NASHVILLE, TN— November 18, 2024
Tennessee HIMSS Healthcare Executive AI Summit
On November 14, 2024, the Tennessee Chapter of HIMSS, in collaboration with AHEAD and Amazon Web Services (AWS), hosted its inaugural Healthcare Executive AI Summit, bringing together healthcare leaders to explore the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare. The half-day event focused on practical applications, challenges, and policy considerations surrounding AI in provider services organizations.
Program Highlights
Enhancing Healthcare through AI and Innovation
Andy Sajous opened with insights into personalized care powered by AI, highlighting use cases such as patient triage, drug discovery, assisted diagnosis, and electronic health record (EHR) summarization. GenAI applications in clinical workflows, patient engagement, and IT operations demonstrated AI’s broad impact. Discussions also addressed challenges like data governance, talent shortages, and achieving FDA approvals for AI-based devices, particularly in radiology, cardiology, and neurology.
AI in Healthcare: From Idea to Action
Kris Kristinsdottir and Evan Kaklamanos from Northwestern University Medicine explored how data science and machine learning drive healthcare innovation. They emphasized the critical role of robust data infrastructure, diverse datasets, and ethical model development. Examples included Northwestern’s gastroenterology project and their AI-driven radiology workflow models, ARIES and Results Management. Attendees gained actionable frameworks for defining problems, gathering data, training models, and measuring success through multidimensional metrics.
Advancing Your Healthcare Mission with Generative AI
AWS’ Robert Kissell discussed foundational AI/ML concepts, including generative AI powered by large language models (LLMs). Use cases ranged from virtual assistants and text generation to image classification. Kissell emphasized AWS’ AI/ML solutions and its free Generative AI Innovation Center resources to support organizations embarking on their AI journeys.
AI Policy in 2025 & Beyond: A Post-Election Look Ahead
In a fireside chat moderated by Justin Mooneyhan, policy expert Brett Meeks examined the regulatory future of AI in healthcare. Topics included upcoming AI legislation, HIPAA implications, cybersecurity concerns, and the potential for Nashville to become a hub for Health AI Assurance Labs. Discussions also touched on the role of the federal government in adopting generative AI for legislative and operational efficiencies.
Key Takeaways
· Opportunities: AI is transforming personalized care, operational efficiency, and patient outcomes across healthcare domains. GenAI’s applications are becoming mainstream, particularly for streamlining workflows and enhancing decision-making.
· Challenges: Effective AI implementation requires overcoming barriers in data security, governance, and workforce preparedness. Ethical use and compliance remain critical considerations.
· Policy Landscape: The evolving legislative environment will shape AI adoption, with implications for privacy, security, and innovation.
The summit concluded with a networking reception, offering attendees the chance to exchange insights and ideas for driving AI-forward strategies in healthcare.
Media Contact: Tiffany Madigan
Executive Director, TN HIMSS
tiffany@tnhimss.org