More than 300 people attended MHA’s 52nd Annual Mid-Winter Leadership Forum last Thursday in Framingham. A highlight of the gathering was a panel discussion on “Artificial Intelligence (AI) for High-Value Healthcare” moderated by Francis X. Campion, M.D., the senior clinical informaticist at IBM Watson Health and an internist at Atrius Health.
Noting that medical data is expected to double every 73 days by 2020, Campion then led a discussion with Massachusetts hospital leaders on how they’re weaving AI into their operations. For example, Carlo Reale, director of Patient Care Services at Baystate Health System and Deb Baker, R.N., a nurse manager at Baystate Health System talked about how their system is using predictive technology to prevent pressure ulcers. Michael Docktor, M.D., a pediatric gastroenterologist & clinical director of innovation at Boston Children’s Hospital, discussed how AI is helping place patients in beds – a game changer for patient flow. Haipeng (Mark) Zhang, D.O., medical director of Brigham Digital Innovation Hub and Digital Health Implementation, at Brigham Health said there’s “an open-door” policy for any sort of technological advance that may be able to be transformed into groundbreaking change.
Mid-Winter attendees also heard from David Gergen, director of the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard Kennedy School and senior political analyst for CNN. A self-described centrist, who has worked in the White House advising Presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Clinton, Gergen gave a critical overview of the current state of American politics. Elisabeth Rosenthal, M.D., editor-in-chief of Kaiser Health News and the author of An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It Back, presented a no-holds-barred look at healthcare and how, among other faults, high-deductible plans are eroding the system.