, we need to be aware of that.

[B]

Absolutely. And how are you seeing recent legislation, both state and federal health organizations and healthcare IT specifically? And have you adjusted strategies in response?

[C]

So I think a lot of health systems around the country are starting to feel that margins will be continue to be pressurized over the next period of time as funding and spending for healthcare dwindles because of a variety of reasons for healthcare it. We need to continue to demonstrate the value of the products that we are introducing and or have live return on investment is going to be really critical and crucial, especially for new technologies that leverage AI. There's a lot of promise in artificial intelligence and I personally believe that a lot of that promise will be realized. We have to quantify it and we've got to stay on top of it because it's very possible that if we don't and we, we introduce AI technologies without discipline, that we could run into some of the same issues we had in the past where they were promising new types of technology that were introduced that didn't deliver upon the, the ROI promise, which then again creates unnecessary spending, especially in a time like we haven't currently where every dollar is being spent quite wisely because there's not a lot of dollars to go around in health care.

[B]

Got it? Got it. Well, Omkar, I want to thank you for your time today, but before I let you go, I'm curious to hear from your perspective, if you could share advice to other leaders as they prepare for further advancements in technology and rising demands. What would you say?

[C]

I would recommend that everybody think about what the end user experience is going to be, whether it's a clinician using the tool or, or even just as importantly, patients and families. We've talked about user experience being such a key part of healthcare adoption, but especially as there's more and more options that are available. And more and more end users are making choices between different technology tools they use for health IT leaders to really evaluate and make choices based on user preference and user behavior. Making sure that we're measuring nps, making sure that we're measuring how effective a tool is in solving pain points for end users. That's what's going to make sure that we return the value in the investments we're making. Because ultimately, customer adoption or end user adoption is a key metric that's going to drive the return on investment for all health IT leaders across the country.

[B]

Absolutely. Well, that's a great place to end. Omkar, I want to thank you once again for your time today and for sharing your insights on the Baker's Healthcare podcast.

[C]

Thank you for having me.