The Business of Healthcare Podcast · Center for Healthcare Leadership and Management

Centering Humans in Healthcare AI Implementation

·37 min·2 clips

Brubaker says AI only works when it links to mission, strategy, and priorities, not a target like 2%.

The episode opens by naming a problem healthcare leaders already know well: AI arrives with promise, but also with fear. That fear can hit especially hard for healthcare workers with an administrative component to their job, where implementation can trigger resistance or even sabotage. From there, the discussion moves away from the tool itself and into the work around it. The core argument is simple: AI cannot be treated like a standalone purchase. It has to be built into the workflow if the organization wants the return it expects. The conversation keeps circling back to a basic point about healthcare itself: it is humans caring for humans. That makes implementation more than a technical exercise. The episode asks how AI can help a physical therapist work better or help an ER nurse work more effectively. In this framing, the answer depends on how people actually use the tool. Change implementation becomes the main focus. Instead of rolling out one isolated system, the episode argues for designing change around job groups and the work that needs to get done. That takes involvement at multiple levels of the organization. The episode also gives weight to change champions. These are the people who believe in the shift, can model it, and can demonstrate it outside formal leadership. Their role is not just symbolic. They help shape the approach before go-live and improve the odds that the rollout fits the mission. The show also makes room for the extra time and advisory support that good implementation can require. That investment is presented as worth it when it helps the organization get the design right. The language stays practical and operational throughout. It treats AI not as magic, but as another tool that has to survive contact with real work, real habits, and real people. The episode ends with a clear reminder that the people side of implementation is not optional. It is the difference between a tool that sits on the shelf and a tool that actually changes care delivery.

As heard by us

Healthcare AI only works when it fits the work people already do.

This episode keeps its focus on the people side of healthcare AI. The real thread is simple: tools only matter if they fit the work people already do.

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If you want the people side of healthcare AI, start here.

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