Quality’s AI Future is Now
AI is in the news and is increasingly part of people's day-to-day lives. But what does AI mean for health care quality? We examine the current state and future direction of artificial intelligence in measuring and improving health care.
Listen On:
About The Guest
Dr. Aaron Neinstein is the Chief Medical Officer at Notable, a leading intelligent automation company for health care. In this role, he employs his care delivery expertise to foster health care community engagement on the value of AI and automation for patients and care teams.
Prior to joining Notable, Dr. Neinstein spent over a decade as a physician executive in digital health and informatics, most recently as Vice President of Digital Health at UCSF Health. He is an Associate Professor in the UCSF Division of Endocrinology, with a clinical practice focused on diabetes care.
Episode Description
In this engaging episode of Quality Matters, host Andy Reynolds is joined by Aaron Neinstein, Chief Medical Officer at Notable, to explore how AI is reshaping health care. It’s not all robotic efficiency and cold algorithms. Aaron shares how AI takes over repetitive and data-heavy tasks so doctors can focus on their patients. Imagine spending less time sorting through charts and more time asking, “How does your illness affect your life?” That’s the transformative hope of AI.
The conversation takes a deep dive into the pressures on the health care workforce—from burnout to unstaffed job positions—and how AI could be the labor multiplier health care has been waiting for. But it’s not just about solving staffing shortages or making systems faster. Aaron foresees an optimistic future where AI helps personalize care, tailoring interactions to each patient—including by health literacy and language. It’s a future that feels surprisingly human, thanks to tech doing what it does best: Crunching the numbers and leaving empathy to the people.
No responsible discussion of AI can omit cautionary tales. Bias in training data, transparency and ethical partnerships all come into focus as Aaron reminds us to move thoughtfully in this brave new world. Whether you’re excited about AI, or skeptical, or just curious how it might impact your next doctor visit, this episode offers a balanced and insightful take.
The mistake I’ve made, that I’ve seen others make, is, ‘Hey, we’ve got this great new tool. Use it on the side of what you’re doing today. It’s going to be so good, it’s going to be worth it for you to move out of your EHR and come use our tool.’ And it never works.
People have their home that they work in, that they do all their work in every day. And the new tool, the new automation, the AI has to be tightly integrated into workflow, has to be integrated into the core system. Or it’s just not going to work.
Timestamps
(01:06) The Urgency of Digital Transformation
(03:17) AI’s Impact on Patient Care
(05:40) Addressing Fears and Misconceptions
(13:00) Transparency and Guiding Principles
(14:21) NCQA’s AI Initiatives