The Beat

About Vijay Verma:Vijay Verma is a seasoned product leader currently serving as VP of Product Strategy at TeleVox Healthcare in the NYC metro area, where he spearheads AI-driven initiatives and contact center innovation. With 20+ years of experience driving digital transformation, he specializes in creating exceptional customer journeys that drive engagement and business growth. A specialist in Conversational AI and CX, he has pioneered AI-driven engagement platforms, impacting 30M+ users, and led enterprise-scale transformations resulting in significant NPS improvements. Vijay excels at leveraging emerging technologies, data-driven insights, and cross-functional teams to create innovative solutions that resonate with users and deliver measurable business growth.Things You’ll Learn:Good communication is crucial for achieving positive clinical outcomes, necessitating platforms that work for both institutions and patients. TeleVox focuses on bridging communication gaps through patient-centered experiences that improve health outcomes and drive financial success for healthcare providers.Generative AI is poised to significantly impact healthcare by alleviating staff shortages and simplifying complex processes. A major pain point in healthcare is the friction in communication, often leading to frustrating experiences for patients and staff burnout.Omnichannel communication strategies are essential for providing consistent and convenient patient experiences across various channels, including voice, SMS, and mobile apps. Generative AI enables the efficient repurposing of healthcare content across different channels and languages.Smart Voice combines the empathy of a voice channel with the automation of a virtual agent and the intelligence of a call center. Resources:Connect with and follow Vijay Verma on LinkedIn.Learn more about TeleVox Healthcare on their LinkedIn and website.

About PV SubbaRao:PV SubbaRao is a global technology leader with 25+ years of experience, currently serving as Senior Vice President of Global Healthcare and Life Sciences at Rackspace Technology. He leads a $500M+ portfolio, driving growth and operations across the Americas, with a specific focus on Health IT, Providers, Health Plans, and Life Sciences. PV champions an integrated solutions approach, leveraging Rackspace's full range of cloud services for the healthcare industry. Prior to Rackspace, he held leadership roles at Dell Services/NTT DATA Services, growing the Healthcare Provider business significantly. Based in Orange County, California, PV holds an MBA from Emory University and a graduate degree from IIT Mumbai.Things You’ll Learn:Rackspace offers a unique approach to cloud solutions, positioning itself as a single point of contact for healthcare organizations looking to integrate strategy and execution. By offering a "do-with" rather than a "do-for" model, Rackspace acts as an extension of a healthcare organization's existing team, enabling easier integration and collaboration. AI and machine learning are poised to revolutionize healthcare by unlocking the potential of vast datasets and improving decision-making. Quantum computing holds promise for personalized medicine through drug discovery and individualized care protocols driven by genome profiling. Adopting Rackspace's cloud solutions and managed services can potentially achieve significant cost savings, between 18% and 25%, for healthcare organizations. These savings can be reinvested into driving transformation and innovation within the organization.Resources:Connect with and follow PV SubbaRao on LinkedIn.Learn more about Rackspace Technology on their LinkedIn and website.

Are organizations harnessing the full potential of their technology investment?  Are they ready to adopt AI and integrated successfully, with impact, into their EHRs? Are they addressing technological impacts to care and business model design and adopting appropriate alternative care models to better compete in today’s market? To answer these critical questions, Sandy chats with Asher Perzigian, Managing Director in Accenture’s health Strategy & Consulting business and practice lead of Care Innovation. Asher shares a thoughtful approach to navigating the surge of AI applications and how his team is helping healthcare organizations address the challenges of implementing AI across the healthcare ecosystem. Together, they dive into the crucial role of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) as the digital backbone of healthcare systems, and the advancements needed for AI to achieve true interoperability across platforms.In this episode, they talk about:What Accenture recommends when approaching the tsunami of AI applicationsHow AI takes some burden off the care delivery (or any admin) processHow does AI need to advance to achieve true interoperabilityWhat is AI’s role in the industry reset?Accenture’s latest exciting winsEHRs are the digital heartbeats of systemsThe biggest challenges for organizations when implementing AIWhat CIOs need to address to see how AI is necessaryA Little About Asher:Asher Perzigian is a Managing Director in Accenture’s Strategy & Consulting Health Practice, where he is widely recognized for his expertise in commercializing and scaling innovative business transformation programs. He serves as the practice lead for Accenture’s North America Clinical Innovation practice. Throughout his career, Asher has partnered with top healthcare providers, payers, vendors, and life sciences organizations across North America. He is also responsible for managing Accenture’s relationship with one of the firm’s largest and most complex provider and care delivery clients. Based in Chicago, Asher enjoys live music, hockey, running, and spending quality time with his wife, son, daughter, and their extended family.

