Today, Raj Ratwani, Vice President of Scientific Affairs at the MedStar Health Research Institute, Director of the MedStar Health National Center for Human Factors Engineering in Healthcare, and an associate professor at the Georgetown University School of Medicine,  joins Tracy Granzyk to explore the intersection of patient safety and data in our U.S. Healthcare System. They explore the vulnerabilities introduced by electronic health records (EHRs) and artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare, as well as the opportunities to improve the delivery of care using both tools.  An expert in patient safety, digital health, and cognitive science, Raj engages in an informative and insightful conversation with Tracy highlighting patient safety, workforce readiness, and equitable AI applications in healthcare technology.

Raj begins by acknowledging President Biden's forward-thinking AI Executive Order, emphasizing its significance for healthcare and the need for proactive adaptation to AI integration. Central to the conversation is patient safety in the AI landscape, with a focus on establishing a comprehensive patient safety framework for AI. This framework centers on data collection, analysis, and dissemination to address AI-related patient safety concerns. The challenges of preparing the healthcare workforce, the importance of imparting essential AI knowledge, understanding potential challenges, and maintaining expertise in both traditional and AI-augmented healthcare are also discussed. Additionally, our duo touches on AI's broader impact across industries, emphasizing the importance of individuals acquiring AI-related skills to remain relevant in their careers. While addressing the fear of technological change, they highlight the opportunities that come from embracing AI and actively shaping its narrative. They also underscore the vital role of public-private partnerships in advancing AI while maintaining a balance between providing guidelines and fostering innovation in the dynamic AI landscape. Join Raj and Tracy today as, together, they guide us through the transformative era of AI in healthcare, prioritizing patient safety and excellence to ensure a safer and more equitable future.

Highlights:

• Patient safety and EHRs
• Interoperability challenges
• AI impact on healthcare
• Equity in healthcare tech
• Stakeholder collaboration
• Monitoring and regulations
• Patient-centered care
• AI readiness and innovation

Quotes:

"We have to make sure that these clinical algorithms have the right data sources that are underlying or leading to the development of them so that we have safe and equitable care for everybody."

"Patient safety is not always top of mind for people. To see that explicitly called out in the Executive Order, I think is fantastic."

"We have to look at this as an opportunity and latch onto this and figure out the right ways of integrating things that we're doing and take the best parts of it."

"We want to take all the things that humans are good at and preserve it and complement it with the computers and the artificial intelligence that can take care of all the things that we're not so good at."

"If we are going to take another decade to figure out AI from a safety perspective, we're in a lot of trouble."

Links:

LitHealth Homepage

MedStar Health

Raj Ratwani's LinkedIn Page