HIMSS President and CEO Hal Wolf speaks at the AI Leadership Strategy Summit in Chicago on Thursday.
Photo: Susan Morse/HFN
CHICAGO - Be prepared for change in implementing AI. That was the message from keynote speakers at the HIMSS AI Leadership Strategy Summit here today.
“We’re at a critical moment in time to redesign ourselves,” HIMSS President and CEO Hal Wolf said to a crowded room of attendees.
Many appear ready, looking for AI to solve administrative inefficiencies, provide clinical support and improve health outcomes while working out a governance structure that manages the risk, complies with HIPAA and protects patient safety.
There’s also the issue of ROI, with organizations trying solutions that haven’t always worked.
“How many have been through initiatives that didn’t go as planned?” Wolf asked, to a roomful of raised hands.
“The technology for learning, that’s the easy part,” Wolf said. “How we bring it into the stream is the hard part.”
Deploying AI while managing risk is the focus of the two-day conference. HIMSS has the ability to lead the governance process through a strategic roadmap, Wolf said.
Without a strategic plan for system-wide change, the results revert to an old formula, Wolf said: “NT plus OO equals COO. New technology plus Old Organization equals Costly Old Organization.”
AI and predictive analytics are needed to address the challenges of staffing shortages and an aging population developing chronic diseases, Wolf said.
AI can anticipate who will be coming in for care. Predictive algorithms can identify individuals at greatest risk and support a transition to disease management to keep people well.
A shortage of data is not the issue as healthcare systems are awash with data, Wolf said. Data is doubling every 12-18 months globally, he said.
But the data must get turned into information and turned into knowledge, Wolf said.
Isaiah Nathaniel, senior vice president and CIO of Delaware Valley Community Health, said through the challenges, have a growth mindset.
Everyone is asking of AI, Nathaniel said, “What would I like to get out of it? What am I trying to do with AI? I want to get it into practical use now.”
Email the writer: SMorse@himss.org