Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
In this episode of Enabling Health Value, we bring you Dr. Robert Pearl, one of the foremost physician thought leaders in the country. For 18 years, he served as CEO of The Permanente Medical Group (Kaiser Permanente). He is also former president of The Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group. In these roles he led 10,000 physicians, 38,000 staff and was responsible for the nationally recognized medical care of 5 million Kaiser Permanente members on the west and east coasts. Dr. Pearl is a prolific healthcare leader, author, educator, columnist, and podcaster and has earned national recognition as a leading innovator in the use of generative AI for value-based care.
Dr. Pearl is the author of the new book ChatGPT, MD: How AI-Empowered Patients & Doctors Can Take Back Control of American Medicine. In this interview, we examine the transformational power of generative AI in medicine and discuss key learnings from ChatGPT, MD. Dr. Pearl delves into how AI can empower both patients and doctors, improving clinical outcomes and patient engagement. He shares his vision of a healthcare future where AI helps to streamline administrative tasks, enhance diagnostic accuracy, and personalize patient care. We also explore the practical applications of generative AI in clinical settings, its potential to reduce healthcare costs and address clinician burnout, and the ethical considerations surrounding its use.
Bookmarks:
02:30 How “Chat GPT, MD” follows builds upon Dr. Pearl’s two earlier books in the pursuit of healthcare transformation.
04:00 Care continues to be transactional and fragmented. Can Generative AI move the industry forward?
06:00 Generative AI differs from other types of artificial intelligence.
07:00 Neural networks and deep learning support “narrow AI” models that exceed human intelligence in specific clinical use cases.
08:30 “My hope right now is to open people’s eyes to the power of generative AI to transform the healthcare system.”
10:00 How can we avoid the pitfalls of past healthcare technologies with generative AI?
10:30 The rapid advancement of AI (doubling in power every year!)
11:15 Healthcare 4.0—marked by Generative AI-enabled value-based care—will reshape the doctor-patient dynamic.
13:00 The failure of EHRs to transform healthcare. (Can we avoid the same mistakes with Generative AI?)
14:00 “Generative AI can empower patients to do 20-30% of what doctors already do in office with higher quality, increased convenience, and lower cost.”
14:30 Transitioning from fee-for-service to value-based medicine (and how that will happen in parallel with Generative AI)
15:30 Generative AI models will become at least 30X more powerful in just five years and 1,000X more powerful a mere decade from now!
17:30 Physician fears of job displacement or income loss with generative AI — are they overshadowed by the potential benefits that AI can bring to a value-based model?
19:00 The massive shortage of clinicians contributes to our failures in managing chronic diseases. (Generative AI can provide a reversal!)
21:00 How generative AI will address the extreme burnout, dissatisfaction, and fatigue experienced by physicians.
21:30 What is the problem with seeing fewer patients (and spending more time with them) if physicians are reimbursed differently?
22:30 Increasing workforce supply is not a viable option. The only solution to address a physician shortage is through technology!
23:30 Comparing the future of AI in our lives to the ubiquitous nature of the iPhone.
24:30 Reimagining chronic disease care through the triad relationship of Doctor, Patient, and Generative AI.
27:00 Health data from wearables will continue to be underutilized (and ignored) without interpretative capabilities of generative AI.
29:30 Comparing the onset of AI with other technological advancements throughout history.
31:30 Examples of how generative AI can be utilized in emergent situations to triage acute care needs.
34:30 How generative AI can support “hospital at home” models through continuous remote monitoring and health surveillance.
39:00 Potential risks of AI in healthcare (e.g. errors, privacy and security breaches, ethical dilemmas, algorithmic biases)
40:00 “With the risks of AI, is it still better than what we have in healthcare today where 400,000 people die each year from misdiagnosis?”
42:30 What revenue models will support future Generative AI platforms – subscription-based or advertising-based?
43:00 Racial disparities in care are the result of implicit human biases (not the technology of AI itself).
45:00 The scenario of generative AI making healthcare worse does not exist!
45:30 Getting the best results from generative AI by providing it the optimal prompts to improve health equity.
46:15 Dr. Pearl explains his experience in using ChatGPT as a co-author of his new book.
47:30 Now is the time for clinicians to experiment with Generative AI (it is not yet ready for prime time in the clinical domain.)
50:30 Leadership for the future of generative AI in value-based health care.
51:00 Behavioral economics and the fear of loss associated with change.
52:00 A leader’s responsibility to create an aspirational vision that instills courage to embrace change!
53:15 Moving from FFS to capitation (coupled with AI) – a remarkable opportunity for American medicine.
54:30 The elusive definition of value-based care – simplifying our understanding by focusing on terms like quality, convenience, satisfaction, and affordability.
56:00 Learn more about Dr. Pearl’s vision for healthcare transformation at www.robertpearlmd.com