The Big Unlock

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Aligning AI Fundamentals with User Experience in Pharma Jul 07, 2025

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The Big Unlock Podcast · Aligning AI Fundamentals with User Experience in Pharma – Podcast with Alicia Abella

In this episode, Alicia Abella, AI Product Lead at Novo Nordisk, discusses how she is helping drive responsible AI adoption in the pharmaceutical industry. She shares her early experiences in AI, starting with her PhD research at Columbia University on image processing and natural language processing.

At Novo Nordisk, the current focus is on applying AI to commercialization functions including – marketing, legal, and HR – beyond its traditional use in drug discovery. Alicia highlights key use cases such as generative AI for knowledge search, content generation for marketing campaigns, and traditional AI techniques for deriving insights about healthcare providers. She also emphasizes the importance of applying a product mindset to AI development by evaluating user needs, business value, and compliance from the outset.

Alicia notes that adding effective governance can help innovation move in the right direction. She also talks about an internal AI Ambassador Program and emphasizes the importance of designing intuitive AI tools to increase adoption. She concludes by discussing future trends in AI, including contextual intelligence, user-centric design, and the opportunity for AI to enhance, rather than replace human decision-making. Take a listen.

Designing AI-Native Healthcare with Innovation, Automation, and Responsible AI. Jun 30, 2025

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The Big Unlock Podcast · Designing AI-Native Healthcare with Innovation, Automation, and Responsible AI. – Podcast with Sara Vaezy

In this episode, Sara Vaezy, Chief Transformation Officer at Providence, discusses Providence’s strategic approach to digital transformation, consumer engagement, and responsible AI adoption to improve both patient and caregiver experiences.

Sara highlights the importance of delivering personalized, frictionless, and proactive healthcare experiences across digital touchpoints. At Providence, a standout initiative is the use of conversational AI to enable ‘message deflection’ which reduces the volume of patient messages sent to physicians by helping patients resolve queries instantly through intelligent chatbots. Sara emphasizes building a digital workforce not just to automate routine tasks, but to rethink and redesign workflows creatively. With foundational investments in cloud infrastructure, unified data systems, and interoperability, Providence is well-positioned to scale AI use cases like ambient documentation and care navigation.

Sara also shares how Providence has incubated and spun off innovative startups like DexCare and Praia Health to address critical gaps in supply-demand matching and patient personalization. She advocates for ethical AI governance, better observability tools, and designing AI-native healthcare processes that go beyond simply replacing human tasks. Take a listen.

Advancing Pulmonology with AI and Functional Imaging Jun 24, 2025

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The Big Unlock Podcast · Advancing Pulmonology with AI and Functional Imaging – Podcast with Vishisht Mehta

In this episode, Dr. Vishisht Mehta, Director of Interventional Pulmonology, Comprehensive Cancer Centers of Nevada and also the Department Chair of Pulmonology at MountainView Hospital, discusses his passion for clinical practice and emerging technologies like AI and telemedicine.

Dr. Mehta shares how his interest in AI began through vendor outreach and evolved into a deeper exploration of its applications in pulmonology, particularly in early lung cancer detection and functional imaging. He highlights the persistent underutilization of lung cancer screenings, with only 5–6% of eligible patients getting screened, and notes AI’s role in identifying high-risk individuals and managing lung nodules. He also emphasizes the value of telemedicine in improving patient access and outcomes.

Dr. Mehta has also created a resource hub – https://pulmonary.ai/ – and produced educational videos to guide clinicians in understanding and adopting AI tools. He advises that physicians must gain foundational AI literacy to make informed technology decisions in an increasingly digital healthcare landscape. Take a listen.

Reimagining Healthcare From Meaningful Use of Data to AI-Driven Equity Jun 20, 2025

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The Big Unlock Podcast · Reimagining Healthcare From Meaningful Use of Data to AI-Driven Equity – Podcast with Aneesh Chopra

In this episode, Aneesh Chopra, Chief Strategy Officer at Arcadia shares a bold vision for advancing healthcare equity through smarter data use, AI, and workflow innovation. He unpacks the journey from the early days of “meaningful use” to today’s AI-powered, value-based care landscape, highlighting how intelligent workflows can reach underserved populations and improve outcomes at scale.

Aneesh introduces the concept of a “healthcare information fiduciary,” a model where apps and platforms act solely in the patient’s best interest, free from institutional financial incentives. He discusses how this, combined with emerging AI capabilities and interoperability standards like CMS’s FHIR APIs, can empower consumers and scale high-impact care delivery.

With real-world success stories, from improved hospital ratings via conversational AI to national gains in ADT data coverage, this episode offers healthcare leaders a roadmap for driving innovation through public-private collaboration and patient-centered data strategy. Take a listen.

When Technology Meets Care Management, Outcomes Improve. Jun 17, 2025

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The Big Unlock Podcast · When Technology Meets Care Management, Outcomes Improve. – Podcast with Rob Posner

In this episode, Rob Posner, Chief Technology Officer, AbsoluteCare discusses how the organization is transforming care delivery through a member-centric, value-based model that emphasizes advanced care management and the social determinants of health.

Rob explains AbsoluteCare’s proactive, longitudinal care management approach – enabled by technology that empowers mobile care teams to engage with members wherever they are, whether at home, in the community, or within hospital settings. He underscores the importance of real-time data access, EMR availability at the point of care, and the role of transitional care managers in ensuring continuity post-discharge. Rob also emphasizes how governance, change management, and attention to operational details such as connectivity, mobility, and privacy are critical to success.

