Becker’s Healthcare Podcast with Dr. Ryan Cameron (Nov 3, 2025)

Guest: Dr. Ryan Cameron, Ed.D., Vice President of Technology and Innovation, Children’s Nebraska
Host: Laura Dardo

Episode Overview

This episode features Dr. Ryan Cameron, who shares insights into how Children’s Nebraska is navigating the dynamic landscape of pediatric healthcare innovation. The conversation explores agentic AI, the organization’s homegrown Medicaid navigation platform, the intersection of empathy and scale in health systems, and strategies for intelligent adoption of technology to advance care, accessibility, and sustainability—especially amidst resource constraints and evolving patient needs.

Key Topics and Insights

1. Guest Background & Approach

[01:13–02:19]

• Dr. Cameron has a diverse tech-driven background: from AI startups to higher education, business incubators, and now healthcare.
• Emphasizes building scalable and empathy-driven solutions for mission-based organizations.
• “It’s really about having the balance of those two things...it helps you be really successful.” (Cameron, [01:10])

2. Pediatric Healthcare Innovation Landscape

[02:35–04:25]

• Historically, less than 2% of healthcare VC funding targets pediatrics, yet 22% of US patients are children—new attention is welcome.
• Significant opportunity: “agentic AI”—AI that takes action proactively within processes.
• Policy change: Medicaid eligibility reviews now required every 6 months (not annually), increasing administrative burden and demanding innovative solutions.
• Hey Medicaid Platform:
  • In-house, agentic AI solution to help families with Medicaid navigation and eligibility.
  • Aiming to streamline processes and extend access.
• “It's a really interesting time to be in healthcare, and in particular, pediatrics.... We're deeply exploring how those agents can do things like reduce administrative burden, improve access, and ultimately that leans into affordability and accessibility of care.” (Cameron, [03:07])

3. Building & Bootstrapping Innovation (Hey Medicaid, Bright Foundry)

[04:43–07:58]

• Hospitals are great at patient care and research, but lack structures for rapid tech innovation.
• New AI tools democratize "development"—“everyone’s a developer” (Cameron, [05:23]).
• Risks emerge: the need for quality control when all staff can build tools.
• Platform built in response to patient and community advocacy; designed for speed and empathy.
• Formation of Bright Foundry LLC: Children's Nebraska’s entrepreneurial arm for joint ventures and IP transfer; helps self-sustain innovation outside of philanthropy alone.
• “We recognize that philanthropy, while it's critical...it can't be the only answer. We...have to find new and unique ways...to make sure stewardship...is not only great but exceptional.” (Cameron, [07:16])

4. Defining and Pursuing Growth

[08:08–10:07]

• Scale without empathy doesn’t work: Nebraska hasn’t seen a huge influx of population; instead, growth means deeper impact, not just bigger numbers.
• Current investments: agentic AI, robotics, VR, behavioral health hospital.
• Focus: integration, partnership, ecosystem-building (not being a “lighthouse in the darkness”).
• Empowering the workforce: giving clinicians tools (AI) to reduce burnout and improve outcomes.
• “Growth for us is about that empowerment.... not just scale, but scale with empathy. I feel like that's where innovation becomes really transformative for us.” (Cameron, [09:30])

5. Navigating Risk and Smart Investment in AI

[10:54–14:40]

• Hospitals face tough choices amid lean budgets; AI pilots in healthcare often underperform except for certain mature use cases (ambient listening, prior auth).
• “A lot of people are disappointed.... AI pilots as they've been rolled out into healthcare, they're not great.” (Cameron, [11:20])
• Concrete advice:
  • Choose a generative AI tool (Copilot, GPT, Perplexity, etc.).
  • Form a cross-disciplinary team to champion and experiment with AI.
  • Accept that costs may rise briefly, but tool prices drop swiftly with competition (e.g., Epic’s ambient listening product upended the market).
  • The key: upskill staff—prompt engineering and AI literacy are akin to past expectations of Office proficiency.
• “You really, really should have a cooperative pilot going right now and a plan for how we’re going to upskill and train or educate our workforce to understand what AI is going to do inside a hospital....” (Cameron, [14:13])

6. Future Growth and Strategic Opportunities

[15:29–19:53]

• Healthcare is at a transformative crossroads—a convergence of tech, policy, and social change (compared to automotive or higher ed in previous eras).
• Success depends on:
  • Focusing on equity and access (especially underserved children).
  • Boldly embracing new tools—VR, robotics, AI—with clinical evidence.
  • Abandoning “we’ve always done it this way” mindsets.
  • Empowering everyone on the team to harness powerful (often low-cost) AI tools—but always with safety checks.
• “If you don't, I think you're going to be in a tough spot where you have to sacrifice the kingdom to sell the castle.” (Cameron, [18:52])
• Children’s Nebraska’s mandate is to reach rural, peri-urban, and neighboring state patients with affordable, accessible, high-quality care.
• Savings from process improvements are reinvested into broader tech adoption.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On empathy and scale:
  “Growth really for us is not just about scale. It truly is about meaningful and deep impact.... growth for us is about that empowerment.” (Cameron, [08:18], [09:30])
• On democratizing tech creation:
  “Every doctor, every nurse, every provider having these incredible tools at their fingertips.... But I also kind of, you know, as a CIO, I'm going to lose a little bit of sleep....” (Cameron, [05:27])
• On investing in AI skills:
  “Now I would say things like prompt engineering, how many different AI models you utilize, have you built your own AI agents yourself? It's pretty easy to do....” (Cameron, [13:51])

Key Timestamps

• [01:13] Dr. Cameron’s background and philosophy
• [02:35] Challenges and opportunities in pediatric healthcare
• [03:00] Medicaid eligibility changes and innovation need
• [04:43] How “Hey Medicaid” was built
• [07:35] Shift from philanthropy to entrepreneurial innovation (Bright Foundry)
• [08:08] What “growth” really means in healthcare
• [10:54] Advice on making riskworthy investments in AI this year
• [13:45] The importance of AI education for all staff
• [15:29] Strategic vision for future-proofing the health system
• [18:52] Memorable metaphor: “sacrifice the kingdom to sell the castle”

Takeaways

• AI, VR, and robotics are not silver bullets, but key to expanding access, enabling the workforce, and deepening impact in children’s health.
• Hospitals must embrace both entrepreneurial thinking and empathy—not just philanthropic or traditional models—to remain sustainable and mission-driven.
• Upskilling staff to use, question, and improve technology is now as essential as clinical or administrative expertise.
• The real winners will be those who balance rapid innovation with human-centered care and a willingness to redefine legacy processes.