About Shay Perera:Shay is the co-founder and CTO of Navina, with a decade of experience in elite intelligence units of the Israel Defense Forces, where he applied artificial intelligence from theory to real-world solutions. He contributed heavily to hands-on R&D efforts while assuming significant leadership roles. Armed with a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering, specializing in machine learning, from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Shay, alongside Ronen, earned the 2018 National Security Award for their groundbreaking work in AI.Things You’ll Learn:AI is not just a futuristic concept but a current necessity for managing the overwhelming amount of healthcare data and streamlining clinical workflows, leading to improved patient outcomes and reduced administrative burdens for providers.The administrative burden is a significant pain point in healthcare, but AI can automate repetitive tasks, reduce the burden on providers, and streamline value-based care workflows, ultimately improving both clinical and economic outcomes.Emerging AI trends will change how physicians care for patients, saving time and enhancing knowledge of patient health.Clinical AI can act as a copilot, streamlining workflows and turning data into actionable insights for healthcare providers at the point of care and in the back office.  Healthcare organizations should focus on integrating AI solutions that can make physician life easier and ensure clinicians are involved as early as possible to gain trust in the process. Resources:Connect with and follow Shay Perera on LinkedIn.Learn more about Navina on their LinkedIn and website.Email Shay directly here.

Sandy Vance and Jason Warrelmann, the VP of Healthcare & Life Sciences at UiPath, discuss how AI and agentic automation are transforming the healthcare space. Jason also offers customer use cases to expand on real-life digital transformations. UiPath and Jason were at the ViVe event in February; check out the recordings on the ViVE website.In this episode, they talk about:The role that automation plays in the healthcare space: Humans don’t like being interoperability engines. Automation is a good universal API and it doesn’t hallucinate. Studies show a high failure rate for AI projects across industries, including healthcare. A small pilot turns into a big expensive project involving different vendorsTechnology changes so quicklyWhat kind of ROI will CFOs see?Examples of how UiPath is helping healthcare organizations achieve their goals with AI and automation.A Little About Jason:Jason Warrelmann leads the Healthcare and Life Sciences Practice at UiPath, which focuses on transforming the healthcare landscape and developing capabilities, integrations, and reusable components that make UiPath a healthcare automation platform, not just a tool that works in healthcare.

About Kali Arduini Ihde:Kali Arduini Ihde is a dynamic, results-driven digital transformation leader with 18+ years of experience in advancing healthcare through innovative technologies. As Director of Innovation at Northwestern Medicine, she orchestrates multi-million-dollar portfolios, fosters cross-functional alignment, and implements data-driven strategies to deliver client-centric solutions. She previously oversaw ePMO, scheduling, physician referrals, and operational transitions for Epic, forging strategic partnerships and streamlining organizational workflows. Kali holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Missouri, complementing her robust project management acumen.Things You’ll Learn:It's crucial to ground innovation work in the organization's biggest problems. This ensures that any new technology being explored is directly relevant to improving patient care, workforce experience, or other key challenges.Finding real solutions amidst the AI hype requires a rigorous vetting process. Organizations should focus on finding solutions that can make meaningful impacts.Scaling AI innovation requires a dedicated team focused on implementation and widespread adoption. Innovation shouldn’t stop at testing it out but be applied and expanded to the whole organization.AI is poised to revolutionize healthcare by identifying issues and risks earlier. Coupled with precision medicine, the next generation of AI promises a future where treatment is tailored to the individual. This means that in 5-10 years, healthcare will look vastly different.Healthcare is expensive and takes a lot of people to complete. This should be considered when implementing AI solutions and technology.Resources:Connect with and follow Kali Arduini Ihde on LinkedIn.Learn more about Northwestern Medicine on their LinkedIn and website.Discover more about Northwestern Medicine’s innovations here.