Rob also explores AbsoluteCare’s innovation strategy, including the use of ambient clinical documentation, AI-driven diabetic retinopathy screening, and organization-wide adoption of Microsoft Copilot. Rob shares his vision for the future of AI agents and robotic process automation to streamline workflows, reduce provider burden, and ultimately improve care outcomes. Take a listen.

Transforming Prior Authorization with AI Jun 16, 2025

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The Big Unlock Podcast · Transforming Prior Authorization with AI – Podcast with Siva Namasivayam

He shares how AI is being applied to reduce administrative delays, including the use of generative AI to summarize clinical data and intelligent agents to assist with scheduling and information retrieval processes. The conversation also touches on enabling real-time approvals for a majority of cases, designing algorithms informed by physician input, and navigating the shift to remote work. The discussion offers insight into how technology can address systemic inefficiencies while maintaining clinical oversight. Take a listen.

Scaling With Autonomous AI for Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Jun 11, 2025

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The Big Unlock Podcast · Scaling With Autonomous AI for Diabetic Retinopathy Screening – Podcast with Alvin Liu

In this episode, Dr. T.Y. Alvin Liu, Inaugural Director, James P Gills Jr MD and Heather Gills AI Innovation Center at Johns Hopkins Medicine shares his journey in healthcare AI, with a focus on image analysis and real-world applications.

Dr. Liu discusses the FDA-approved autonomous AI system for diabetic retinopathy screening, which enables early detection in primary care settings and improves screening adherence. He outlines successful AI implementations at Johns Hopkins, including prior authorization pilots using generative AI and the importance of operational understanding in deployment. He also discussed the intersection of value-based medicine and artificial intelligence, and the challenges of implementing successful AI programs.

At the enterprise level, Dr. Liu emphasizes the need for strong AI governance to assess safety, effectiveness, and ROI. He outlines key challenges for AI startups, especially around reimbursement and regulation, and urges them to pursue sustainable business models. He also suggests closer collaboration among startups, VCs, and integrated health systems to bridge the gap between innovation and real-world adoption, essential for scaling AI responsibly and delivering long-term value in healthcare. Take a listen.

We Believe in Provider-led AI Where Clinicians Have the Final Say Jun 06, 2025

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The Big Unlock Podcast · We Believe in Provider-led AI Where Clinicians Have the Final Say – Podcast with Patrick Mobley

In this episode, Patrick Mobley, Co-Founder and CEO at Vivid Health shares how his personal background and professional journey inspired him to launch a platform that improves clinical workflows using generative AI.

Built in collaboration with Redesign Health, Vivid Health’s platform is designed to automate time-consuming, manual processes, such as patient outreach, assessments, care planning, and follow-ups—freeing nurses and care teams to focus on providing care. Patrick highlights their “provider-led AI” approach, where providers retain final control over AI-generated outputs. The platform supports over 100 conditions across 16 specialties and is being adopted in primary care, home health, and hospice settings. It reduces documentation time by over 50% and eliminates outreach labor in chronic care management workflows.

Patrick also emphasizes the platform’s value in scaling care, improving patient engagement, and supporting revenue generation, while offering deeper, more honest insights through automated, holistic patient assessments. Take a listen.

From Automation to Autonomy: Agentic AI Is Healthcare’s Next Frontier Jun 02, 2025

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The Big Unlock Podcast · From Automation to Autonomy: Agentic AI Is Healthcare’s Next Frontier-Episode 163-Shekar Ramanathan

In this episode, Shekar Ramanathan, Executive Director of Digital Transformation at Atlantic Health System shares how the organization is evolving from traditional automation to a future shaped by agentic AI. He shares Atlantic Health’s journey from pilot projects to scalable AI implementations, highlighting real-world use cases such as ambient scribing, intelligent message routing, and virtual medical assistants for patient engagement.

Shekar outlines how Atlantic leverages generative AI to tackle both clinical and operational challenges, guided by a strategy that aligns AI initiatives with organizational goals. He emphasizes working backwards from the outcomes, integrating AI into specific workflows, and the need for strong governance frameworks. He also shares insights on Atlantic’s AI maturity model, challenges in scaling, cost containment, prompt engineering, and the critical role of education and cultural change.

Looking ahead, Shekar sees agentic AI as a transformative force—one that reduces administrative burden and unlocks new levels of autonomy in care delivery. He also reflects on the rising importance of Chief AI Officers in driving responsible and effective AI strategy across health systems. Take a listen.

Beyond the EHR: Advancing Patient Care with AI and Data Strategies May 27, 2025

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The Big Unlock Podcast · Damo Consulting – Podcast – Ep 162 – Priti Patel

In this episode, Priti Patel, MD, VP and Chief Medical Information Officer at John Muir Health shares her journey from family physician to CMIO, offering insights into her 23-year tenure and the evolution of clinical informatics. She also talks about key challenges such as change management, the integration of new tools like predictive analytics, and streamlining prior authorization.

Dr. Patel discusses the growing role of informatics in healthcare and how collaboration across clinical and IT teams has driven innovation. One of the key highlights at John Muir Health, a community-based health system, is the early adoption of ambient AI technology for clinical documentation, leading to:

reduced cognitive load,
time savings of up to 30 minutes per note,
and enhanced provider-patient interactions.

She also emphasizes the critical role of seamless EHR integration in driving adoption, with over 60% of providers now using the tool regularly.

Dr. Patel also outlines the organization’s enterprise-wide data strategy, including a robust data literacy initiative that’s empowering staff at all levels, starting with the C-suite, to make data-driven decisions and improve care quality and operational outcomes. She underscores that aligning digital strategies with organizational priorities—while focusing on improving the clinician and patient experience—is central to sustainable transformation. Take a listen.

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