Podcast Summary: Embracing Digital Transformation
Episode Title: Generative AI in Healthcare: Building Trust, Boosting Efficiency, and Shaping the Future of Patient Care
Host: Dr. Darren Pulsipher
Guest: Rajan Kohli, CEO of Situs Tech
Release Date: August 14, 2025
Introduction
In this episode of Embracing Digital Transformation, Dr. Darren Pulsipher engages in an insightful conversation with Rajan Kohli, CEO of Situs Tech, to explore the evolving role of Generative AI (GenAI) in the healthcare sector. The discussion delves into the current state of GenAI adoption, its challenges, applications, and the future landscape of patient care influenced by this transformative technology.
Current State of Generative AI in Healthcare
Rajan Kohli begins by reflecting on the progression of GenAI over the past six months. He shares his consistent perspective that while short-term expectations may be inflated, the long-term impact of GenAI is still underestimated.
Key Points:
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Scaling Challenges: Only about 10-15% of GenAI proof-of-concepts transition to production, primarily due to the stringent safety and reliability standards in healthcare.
"Only about 10 to 15% of the proof of concepts actually make it to production. And there are reasons for why it is low, especially in healthcare, because you have to be super safe and super sure."
— Rajan Kohli [02:28] -
Enterprise Adoption: There is a noticeable shift from isolated experimentation to broader, enterprise-level institutionalization of GenAI, despite the challenges in scaling.
"People are discovering what it will take to scale it now or what are the challenges which have impacted their scaling of Gen AI."
— Rajan Kohli [02:14]
Challenges and Barriers to Adoption
The dialogue highlights several barriers hindering the widespread adoption of GenAI in healthcare:
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High Failure Rate: The low percentage of successful GenAI implementations is partly due to the need for significant changes in existing processes, which organizations may be hesitant to undertake.
"It's not just improvement over what you were doing; it requires you to change the way you were doing things."
— Rajan Kohli [03:00] -
Trust and Explainability: In healthcare, the stakes are high—errors can result in loss of lives. Therefore, systems must be highly reliable and transparent.
"Quality and trust is very, very important. Also explainability is equally important."
— Rajan Kohli [05:42] -
Regulatory and Insurance Constraints: Integrating patient data with GenAI systems implicates accountability and governance, making providers cautious about preventive measures enabled by AI.
"It is more to do with regulation and insurance because the moment it is connected with your EHR, then the responsibility moves over to the providers to take preventive action."
— Rajan Kohli [17:13]
Applications in Front-line and Back-office Operations
1. Front-line Healthcare Providers:
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Note-taking and Documentation: GenAI is enhancing efficiency by automating the transcription and summarization of medical notes, allowing doctors to focus more on patient interactions.
"Allowing doctors to not focus on note taking... let them have more eye contact with the patient."
— Rajan Kohli [08:38] -
Decision Support Systems: AI-driven systems aid doctors by providing real-time decision support based on extensive knowledge graphs and care guidelines.
"The system taps... based on the internal care guidelines of that healthcare system."
— Rajan Kohli [09:59] -
Patient Engagement: Virtual avatars powered by GenAI handle post-discharge follow-ups, providing empathetic interactions that can enhance patient satisfaction and adherence to care plans.
"Virtual avatars are playing a very, very strong role in that type of work."
— Rajan Kohli [24:19]
2. Back-office Operations:
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Revenue Cycle Management: GenAI assists in reducing claim denials by improving the accuracy of submissions and predicting potential issues before they arise.
"Using agentic AI or GenAI to reduce... predict denials."
— Rajan Kohli [26:02] -
Medical Coding and Fraud Detection: Automating coding processes increases accuracy and efficiency while minimizing fraudulent activities.
"Medical coding... looking at wrong claims or fraud abuse cases."
— Rajan Kohli [26:33] -
Administrative Overheads: GenAI streamlines administrative tasks, enabling healthcare professionals to dedicate more time to patient care rather than bureaucratic processes.
"Reducing overhead activities... enhancing the quality of care."
