Is Healthcare Ready for Generative AI? Nurses Say No, Kaiser Permanente Disagrees

The healthcare sector generates about 30% of all data in the world. It is, of course, the target of a great many generative AI dreams, from newly minted startups ready to reap the benefits of a generative AI tool performing medical miracles to visionaries in the top management of major hospitals predicting that AI will not only save lives, but also help solve that tricky balance between profits and patients.

Healthcare giant Kaiser Permanente, with 40 hospitals in eight states, has jumped into the generative AI opportunity pool and is actively implementing generative AI tools across all of its sites. For a full look at the organization’s AI journey, don’t miss Daniel Yang, vice president of AI and emerging technologies at Kaiser Permanente at VB Transform. Yang will be speaking on the Transform Healthcare track on day two of the event, focusing on key generative AI opportunities, with speakers from Sutter Health, Stanford Hospital, and Healthvana (Healthvana now has the largest distributed healthcare application with OpenAI’s LLM communicating directly with users.)

Kaiser Permanente nurses are also having a say in this AI evolution. Just a few months ago, 200 members of the California Nurses Association (CAN) held a protest at one of Kaiser’s offices in San Francisco, holding signs that read “Patients are not algorithms” and “Trust nurses, not AI,” and calling for greater transparency in the tools and a say in how these platforms are deployed, since patients are the ones in the crosshairs when something goes wrong. Some nurses have even reported issues with the tool, such as incorrect alarms or a failure to detect patients who desperately need it, according to CAN President Michelle Gutierrez Vo, who represents Kaiser Permanente’s 24,000 nurses.

The healthcare industry as a whole has long grappled with data governance, privacy, modeling bias and inconsistent standards as it strives to adopt AI in a measured, ethical and responsible manner. But those on the front lines see things differently and are calling for slowdown, rigorous testing and a seat at the table, Vo added. The big questions are: Is AI really smart enough to save patients’ lives, and is the end goal to replace real-life healthcare professionals with their AI-powered counterparts?

And another question: Are health care providers listening?

Yang will address this question at VB Transform, where he will explore the transformative journey of integrating generative AI into one of the largest healthcare organizations in the United States, and their path to responsible AI. You’ll get a look at the most promising applications of generative AI in healthcare in action, insights into real-world applications such as predictive analytics for patient outcomes, natural language processing to manage patient requests, and advanced diagnostic tools. And of course, he’ll tackle the hot topic: the challenges of generative AI, from data management to ensuring accountability, maintaining patient privacy, and more.

Don’t miss this opportunity to learn what healthcare organizations are doing to advance the industry, keep patients safe, and embrace innovation as it happens. VB Transform 2024 will take place live in San Francisco on July 9, 10, and 11. This year’s theme is Putting AI to Work at Scale, with a focus on the real-world case studies and application stories of next-generation AI that matter most, straight from industry leaders with the smartest minds and the courage to do it. Register now!