This Week on The Big Unlock Podcast: Human Centered Leadership is the Real Unlock for AI in Healthcare
Brought to you by Damo Consulting and BigRio
Podcast Hosts: Rohit M. Ritu M Uberoy
In this episode, Felicia Newhouse, PhD , Founder of AI-Powered Women , highlights the need for human centered leadership as the foundation for AI’s future in healthcare. Reflecting on her near-death experience and two decades in tech, she warns that rapid automation may boost efficiency but often leaves people feeling overwhelmed, disconnected, and burned out.
Dr. Newhouse emphasizes that true progress requires qualities only humans can bring, empathy, intuition, emotional intelligence, and what she describes as “systems awareness” and “systems feeling.” These capabilities help leaders understand the broader human impact of digital tools and design AI that supports well-being rather than replacing human judgment.
She urges organizations to slow down, prioritize dignity and belonging, and adopt AI in ways that strengthen human connection. According to Dr. Newhouse, the real unlock for healthcare will come when AI is guided by compassion, humanity, and mindful leadership. Take a listen.
In this episode, Chris Gallagher, MD, FACC , Founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Access TeleCare , shares valuable insights on the evolution of AI, how virtual care is reshaping access, staffing, and costs across health systems, and why making technology effortless is the key to driving a successful virtual-first care strategy.
Chris recounts the pioneering achievement of building the first virtual ICU in Texas in 2013, which quickly proved life-saving and marked a turning point in virtual health adoption. He discusses how they are addressing physician distribution issues by augmenting in-person staff, shifting its focus from predominantly rural to 70% urban facilities by offering essential 24/7 virtual specialists to care teams. Chris stresses that solutions must be effortless for clinicians, “Fisher Price easy,” so adoption becomes self-perpetuating.
Chris highlights AI’s immense potential to improve efficiency, enhance physician experience, and expedite patient care, especially through automation and a future “virtual-first” healthcare strategy. Take a listen.
#TheBigUnlock #HealthcareInnovation #VirtualCare #DigitalHealth #AIinHealthcare
In this episode, Charles E. Christian CHCIO, CDH-E, LFCHIME, LFHIMSS , VP of Technology and CTO at Franciscan Health , shares reflections from his five-decade journey in healthcare IT and how Franciscan is blending mission, compassion, and innovation to transform patient care.
Chuck explains how the health system is approaching AI adoption through strong governance and a clear focus on solving real problems, from reducing clinician burden to enhancing care delivery. He highlights several key initiatives, including voice agent pilots that help physicians reclaim after-hours time, a Tech Innovation Lab that allows teams to safely experiment and “fail fast,” and a virtual nurse mentoring program that connects senior nurses with new graduates for real-time guidance.
Chuck states that technology should serve, not distract, and the true goal of digital transformation is to enable better care for people. Take a listen.
In this episode, Anil Saldanha , Chief Innovation Officer at Rush University System for Health shares how Rush is addressing deep-rooted health inequities in Chicago by targeting the life expectancy gap through bold, system-wide interventions.
Anil highlights Rush’s commitment to public health, chronic disease management, and early cancer detection by referring to innovative initiatives like Rush Connect Plus, which is an on-demand, subscription-based virtual care model, and the rollout of Grail’s multi-cancer early detection test. He explains their use of cutting-edge AI technologies, from ambient listening and AI-powered symptom checkers to novel behavioral health kiosks leveraging multi-agent generative AI for PTSD care.
Anil points to the impact of consumer-driven digital tools, health equity analytics, and a data warehouse that will enable targeted interventions for chronic care. He closes with optimism about AI’s future in healthcare, the shift toward “connected care anywhere,” and the growing role of empowered, informed patients. Take a listen.
#ConnectedCare #HealthEquity
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