— Rajan Kohli [23:45]
The Role of Preventive Medicine
Rajan emphasizes the potential of GenAI in shifting the healthcare focus from reactive to preventive medicine. By integrating real-time data from wearable devices into Electronic Health Records (EHR), AI can proactively identify health risks and suggest preventive actions.
Key Insights:
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Data Integration: Seamless integration of personal health data with EHR systems can enable timely interventions.
"Integration of all these inputs back into EHR so that preventive action can be taken when needed."
— Rajan Kohli [16:08] -
Cost Reduction: Preventive measures can significantly lower healthcare costs by addressing issues before they escalate into severe cases that are costly to treat.
"60, 70% of the actual cost of healthcare goes to the 10, 15% of extreme cases... preventive actions can help everyone."
— Rajan Kohli [17:28]
Human Oversight and Governance
Given the high-risk nature of healthcare, Rajan underscores the necessity of maintaining human oversight in AI systems to ensure safety and accountability.
Key Points:
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Human in the Loop: Every step in the healthcare process involving GenAI still requires human validation to prevent errors that could have fatal consequences.
"A doctor is eventually looking at them before accepting them. There's a human in the loop at every step."
— Rajan Kohli [20:21] -
AI Governance: Implementing agentic AI systems to oversee other AI systems ensures that continuous learning and adaptation do not compromise safety.
"Agentic AI system is a learning system. If you have a non-learning system trying to govern a learning system, then you know what's going to happen."
— Rajan Kohli [19:53]
Balancing RPA and Generative AI
The conversation differentiates between Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and GenAI, emphasizing strategic integration based on process requirements.
Key Insights:
-
RPA for Established Processes: RPA is ideal for automating existing, well-defined processes where efficiency gains can be quickly realized.
"You can take some benefits through simple, easy RPA... show ROI in six months."
— Rajan Kohli [29:15] -
GenAI for Process Reimagination: For processes that require innovation and significant improvement, GenAI offers transformative potential beyond mere automation.
"Reimagine the process. There could be benefit for you in some cases doing RPA, and some cases using GenAI."
— Rajan Kohli [29:49] -
Strategic Implementation: Situs Tech advocates for a balanced approach, identifying processes where RPA or GenAI can deliver optimal results, supported by comprehensive playbooks and strategic planning.
"We have very good playbooks for all typical processes... nine month plan for them."
— Rajan Kohli [31:06]
Conclusion
Dr. Darren Pulsipher and Rajan Kohli conclude the episode by reinforcing the critical role of GenAI in transforming healthcare. They acknowledge the significant strides made while also recognizing the persistent challenges that need to be addressed. The conversation emphasizes the importance of strategic adoption, human oversight, and the potential for GenAI to enhance both patient care and operational efficiency.
Final Thoughts:
- Patient-Centric Focus: GenAI should augment, not replace, the expertise of healthcare professionals, ensuring that patient care remains personalized and empathetic.
- Future Prospects: As technology and governance frameworks evolve, the integration of GenAI in preventive medicine and comprehensive data utilization promises to revolutionize healthcare delivery.
Notable Quotes:
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"If things go wrong, it's not your closure rate that drops. You actually lose lives."
— Rajan Kohli [05:25] -
"Don't make any decisions based on what ChatGPT tells you and not go to a doctor because you've already gotten some recommendation from ChatGPT."
— Rajan Kohli [15:05] -
"There are many places to get rid of this cost without impacting either the quality in fact enhancing the quality of care."
— Rajan Kohli [22:09]
Connect with Rajan Kohli:
For more insights or to engage with Situs Tech, visit their website at ctstech.com. Explore their dedicated section on GenAI and AI at ai.ctstechai.com.
About Embracing Digital Transformation:
Hosted by Dr. Darren Pulsipher, Chief Solution Architect for the Public Sector at Intel, Embracing Digital Transformation explores effective change through the synergy of people, processes, and technology. Each episode uncovers enduring trends amidst the digital revolution, offering listeners expert perspectives on sustainable innovation.
End of Summary