Laying the Foundation for an AI-enabled Health System

Written by Eric Smith, senior vice president and chief digital officer for Memorial Hermann Health System

Artificial intelligence is increasingly transforming our daily lives, often in ways we don’t immediately notice, and health care is no exception. AI — a technology that allows computers to learn and solve problems that would otherwise require a person — is a central topic in nearly every conversation about health care, bringing both promise and uncertainty.

In a field where the stakes are inherently high and the work deeply personal, the introduction of AI naturally raises critical questions about privacy, ethics and the role of technology in patient care. Yet, the potential for AI to enhance decision-making, streamline operations and improve patient outcomes is undeniable. So how should AI help shape the health care experience, and how can health systems navigate this complex path? At Memorial Hermann, we are committed to exploring these considerations and responsibly shaping our approach to AI.

Fundamentally, there is a path forward for the safe and responsible adoption of AI in health care. To harness the full potential of AI while addressing the concerns it raises, Memorial Hermann is developing and implementing a robust AI governance framework. This framework is being built in collaboration with other leading health systems through initiatives like the AVIA AI Collaborative, where we share insights and establish consistent practices for evaluating, onboarding and managing emerging technologies.

AI Governance: A Cross-Disciplinary Leadership Approach

Memorial Hermann’s journey with AI began with the creation of a cross-disciplinary AI Governance Council, bringing together leaders from operations; data science; technology; marketing and communications; legal and privacy; the office of equity, diversity and inclusion; and more. By pooling these diverse perspectives, we ensure a comprehensive approach to AI integration. To date, the AI Council has prioritized three critical areas:

• Policy development: We have crafted a policy to govern AI usage, embedding clear guidelines and safeguards into new and existing agreements with solution providers.
• Communication and education: We are implementing a comprehensive plan to educate our workforce about AI, ensuring they understand how to safely and effectively integrate these tools into their daily workflows. This plan also includes how we will share AI-related developments with our patients and our community.
• Review and analysis: We have established a rigorous process to evaluate AI capabilities, focusing on key factors such as data quality, privacy and bias. This ensures we thoroughly understand each AI tool and can manage it responsibly.

As we move forward, we will continue to expand our Council, bringing in more members of our workforce to focus on how AI can enhance the patient experience, support clinical teams and improve operational efficiency.

AI in Action: New Technologies Transforming Care at Memorial Hermann

As the AI Council works on our adoption framework, we are simultaneously piloting several AI initiatives across clinical, operational and patient experience areas. A few of our initiatives currently underway include:

• Enhancing the clinical and patient experience: We have deployed two new tools in this area. Ambience is an ambient listening technology that captures and transcribes conversations between providers and patients into comprehensive chart notes. And Hellocare, an AI-driven platform that supports our nursing team with safety monitoring for patients at risk of falls or in need of continuous movement. Hellocare also facilitates virtual nursing interactions, giving our nurses more resources to provide effective patient care. Status = broad pilot phase.
• Strengthening patient interactions: We have implemented a virtual voice experience tool designed to provide personalized, human-like interactions with patients, called Grace. Grace automates follow-ups on our Emergency Center discharges and our Nurse Health Line calls, and assists in scheduling annual wellness visits. By managing a variety of patient interactions, Grace helps ensure that patients receive timely care and follow-up, improving overall access to essential health services. Status = now being scaled into production.
• Streamlining provider communication: As part of our system’s recent Epic deployment, we have introduced the AI-assisted InBasket, a new feature within Epic’s message-based task management tool. This assistant helps providers efficiently manage their inboxes by generating draft responses that can be reviewed, edited and sent. By automating this task, we save our providers valuable time while enhancing patient communication and engagement. Status = broad pilot phase.

Eric Smith is senior vice president and chief digital officer for Memorial Hermann.