Podcast Summary: Becker’s Healthcare Podcast

Guest: Ryan Cameron, Chief Information and Innovation Officer at Children’s Nebraska

Date: January 21, 2026

Host: Chris Sosa

Episode Overview

In this engaging episode, Chris Sosa interviews Ryan Cameron, Chief Information and Innovation Officer (CIIO) at Children’s Nebraska, to discuss the evolving landscape of pediatric care. The conversation explores the integration of technology and innovation into clinical operations, the impact of AI and digital therapeutics, and strategic initiatives aimed at expanding access and improving outcomes for children across Nebraska and beyond.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Ryan Cameron’s Role & Organizational Snapshot

• CIIO Role: Cameron elaborates on his dual role, overseeing both information technology and structured innovation, which includes an innovation center and formalized programming (00:38).
• About Children’s Nebraska:
  • Only private, freestanding children’s hospital in Nebraska.
  • Current expansion: Adding a new behavioral health and wellness center with 40 additional beds, opening January 7th (01:32).
  • Broad specialty and primary care coverage (50+ specialties).

2. Major Recent Initiative: “Hey Medicaid”

• Description: Launch of “hey Medicaid,” an AI-powered application helping patients and families navigate Medicaid certification/recertification (03:46).

• Purpose & Impact:

  • Addresses a critical barrier for the pediatric population, facilitating access and reducing administrative burden.
  • Available in 17 languages, supports real-time translation, and incorporates voice assistance to mirror consumer tech experiences (05:08).

• Cultural Shift: Moves focus from "access" to actual "care" for families reliant on Medicaid.

  "Our starting vision point is: how could you have your phone in front of you and just use your voice?... That's really great for young families today who are accustomed to this consumer magic that healthcare really hasn't delivered quite yet."
  — Ryan Cameron (05:38)

3. Innovation Priorities for 2026: Digital Therapeutics & VR

• Collaborative Ecosystem: Emphasis on nationwide collaboration with other children’s hospitals to build shared innovation (07:04).

• Behavioral Health Focus: Major investment in digital therapeutics, especially for behavioral health, supported by a significant James M. Cox Foundation grant.

• Virtual Reality (VR):

  • Integrating VR into therapy, especially for anxiety management and social skills development.
  • Sharing digital content with partner hospitals to extend impact (07:54).

  “We’re living in a future, and I mean an immediate future, not a five-year horizon, I mean within months, where everybody is a developer... You can develop apps and simulations almost instantly today.”
  — Ryan Cameron (09:50)

4. The Rapid Acceleration of AI and “Prompt-Based” Technology

• Customization: AI tools are making it feasible to create individualized therapeutic content for patients (09:42).

• Guardrails: While innovation is exciting, Cameron underscores the need for strong safeguards, mindful development, and security (12:04).

• Cost & Collaboration: The barrier to entry for digital innovation is now low, enabling broader participation across the hospital workforce (13:00).

  “The cost of entry to be innovative right now is next to zero. And to invite all of your providers and your ops people...to be a part of that development process is a total game changer.”
  — Ryan Cameron (13:01)

5. Key Challenges for 2026

• Staffing Realities: Acknowledges a persistent workforce shortage, especially in specialized pediatrics and rural areas (13:29).

• Equity in Access: Striving to maintain equal standards of pediatric care between metro and rural Nebraska, fighting the ongoing closure of rural pediatric units (13:55).

• Financial Stewardship: “No margin, no mission”—efficient resource use is essential to sustain care quality and reach (14:30).

  “We are never going to be able to recruit our way out of staffing crisis… Healthcare is in really high demand… A lot of rural providers are closing. We’re seeing a lot of pediatric wards get shut down.”
  — Ryan Cameron (13:29)

6. Growth Opportunities & Strategic Direction

• Expanding Beyond Facilities: Not focused on simply building more hospitals, but rather advancing telehealth and virtual care to bring services into homes (16:16).

• Reducing Barriers: Prioritizing "meeting patients where they are" technologically, especially given vast rural geography and travel burdens for families (16:46).

• Freeing Up Clinicians: Leveraging automation to streamline workflows and allow more provider-patient time (17:40).

  “At every opportunity where we can provide high quality care in the home using telehealth or telemedicine, that’s really going to help us out a lot.”
  — Ryan Cameron (17:01)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "It is not what I expected when I first started working in healthcare and I'm very pleased to say that I have found pediatrics to be just a passionate, wonderful place to work... a lot of people are really pushing hard to make sure that we provide the very best care for kids."
  — Ryan Cameron (02:31)

• “It's dizzying how fast things are going. You can develop apps and simulations almost instantly today.”
  — Ryan Cameron (11:52)

• “It really is about leaning into technology, shifting our focus and our conversation from access and automating those things into a conversation that is 100% care focused.”
  — Ryan Cameron (18:08)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:38 — Ryan Cameron’s background and introduction to Children’s Nebraska
• 03:46 — The launch and impact of “hey Medicaid”
• 07:04 — Innovation priorities for 2026 and focus on digital therapeutics
• 09:42 — AI-accelerated development and personalized VR therapy
• 13:29 — The hardest part of delivering care in 2026: workforce, rural care, and financial sustainability
• 16:16 — Children’s Nebraska’s top growth opportunities: virtual care and telemedicine

Tone & Style

Ryan Cameron brings a contagious enthusiasm, forward-thinking optimism, and a pragmatic lens to the future of pediatric healthcare. The discussion is approachable and rich with real-world examples, mixing big-picture vision with operational realities, always centering children and their families.