health
Why healthcare’s AI future requires patient leadership
Donna R. Cryer argues healthcare is deploying AI without meaningful patient representation in governance. She advocates for a Chief Patient Officer role and warns that without patient-centric design, the industry risks repeating its history of exclusion at scale.
TL;DR
- AI is entering healthcare at a pace that risks outpacing necessary governance structures.
- Hospitals, payers, pharma, and digital health are introducing AI without sufficiently involving patients.
- Patient engagement in AI governance is crucial to avoid repeating past mistakes of excluding patients from major decisions.
- Patient involvement in clinical trials and healthcare innovation has consistently shown to improve outcomes.
- Many healthcare organizations are deploying AI without consistent governance or intentional patient representation.
- Patients are already using AI for healthcare decisions, indicating a need for their integration into AI design.
- AI adoption is driven by operational pressures like workforce shortages and financial strain.
- Cryer proposes formalizing patient leadership through roles like a 'Chief Patient Officer' to integrate patient experience into strategy and decision-making.
- AI systems should be evaluated based on measurable improvements in patient outcomes, not just operational metrics.
- The future of AI in healthcare depends on whether patients are given a seat at the table before AI infrastructure becomes permanent.