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Becker’s Healthcare Podcast
Ryan Cameron, Ed.D., Vice President of Technology and Innovation at Children’s Nebraska
00:21:25
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- [00:02]
A
@ Athenahealth, we know your ambulatory practice wants healthier a healthier business, healthier care teams and healthier patients. But the complexities of modern healthcare tech make it hard for you and your care teams to focus on what matters most. That's where athenahealth can help our AI native all in one solutions reduce administrative burdens, streamline billing and payments, and deliver critical insights when clinicians need it most. That means fewer clicks, more time for patients, and stronger bottom Practicing medicine is complex, but running a practice can be that much simpler. With Athenahealth, see how simpler is healthier at athenahealth.com.
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B
This is Laura Dardo with the Beckers Healthcare Podcast. I'm thrilled today to be joined by Dr. Ryan Cameron, Vice President of Technology and Innovation at Children's Nebraska. Ryan, it's a pleasure to have you on the podcast today.
- [00:56]
C
Thanks so much for having me.
- [00:58]
B
Now I'm looking forward to our conversation because I know technology is moving so quickly and certainly a unique time to be in health care and just really special to see some of the cool things you're doing at Children's Nebraska. So I'm looking forward to diving in. But before we do, can you introduce yourself and tell us just a little bit about your background?
- [01:14]
C
I'd be happy to. So I'm Ryan Cameron, VP of Technology and Innovation at Children's Nebraska. We are the only full service pediatric hospital in the state. We have more than 50 specialties and we even provide care at some of our neighboring states as well. So very busy place. My background spans a little bit of a unique background. Healthcare is relatively new to me. I've been in healthcare for about four years, but previous to that worked for some AI startups and I also worked in higher education on creating business incubators, accelerators, think tanks, really cool organizations that focus on technology transfer, intellectual property and how to kind of advance things from an idea to something that's very actionable. So I've spent really the last few years being focused on building things that are not only scalable but very empathy driven. And I feel really strongly about having the balance of those two things in mission driven organizations. Helps you be really successful.
- [02:20]
B
That's great to hear and you know, certainly important to have that mission in mind and focus on the patients and everything you do on the technology side and more. So when you think about where you're at today, what are some of the opportunities, opportunities and headwinds that you have your eye on right now?
- [02:35]
C
You know they're plentiful. It's a really interesting time to be in healthcare and in particular pediatrics. We're starting to see an uptick in how many startups are really focusing on pediatrics, which is super important. Historically, less than 2% of venture capital dollars and healthcare startups alike are focused on pediatrics, but more than 22% of the patient population in the US depends on pediatric care. So it's really needed to see this tremendous uptick in activity and innovation and new startups. One major opportunity that a lot of people are watching, certainly we're watching it, is this whole notion of agentic AI and what that can do in the healthcare space. It's kind of a, a perfect maturity pathway for AI and I think that's where we're really going to start to see both clinical and operational value. And 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. Certainly with the changes that are going on with Medicaid eligibility requirements, we're anticipating an increased volume of workload. Moving from an annual requirement to a six month requirement is a bit of a stressor on us and certainly other hospitals. So we're actually bootstrapping our own solution. We're calling it hey Medicaid. And it is a agentic AI platform to really help our patients navigate that process. And we're really excited about deeply exploring what else agentic AI can do.
- [04:26]
B
That's amazing to hear and it seems like a truly unique innovation, but beneficial one for the community as well as for the health system. How did you go about putting that together and bootstrapping that platform in order to make a difference for the broader community?
- [04:43]
C
Yeah, bootstrapping is not easy. It's tough. A lot of hospitals are configured and set up in a very particular way. We're well tooled for research, we're well tooled for really understanding how to care for our patients. End to end, from admit to discharge education, everything in between. We have those mechanisms and we've been really good at those in the United States. We have a fantastic healthcare system and there's a lot to be proud of. Hospitals aren't really tooled to fire up startups, even from a staffing perspective. You know, we have integrators and experts, but not a lot of developers. So the game changer nowadays is that really with platforms that either are agentic AI platforms or just kind of the prompt based ones that many people are now familiar with is everybody's a developer. And I love the notion of 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 because when you have that much power and you're developing software, you know, there can be a risk of not doing it well. The notion of vibe coding. So with hey Medicaid, a couple of things happened. The first thing that happened is, you know, we're paying attention to what our patients are saying. We and our peers are very involved in being advocates for pediatrics and just kind of understanding the landscape and what we need to do to provide accessible and affordable care. You know, Medicaid is central to that. So understanding that those changes are coming, we recognize that we needed a new way to help patients navigate signing up and doing eligibility. And some of those things, you know, we can be helpful with. And some of those things it's really just about us to be good educators and provide information and wayfinding. So we built the platform from that understanding and what's incredible about it is this notion of rapid development. So we partnered with some experts in agentic AI and we've formed our own company. It's kind of a new thing for us. We've spent 76 years as a notable not for profit enterprise and now we have an LLC that's called Bright Foundry and we're starting to really do more joint ventures, IP transfer and really going down this pathway to be more entrepreneurial and we can kind of self sustain our innovation program. You know, we recognize that philanthropy, while it's critical and important to what we do, it can't be the only answer. We have to as, as a hospital, find new and unique ways to make sure that, you know, the stewardship of the dollars that we have available is not only great but exceptional. If we execute on that and we protect our margin, we can do more with our mission. And really, hey, Medicaid comes from that.