In this conversation, Dr. Ryan Vega, Chief Health Officer for Vantiq, discusses the transformative role of AI in healthcare, the innovative capabilities of the Vantiq platform, and the importance of personalized healthcare solutions. He shares insights on the transition from the Veterans Health Administration to Vantiq, the use cases for their technology, and how generative AI is enhancing clinical decision-making. Dr. Vega emphasizes the need for transparency, safety, and effective orchestration of AI systems in healthcare, as well as the importance of collaboration with systems integrators and startups to drive innovation.In this episode , they discuss: Dr. Vega emphasizes the importance of workflow customization in healthcare.Vantiq's platform allows for low-code, no-code application development.Real-time orchestration of complex healthcare systems is crucial.Generative AI can significantly enhance clinical decision-making.Vantiq focuses on creating transparency and safety in AI workflows.The platform is designed to operate securely within healthcare environments.AI can augment human capabilities in critical care settings. A Little about Dr Ryan Vega: Dr. Ryan Vega serves as the Chief Health Officer for Vantiq and is the former Chief Innovation Officer for the Veterans Health Administration where he led enterprise innovation efforts across the largest integrated health system in the United States.His work has spanned large-scale digital modernization efforts, design and deployment of innovative care and payment models, and early design and development of healthcare software focused on improving health care delivery and experience for patients and providers.Dr. Vega also currently sits as the Physician in Residence for the Digital Medicine Society and holds academic appointments as an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Administration at Georgetown University as well as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at George Washington University. He is the recipient of many awards for his work in healthcare innovation and has published numerous articles on the topic.

In this episode, they discuss:Building consumer trust in generative AI is essential for its success in health care.Deloitte plays a significant role in the health care sector, serving various stakeholders.A majority of consumers believe generative AI can reduce wait times and costs.Skepticism towards generative AI has increased among consumers over the past year.Distrust in AI tools is linked to concerns about bias and privacy.Health care data is a high-value target for cyber adversaries.Generative AI can enhance the patient-physician relationship if used correctly.Transparency and ethics are crucial in the deployment of generative AI.Healthcare organizations must educate both patients and clinicians about AI.Deloitte assists organizations in navigating the complexities of AI implementation.  Learn more about Deloittes research here : Building and maintaining health care consumers’ trust in generative AIhttps://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/industry/health-care/consumer-trust-in-health-care-generative-ai.html A little about Jen:Jen Sullivan, Principal, Deloitte & Touche LLP, is a seasoned and innovative cyber strategy leader with 28 years of experience in technology and cybersecurity, with 24 years of deep focus in life sciences and health care. Her technical infrastructure background has expanded throughout her tenure to a range of security areas including cyber strategy, threat detection and response, data protection and privacy, regulatory compliance, and technical resiliency. Jen serves some of the industry’s largest and most complex clients and leads Deloitte’s Cyber Strategy and Transformation practice. Beyond client service, she has held pivotal leadership roles in talent and business transformation and has a deep passion around health equity. Jen serves on Deloitte’s Cyber executive leadership team, is a leader in Women in Cyber and is the Advisory Life Sciences & Health Care Generative AI leader. 

