Risk Never Sleeps Podcast Episode #185

"The Hidden Risks Of AI Adoption That Leaders Must Tackle"

Guest: Joyce Oh, Chief Information and Digital Transformation Officer, Christ Hospital Health Network
Host: Ed Gaudet
Date: January 8, 2026

Episode Overview

In this episode, Ed Gaudet sits down with Joyce Oh, Chief Information and Digital Transformation Officer at Christ Hospital Health Network, to discuss the emerging and often underestimated risks associated with AI adoption in healthcare. Together, they examine practical strategies for safeguarding patient safety, offer an inside perspective on digital transformation, and explore the critical role of thoughtful governance, workforce productivity, and risk management as AI transitions from experimentation to everyday healthcare operations.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Background on Christ Hospital Health Network

• Joyce Oh provides a brief history: founded in 1888, noted for cardiovascular, oncology, and musculoskeletal care.
• The organization is a "smaller health system," but with a strong legacy and reputation for quality care.

  “We just recently ranked 11th in the region in Cincinnati in my newest US News and World Report, I think four times Magnet accredited, very well known for our cardiovascular and oncology and musculoskeletal service lines.” — Joyce Oh [00:34]

2. AI Initiatives: From Dipping To Diving In

• Joyce highlights the rapid shift from cautious AI experimentation to widespread adoption:

  “For the past year or two, everybody’s been dipping their toes in...and now we feel like, ‘oh, this water is nice.’ And everybody now wants to jump in and start swimming, but we're not always prepared. You don't know what's in the water necessarily.” — Joyce Oh [01:47]

• The focus is now on operationalizing and stabilizing AI usage, instituting governance to evaluate which AI projects truly align with organizational goals and patient safety.
• Ongoing risk management is stressed—not just one-off assessments but continuous oversight, especially as reliance on third parties grows.

  “How are we going to manage the risk going forward?...On an ongoing basis, how are you going to manage that?” — Joyce Oh [02:32]

3. Targeted Areas for AI Application

• Physician & Clinician Support: Reducing administrative burden, particularly around the EHR (Epic) to “make the technology disappear” so providers can focus on patients.
  • Examples: Ambient listening to eliminate note-taking, automated order entry.
  • Philosophy: Productivity for doctors and team members leads to excellent patient care.
• Operational Productivity: Increasing efficiency in revenue cycle management and repetitive, formulaic tasks through automation.
• Inbox Overload:
  • AI-powered triage of patient messages: categorizing, routing, and flagging messages by urgency.
  • Case in point: Managing hundreds of physician inbox messages to avoid burnout and ensure patient needs are prioritized.

  “The whole advent of patients being able to message their doctors…You don't see the other side, where you have a doctor who's receiving hundreds and hundreds of messages…they have a personal obligation to read through these and get back.” — Joyce Oh [04:33]

4. Governance and Risk in AI

• Emphasis on balancing the promise of AI with accountability and patient safety.
• Calls for a structured approach to bring in, evaluate, and monitor new AI solutions.
• Identifies unique AI risks: cybersecurity, hallucinations (erroneous outputs), and vendor dependencies.
• Importance of process maturity over “spot solutions.”

5. Personal Journey Into Healthcare

• Joyce’s unconventional path—from ambitions in healthcare (and discovering a queasy stomach for the clinical side), to consulting across diverse industries (utilities, pizza tech at Domino's), and finally to digital health leadership.
• Previous non-healthcare experience, like Domino’s tech-forward approach, helped inform her innovation mindset:

  “The organization refers to itself as like a tech company that happens to sell pizza…a lot of innovation going on there probably before a lot of others around how do we give people mobile access, and meet the consumer where they are? It was all about the experience.” — Joyce Oh [06:45]

6. Leadership, Growth, and Personal Philosophy

• Risk-taking, both personally (raising children) and professionally (new leadership roles, moving organizations).
• Advice for her younger self:

  “Don't take life too seriously...Your career is not necessarily always going to just take a vertical path...as long as you like what you do and you’re working with good people, I think that's more important than just really climbing the ladder.” — Joyce Oh [09:04]

• The value of being open to non-linear career paths and seizing unexpected opportunities.

7. Advice for Entering Healthcare & Technology

• Healthcare requires passion and resilience:

  “You really have to have a passion for it because it's tough…But if you like challenges and you like being creative…healthcare is great.” — Joyce Oh [11:50]

• Candid about resource constraints: “you’re always going to be dealing with these challenges of not enough budget, not enough resources.”
• On technology fields: Enthusiastic about the opportunities in cybersecurity and beyond—advocates for pursuing individual interests as tech needs will only grow.

  “Tech is just going to get more and more. So…I think it’s a great field and I’m biased.” — Joyce Oh [13:49]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On AI’s Growing Pains:

  "We're not always prepared...and you don't know what's in the water necessarily." — Joyce Oh [01:47]

• On the administrative impact of patient messaging:

  “It was all in good intent to allow the patient to have free access to their doctor. But we didn’t think about the implication.” — Joyce Oh [04:50]

• On career advice:

  “Your career is not necessarily always going to just take a vertical path. And that's okay. Sometimes you're going to go diagonally, sometimes you're going to go sideways. And as long as you're growing...that's more important than just really climbing the ladder.” — Joyce Oh [09:04]

• On what’s “risky”:

  “I think having kids.” — Joyce Oh [10:46]

• On collective impact:

  “The tools you put in are helping thousands of patients, allowing them to get access quicker, allow them to get better care.” — Joyce Oh [12:32]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Joyce’s background and Christ Hospital intro — [00:34]
• Top AI priorities and risks — [01:41-03:08]
• AI use cases: EHR, automation, inbox triage — [03:13-05:59]
• Joyce’s career journey — [06:02-08:06]
• Leadership philosophy and advice to her younger self — [09:04-10:10]
• Risk in life and career — [10:41-11:45]
• Advice for new entrants to healthcare and tech — [11:50-13:49]

Tone & Language

The conversation is candid, practical, and subtly humorous, with a reflective connection between personal and professional journeys. Joyce Oh balances strategic vision with hands-on anecdotes, making complex digital risk issues relatable for healthcare and tech listeners alike.