Meeting patients where they are: How health systems are using technology to transform care
Health systems are navigating rapid digital transformation, driven by patient expectations, workforce challenges and emerging technologies.
During an August webinar hosted by Becker’s Healthcare and Wolters Kluwer, leaders from NYU Langone Health, Kaiser Permanente and Wolters Kluwer explored how tech-driven clinical workflows are shaping the future of population health.
Key themes from the discussion are summarized below.
1. The need for personalization
The healthcare workforce and patient population now span multiple generations, each with distinct preferences and expectations. This diversity is influencing how organizations design and implement technology.
For example, Kaiser Permanente’s emergency departments and inpatient settings are now accredited for geriatric care, with care managers focused on addressing social determinants such as loneliness among older adults in San Francisco.
“We can’t shy away from change when we want to be operationally excellent,” said Parnika Kodali, chief operating officer of Kaiser Permanente San Francisco. “We use technology as an enabler to understand different data sets, to understand trends and really design programs around the needs of the population.”
2. Supporting clinicians at the point of care
NYU Langone Health has long been a metrics-driven organization. But now, it’s evolving from a reactive model to one where AI proactively flags issues across clinical and operational domains.
“We’ve talked about learning health systems for a long time,” said Paul Testa, MD, chief health informatics officer of NYU Langone Health. “Now it’s time to talk about intelligent health systems that reach out to us in ways we are willing to accept.”
Dr. Testa described an effort to use large language models (LLMs) that scan clinical notes and suggest differential diagnoses in real time. This type of AI-enhanced decision support allows clinicians to maintain autonomy while receiving timely, relevant insights.
3. Trust and transparency foundational to AI adoption
While enthusiasm for generative AI is growing, leaders emphasized the importance of trust, validation and transparency in clinical applications.
Yaw Fellin, senior vice president of product and solutions for Wolters Kluwer Health, said the organization is grounding its AI in UpToDate’s evidence-based content and engaging more than 7,500 clinicians to provide expert validation.
“We’ve developed evidence-based expertise in clinical decision support for a really long time,” said Mr. Fellin. “Grounding AI in trusted sources is a proven method that is absolutely being applied at UpToDate. As we piece workflows together for our clinician users, we have a sense that we are innovating transparently for the right reasons.”
Panelists agreed that transparency around how AI systems are developed and validated is essential, particularly when tools are used at the point of care.
4. Innovation must scale
Dr. Amanda Heidemann, physician advisor at Wolters Kluwer Health, highlighted the potential for technology to personalize care and address gaps.
She described how digital tools can support asynchronous education, language customization and outreach across literacy levels, enabling more equitable access to care across generations. This approach not only improves outcomes but also fosters shared decision-making.
“Healthcare isn’t something we do to a patient, it’s something we do with a patient,” Dr. Heidemann said. “We can make healthcare more cost effective and more productive. And it’s not just doing technology for technology’s sake. Everything has to have a demonstrable benefit.”
Throughout the session, speakers reiterated the need to prioritize technologies that can scale across diverse settings and deliver measurable impact.
To drive sustainable transformation, organizations are aligning tech investments with broader health system strategies, ensuring solutions address real-world needs for patients and providers alike.
“Technology for technology’s sake is no longer palpable,” Dr. Testa said. “If we can’t do it at scale, then what are we doing it for? I think scale and integration unto itself transcends really cool new tools, and that’s a discipline we’ve probably all learned through the years.”
For further insights and actionable strategies in the technology transformation for health systems, read Yaw Fellin’s full article, “A generational shift in the clinical workforce and decision-making,” offering practical approaches for leaders to address these pivotal challenges.
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