- [07:58]
B
Got it. That's interesting to know and thank you so much for digging a bit deeper there. Now, looking ahead, how are you thinking about growth and adding value to the health system overall?
- [08:08]
C
You know, I was talking about this a little bit earlier. I feel like a lot of the problems in health care come from this notion that we want scale without empathy. And growth really for us is not just about scale. You know, we've seen a lot of people move into Nebraska in the last five years. We've seen a lot of people move for great jobs and to enjoy the Midwest and the lifestyle that that affords into our neighboring States, but we haven't seen a huge flux of population. So growth for us is really not about scale. It truly is about meaningful and deep impact. So we're investing in things like hey, Medicaid, agentic, AI, Robotics, VR. We're standing up a freestanding behavioral health and wellness hospital right now within the next couple of months. And by doing that, we're really looking at creating an ecosystem for healthcare. We don't want to be just a lighthouse in the darkness. What we want to be is one of many organizations that help all Nebraskans have fantastic pediatric care and be able to avail of lots of different resources. So it's about us integrating and partnering across the board. And I like to think a lot about value through the lens of also workforce enablement. So really growth for us is about that empowerment. So with our clinicians, what can we do by giving them tools like AI tools so that they can reduce burnout so we can improve outcomes for them. And when we do those things and we're thinking about not just scale, but scale with empathy, I feel like that's where innovation becomes really transformative for us.
- [10:08]
B
That's helpful to understand and you know, really thinking about where growth comes from and what that means for different organizations is critical and helpful. Context is then you look at that innovation, those investments, thinking about how agentic, AI, robotics, VR and more really play a big role in powering the future, in helping to develop the access to care that you're looking for. I'm curious, you know, I know resources are slim for a lot of hospitals and systems that you know, are part of the Beckers network today. And just looking at uncertainties that in the future. So some folks are want to make sure that they make the most of their investments. From your perspective, what is one risk or investment that is still worth making in the next 12 months or so, even as you know, you might need to tighten up a bit.
- [10:54]
C
I think that's a really powerful question. And a lot of healthcare leaders, providers, basically anybody in healthcare right now, is grappling with this notion of what's a risky investment that you can make this year that's worthwhile. It's tough because I think on some levels with AI, a lot of people are disappointed. And statistically, if you look at the success rate of AI pilots as they've been rolled out into healthcare, they're not great. With the exception of maybe things like ambient listening for note taking, maybe some more established AI technologies like prior auth or eligibility checks, maybe even patient follow up there, there's Been some, some bright lights there where you see some, some good indications there. What, what I would say the one risky investment that's worth it this year is to make sure you lean into the wind with something simple like Copilot GPT Perplexity. Pick, pick a model that you really like and get yourself a group inside of your hospital that is cross function, cross disciplinary members of ops, your workforce, your providers, and really have them learn how to be AI champions and kind of hold them to it. And you know these tools are expensive, you know they're going to change your, your OPEX budget substantively and, but the costs are coming down. So with ambient listening, for example, what's kind of wild is we were early adopter of one platform and we saw the pricing come down and we saw three or four competitors pop up and then we even saw Epic announce that they were going to have an option. And I had read some really interesting news that indicated that when Epic made that move, it crushed over 20 startups. And so that's both exciting and troubling at the same time. It's tough to kind of balance how you feel about that. But no matter how you feel about that, when you look at it, the affordability and accessibility of AI tools, particularly generative tools, is coming down. And there are ways that you can even do this for free, safely, if you get really creative with it. But educate your folks, it's going to be a completely different world. I liken AI skills much like when office was a thing. I'm old enough to remember an era when you would put office competency on your resume. Now when I talk to younger people, early career professionals that are entering the workforce, that sounds so alien and so bizarre, but it really was a thing. There was a time where you would have beginner, intermediate expert level office suite proficiency that went on your resume. 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. It just requires a little bit of time and a little bit investment. So if, if, you know, looking at the lens of dollars that I have available, even if it's a small group of five people, you really, really should have a cooperative pilot going right now and a plan that how we're going to upskill and train or educate our workforce to understand what AI is going to do inside of a hospital and how it's going to affect everything from the clinical environment through every aspect of ops.