Introduction: In today’s episode, Sandy sits down with Dr. Dipul Patadia, MD, Senior Director, and Industry Advisor at Salesforce. Together, they explore how Salesforce is shaping the future of healthcare through Agentforce, an innovative AI tool designed to streamline healthcare processes and improve customer care.As AI-powered agents become an everyday part of healthcare, Dr. Patadia addresses common concerns around their implementation for administrative tasks. He also shares insights into how Agentforce ensures smooth operations while maintaining essential safeguards for patient care.In this episode, they talk about:How Salesforce ensures safe use of AI agents with human oversight in healthcareAutonomous AI agents vs. assistive agents: How Salesforce is revolutionizing digital healthcare supportLeveraging Salesforce’s AI expertise to create the most effective agents for healthcareThe story behind Einstein: how Salesforce’s AI can transform healthcare operationsA Little About Dr. Patadia:Dr. Patadia is a practicing emergency medicine physician. He serves as the Head of Health System Strategy and Innovation at Salesforce where he aids in contextualizing health systems’ needs with new and existing technology capabilities. Before joining Salesforce, Dr. Patadia came from Ascension and Advocate Health where he served as a Chief Medical Officer, leading clinical initiatives, and operations for two of its high-acuity hospitals. He has been instrumental in facilitating digital transformation, growing specialty service lines, improving quality outcomes, and designing innovative value-based care strategies.

In this episode, Sandy Vance speaks to Joseph Hernandez, VP of Channel Sales at BluIP, and Vivek Kuppuswamy, Principal Produce Manager at BluIP. They explore how BluIP’s Conversational AI and Virtual Agent solutions revolutionize healthcare workflows by automating patient interactions, streamlining appointment scheduling, and enhancing the patient experience. They also discuss how AI-driven communication reduces administrative burden, improves operational efficiency, and enables healthcare providers to move past organizational tasks and focus on delivering quality care.Episode NotesBeginning with a look at the history of automation in healthcare, Joseph and Vivek explain that the concept behind BluIP’s Conversational AI is not new; it fills a similar role to an automated voice menu. However, BluIP’s Conversational AI does not require callers to use specific language to understand their requests. It can also pick up on context and learn from new interactions. This technology helps to address populations who do not use apps like MyChart and want to interact with someone over the phone while streamlining workflows and reducing churn. Additionally, Joseph, Vivek, and Sandy discuss the future of AI at BlueIP and in health care in general.In this episode, they discuss:How AI is transforming the patient experienceThe opportunities that conversational AI is creating for healthcare providersThe primary use-cases for BluIP’s Conversational AI in the healthcare spaceHow BlueIP works with organizations to integrate conversational AI to meet their individual needsThe advances in virtual agent technology that solve for patient populations who want to interact over the phoneThe ROI for Conversational AI, which consists of a combination of tangible returns and a less tangible opportunity costHow Conversational AI reduces churn, increases patient satisfaction, and increases staff satisfactionThe future of Conversational AI in healthcare communicationsBluIP’s continued efforts to innovate, including reducing implementation timelines and low-code applicationsA little about Joseph and Vivek:Joseph Hernandez is a patient satisfaction advocate and technologist who specializes in conversational Artificial Intelligence and optimizing healthcare workflows. With a deep understanding of both digital channel contact centers and healthcare technologies, he designs patient-centered healthcare solutions for national health systems and community health centers. Drawing on his experience and understanding of the relationships between payers, providers, patients, and population health initiatives, Joseph helps customers optimize their current technology and adopt innovative solutions for the evolving healthcare landscape.Joseph is also an executive member of several healthcare organizations with a charter to close the gap in healthcare disparities and introduce technologies that lead to better patient outcomes; acting as a conduit between healthcare professionals and national healthcare organizations. At BluIP, Joseph is the VP of Channel Sales; matching clients with BluIP’s solutions.Vivek is a Principal Product Manager at BluIP, and is driving the growth of BluIP’s AI product portfolio. Prior to working at BluIP, Vivek spent 14 years building enterprise-grade SaaS products, with expertise in entertainment, CPG, and high-tech industries.