Risk Never Sleeps Podcast: Episode #210
Why Most Healthcare AI Projects Never Make It Past the Pilot, with Jerry Buchanan, Head of Growth at Optura.AI
Host: Ed Gaudet
Guest: Jerry Buchanan, Head of Growth, Optura.AI
Date: April 20, 2026
Location: Live at ViVE, Los Angeles
Episode Overview
In this engaging episode, host Ed Gaudet (Founder & CEO, Censinet) sits down with Jerry Buchanan, Head of Growth at Optura.AI, to explore why most healthcare AI projects fail to advance beyond the pilot phase. Jerry shares insights from his extensive career in healthcare IT, Optura’s mission to build trust in AI, and actionable advice for organizations navigating the clinical AI journey. The discussion also touches on Jerry’s personal background, leadership philosophy, and vision for the future of healthcare technology.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
Jerry Buchanan’s Background & Career Trajectory
- Early Career: Began in IT, working at the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services, followed by a long tenure at Emids (healthcare services startup), then leadership roles at SoftServe.
- "I was the 11th employee... saw them grow from 30, 40 employees to a couple thousand. Incredible journey." (01:31)
- Current Role: Leads revenue, client relations, and financing rounds as Head of Growth at Optura.AI, a young healthcare AI orchestration startup.
- Military Experience: West Point graduate, served 5.5 years as field artillery officer.
What is Optura.AI?
AI Orchestration Platform for Healthcare
- “We like to think of ourselves as being in the trust business.” – Jerry (02:14)
- Platform designed to streamline the full AI/automation project lifecycle:
- Ideation, governance, and approval: Assists in triaging which AI projects get built.
- ROI measurement: Tracks real value creation from automation projects.
- Developer tooling: Accelerates technical development and integration.
- Inspired by co-founder Andy Fanning’s experience at Cigna managing large-scale automation.
- “He needed an army of business analysts... wouldn’t it be great if there’s a platform that helped me manage that without the army?” (03:05)
Why Most Healthcare AI Projects Fail to Scale
- Value = Trust: Organizations need undeniable, realized value from AI initiatives to foster trust at every level—from CFOs to patients.
- “Value is what equals trust when it comes to AI and automation.” (06:02)
- Bottlenecks: Many promising pilots get lost in the gap between technical feasibility and real-world impact.
- ROI as Flywheel: Even small successes, measured and trusted, can create momentum for further investment and larger projects.
- “No matter how small you start, you get that flywheel going, and that trust will just continue to grow…” (06:45)
Optura’s “AI-First” Philosophy
- Internal Practice: The company applies AI not just to its product, but across all business functions—sales, finance, account management.
- Agentic Employees: Multiple layers of AI agents augment human staff, from data collection to strategy.
- “We literally have more agentic employees than I have people employees at this point.” (06:55)
- Breakdown of agents:
- Input layer (collects contextual info from emails, calendars, Slack, etc.)
- Intelligence layer (deal intelligence, competitive analytics)
- Strategic layer (“Jerry 2.0”) driving actions and decisions (07:18)
The Risk of All-In on AI
- Personal Risk Perspective: Jerry embraces risk by fully committing to AI, believing the greater risk is not evolving.
- “The risk would be not going all in on AI. So it’s a bit of a knife’s edge journey.” (08:38)
Personal Touches & Memorable Moments
Life Outside Work: Family, Music & Push-Ups
- “My thing I’m most passionate about is my family...between work and the time that takes, family is about all that’s left.” (08:49)
- Still keeps active: “Try to do a few push-ups and pull-ups on the way whenever possible.” (08:59)
- “Can you still knock out 50?” (Host, 09:09)
“Oh, for sure.” (Jerry, 09:10)
- Music on a Desert Island: A diverse list—George Strait, Eminem (“you gotta have Mom’s Spaghetti”), Jay Z, Spin Doctors, Black Crows, Lemonheads, Everclear (09:23–10:21)
Career Advice for Students Entering AI in Healthcare
- “Take that first job...get the experience. Do everything that you can when you get there, and work hard.” (10:29)
- “Be AI-first. You have to be eloquent in AI and how it works… helps to have a computer science degree, but you also have to know how to use it.” (11:13)
- On education’s fear of AI: “...it is valuable to learn how to think and not outsource that to a model. But...it’s part of everything in daily practice.” (11:52–12:07)
Retirement Dream
- Beach town in New England (Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, Cape Cod)—“My dream falls along with my wife’s.” (12:30–12:44)
Notable Quotes
- On Healthcare IT’s Mission:
“To see the difference...lives that got changed by the things we'd put into production was very satisfying.” (04:53)
- On AI Orchestration:
“As models improve and AI just gets better and better, that technical piece in the middle...is going to get easier and faster over time.” (03:05)
- On Value in AI:
“To see that value become realized in a way that every part of the org can trust…that the CFO, the controllers, trust that value is real.” (06:02)
- On Work Ethic & Leadership:
“You always look the level above you and think they’re not working as hard. Then you get there and they’re actually working twice as hard.” (10:57)
Timestamps for Key Segments
| Timestamp | Segment |
|-----------|-------------------------------------------------------|
| 00:53-01:31 | Jerry’s background & healthcare IT journey |
| 02:12-02:51 | What is Optura.AI? |
| 03:05-04:17 | Andy Fanning’s AI orchestration journey, platform vision |
| 06:02-06:45 | AI value equals trust, and the need for measurable ROI |
| 06:50-08:11 | Optura’s internal “AI-first” approach |
| 08:13-08:38 | Risk and going all-in on AI |
| 09:09-10:21 | Personal questions: fitness, music on a desert island |
| 10:29-11:22 | Advice for newcomers to healthcare/AI |
| 12:30-12:44 | Retirement plans & New England dream |
| 13:11-13:47 | What Jerry hopes to achieve at ViVE, conference networking |
Episode Tone & Style
The conversation is candid, insightful, and often light-hearted, blending strategic discussion with personal anecdotes and practical advice. Jerry’s straightforward, mission-driven perspective and willingness to reflect on both company and personal growth make this episode both informative and relatable.
Useful for…
- Healthcare CIOs/CISOs and digital risk leaders seeking to scale AI beyond pilots
- Anyone interested in healthcare AI workflows, governance, and value measurement
- Students and early career professionals aiming for a future in digital health
- Listeners seeking inspiration from a leader who has lived healthcare’s mission from the ground up
“Value is what equals trust… get that flywheel going, and that trust will just continue to grow over time.”
– Jerry Buchanan, 06:02
For further resources and more on patient safety risk, visit censinet.com