- [14:40]
B
That's fascinating to think about and really amazing to look at the evolution of technology in those platforms. I definitely can relate in looking at the office competencies and spreadsheets and all of those kinds of things, then all of a sudden, you know, that is just taken for granted.
- [14:58]
C
So I'm so glad you remember that, too. It doesn't make me.
- [15:04]
B
For sure. All right, well, I think, you know, when we look at. Look ahead, I'm curious, what do you see as some of the best opportunities for growth in the future? I know we talked a little bit about where things stand today and the investment that you're making, but how do these all align into the strategy to make sure that the health system is in a really strong position going forward?
- [15:29]
C
Well, yeah. Wow. What a great, great question. The reality is that healthcare is just going to be different and it's a deeply tough thing to navigate. And it doesn't matter what your specialty is or what your expertise happens to be. Everybody is really feeling this incredible evolution. I liken it to what happened in the automotive industry a few decades ago. What happened or is still happening with higher education and how they're grappling with a lot of change. It's kind of like healthcare's turn and the convergence of things like rapid technological development and growth, changes in geopolitical situations, changes in new diseases and new drugs, and the convergence of all these things are really creating an exciting time, but also a very stressful time. So the best opportunities ahead are going to really sit at that intersection of, I would say, equity access and maybe where some of these technologies come into play in pediatrics, AI is a hot topic, but I would also say that maybe VR and robotics is an even harder topic. Right now we're seeing a lot of turnkey, affordable solutions that are ready to go, that have great clinical evidence that can help people. But you really want to start from that notion of saying, what can we do to proactively support underserved populations, especially children, that not only kind of get at those. Those outcomes, but also at the same time, reduce those costs in that overhead. We have to do those two things. So we just can't really focus on legacy processes and systems. You can't let yourself fall into the trap of saying, healthcare has always done it this way. I would even argue that things like how a clinical space is designed and set up really shouldn't be left to regulators alone to decide. But we have to get loud and we have to move faster. The best opportunities ahead, I think, are training and education and looking at how the landscape of technology has changed. That notion of everyone's now a developer and vibe coding and AI and anything that you can do, whether it's ultra low cost or for free or making a big, bold commitment across your workforce that says we're not going to do this process this way anymore. We're going to empower everybody with these great AI tools. They can do their own data visualization, they can do their own analysis, they can do rapid research. Now, of course, check it, check your work. These things hallucinate and they are new. Be safe about what you're doing, but lean into that wind. 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. And I do see some health systems struggling and making those moves, wrong or right, based on the needs of their patient populations. But for us, because rural healthcare is so important, because we are the one and only freestanding children's hospital in the state, because we're kind of, you know, that that beacon of hope, we really have to profoundly and deeply look at how do we provide affordable, accessible care to everyone, regardless if they live in the metro, if they live in a rural environment, even a neighboring state. And so if we do those things and we look at tools that improve processes, that save on the margin and help us invest more in AI and roll it out further, I think we're going to win. And that's ultimately what it's all about, is making sure that our patients walk away and they feel like we were able to be really helpful for them and they feel safe and they feel like there's a great resource that they can turn to as kids kind of grow.
- [19:54]
B
I love that. Ryan, thank you so much for joining us on the podcast today. This has been such an interesting and insightful conversation and I look forward to connecting.
- [20:03]
C
Yeah, I appreciate you having me. It's always great to be a part of Becker's and a part of the conversation. And we were talking just before the podcast. I want to thank Beckers for having a particular focus in pediatrics and really kind of recognizing that the nuanced difference to what we do, how we care for young people, that means a lot to every pediatrician and everybody in pediatrics that you recognize that sometimes it can be forgotten. And thanks so much for your support and for sharing some of our message.
- [20:36]
B
Oh, yeah. Anytime we associate you and everything you do for such an important patient population.
- [20:43]
A
At athenahealth, we know your ambulatory practice wants healthier, a healthier business, healthier care teams, and healthier healthier patients. But the complexities of modern healthcare tech make it hard for you and your care teams to focus on what matters most. That's where athenahealth can help our AI native all in one solutions reduce administrative burdens, streamline billing and payments, and deliver critical insights when clinicians need it most. That means fewer clicks, more time for patients, and stronger bottom lines. Practicing medicine is completely but running a practice can be that much simpler with Athenahealth. See how simpler is healthier@athenahealth.com.