Episode Overview

Podcast: Becker’s Healthcare Podcast
Episode Title: People-First Leadership and AI in Healthcare with Praneetha Elugunti
Host: Scott King
Guest: Praneetha Elugunti, Administrator & Assistant Professor of Healthcare Administration, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science
Date: February 16, 2026

This episode explores the balance between people-first leadership and artificial intelligence (AI) adoption in healthcare. Praneetha Elugunti shares her experience leading Mayo Clinic’s digital health and AI initiatives, emphasizing the fundamental importance of people in the evolution of health systems, and how thoughtful implementation of new technology can enhance patient outcomes, streamline workflows, and prepare organizations for the future.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Praneetha Elugunti’s Background & Leadership Journey

• [01:05] Praneetha’s entry to healthcare wasn’t driven by technology, but by a commitment to people, shaped by her volunteer work at a safety net hospital and exposure to both the power and pain points within healthcare systems.
• Roles at Mayo Clinic straddle healthcare operations, digital transformation, and AI innovation.
• Leading digital health and AI initiatives, Praneetha focuses on translating “big ideas into things that actually make someone’s day a little bit easier, whether that's our patients or our staff.”

“I didn’t really come into healthcare because of technology. I came into it because of the people.”
— Praneetha Elugunti [01:16]

AI in Healthcare: Opportunities & Headwinds

• [02:52] The biggest opportunity lies in having “honest conversations about how AI should show up in healthcare.”
• At Mayo Clinic, AI implementation is:
  • Intentional
  • Decentralized & Staff-Led
  • Clinician-Driven
  • Focused on “governance, equity, ethics and transparency.”
• AI is viewed not as a replacement, but as an empowerment tool:
  • Reduces friction, clinician burden, and improves workflows.
  • Personalizes and expands access to quality care.

“We’re implementing AI to enhance that clinical decision making, empowering our patient outcomes and streamlining care... AI empowers, not replaces our people.”
— Praneetha Elugunti [03:15]

Clinicians’ Role in AI Adoption

• [03:50] The involvement of clinicians should be tailored to specific tech use cases.
  • For example, with ambient listening/documentation tools (a major 2025 trend), clinicians must be engaged throughout product design and implementation to ensure workflows are positively impacted.
• Successful adoption relies on collaboration between staff and tech developers.

“At the end of the day, it’s their workflow that’s impacted. You want them to be engaged... from a product development and design perspective, but also from an implementation [one].”
— Praneetha Elugunti [04:02]

Defining Growth & Value in Healthcare Organizations

• [04:30] Growth is not “doing more,” but “doing things better and being more connected.”
• Mayo Clinic stands out for connecting discovery, delivery, and diffusion of innovations.
• Praneetha’s focus is on translating technical innovation into trusted, scalable, and usable tools for clinical environments.
• When done right, “innovation stops feeling more like a project and really starts to feel about how we’re shifting the paradigm of care being delivered.” [05:16]

Investing in People vs. Technology

• [05:31] The most worthwhile investment for 2026 is in people, not just technology or platforms.
• It’s essential to educate the workforce, build governance structures, and involve staff and care teams at every step.
• The trend for 2026: agentic AI, which will be successful “when people are used to help shape that solution and can then grow in the adoption.”

“I think certainly the investment can never be wrong when you invest in new people, not just technology or platform.”
— Praneetha Elugunti [05:32]

• Technology is “never one and done”—continuous enhancements are necessary as organizational needs evolve.

The Future of Growth: Human-Centric Care

• [07:13] Best opportunities ahead involve human-centered care—with capabilities spanning physical, digital, and virtual modalities.
• Growth is about connecting Mayo’s practice, research, and education “shields,” with insights forming the connective tissue between these domains.
• Goal: personalizing care “beyond traditional walls,” while maintaining the vital “human connection that we’re so used to and desire from any healthcare institution.”

Leadership Evolution & Advice

• [08:29] Praneetha’s leadership journey began as a frontline manager.
• The most valuable advice from her mentors: “hone your craft.”
• No matter the setting—clinical, digital, AI—it’s crucial to develop your expertise “in service of those that you serve, which is your patients.”

“Hone your craft... in service of those that you serve, which is your patients.”
— Praneetha Elugunti [09:09]

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• “I initially wanted to be a physician, and now over a decade later at Mayo Clinic... I’m really proud of being able to translate those big ideas that everyone has into things that actually make someone’s day a little bit easier, whether that’s our patients or our staff.”
  — Praneetha Elugunti [01:36]

• “Agents or any technology for that matter is not a one and done right, like a product is a living product. You have to make enhancements.”
  — Praneetha Elugunti [06:45]

• “Healthcare is about the people, for the people. And certainly you can have digital or any other investments, but you’re still serving people at the end of the day.”
  — Praneetha Elugunti [08:36]

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment Description | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------| | 01:05 | Praneetha’s background & motivation for joining healthcare| | 02:52 | AI’s opportunities and responsible implementation | | 03:50 | Clinician engagement in AI adoption | | 04:30 | Defining growth and value in the organization | | 05:31 | The importance of investing in people versus just tech | | 06:42 | Continuous evolution of technology, not a “one and done” | | 07:13 | Vision for people-centered, connected care delivery | | 08:29 | Leadership evolution and advice (“hone your craft”) |

Tone & Takeaways

Throughout the episode, Praneetha maintains a thoughtful, people-first approach, balancing a clear excitement for emerging tech with humility and respect for the humans at the heart of healthcare. Leadership is framed as a proactive craft, technology as an evolving tool, and AI as a means to empower rather than replace clinicians.

Listeners leave with a sense that the best future for healthcare is one where technology and human empathy work hand in hand, guided by ethical leadership and ongoing investment in people.