Healthcare organizations continue to navigate a complex digital transformation, with artificial intelligence (AI) becoming an increasingly prominent factor. At the 2025 HIMSS Global Conference and Expo, industry leaders shared insights on integrating AI, managing data, and preparing workforces for the future.
Establishing AI Governance and Education
Dr. Adam Landman, CIO and senior vice president of digital at Massachusetts General Brigham, highlighted the importance of building on existing strategies when implementing AI. “AI does introduce some new themes that need to be considered. We need to understand the validity, the accuracy. Are there bias issues? Are there equity issues? And so, we need to build upon some of the policies and governance structures,” he stated. He emphasized that education is essential across the organization.
Mass General Brigham has adopted a multi-layered governance approach for AI that incorporates different perspectives, from high-level strategic outlooks to practical application. They also consider how different roles, such as data scientists and administrative staff, interact with AI, and prioritize the creation of safe environments for using and evaluating these tools.
To ensure successful AI implementation, organizations should have robust monitoring programs as AI tools evolve. Charity Darnell, vice president and chief clinical information officer at Cook Children’s Health Care System, emphasized the importance of involving nurses, who may initially feel that the technology is being imposed upon them. Cook Children’s created an innovation space where nurses could test solutions. “Give your nurses a voice and give them an opportunity to speak up,” she advised.
Jeff Sturman, senior vice president and chief digital information officer at Memorial Healthcare System, shared that his organization has aligned data governance closely with AI governance, using existing clinical informatics and data governance teams as champions to deliver information and facilitate collaboration. He emphasized the value of partnerships, moving away from in-house data centers and towards cloud-based solutions.
Adapting Mindsets to Solve New Problems
Dr. Zafar Chaudry, senior vice president, chief digital officer, and chief AI and information officer at Seattle Children’s, stressed the need for a shift away from outdated IT approaches that limit scalability. He pointed out that building data centers is no longer a viable IT strategy, and that technical debt is a growing challenge. “You cannot spend $100 million on the infrastructure. So, this is where your partnerships come in, your collaboration with other people. I think the value is now to have that cloud-based infrastructure,” he noted.
Seattle Children’s has successfully adapted its infrastructure and data strategies, leading to direct improvements in patient outcomes. For example, the hospital is preparing to launch an AI-powered solution to make its clinical pathways more accessible for clinicians. The hospital, after incorporating feedback from patients, became the first pediatric hospital to be represented in Minecraft by creating a server for patients to use when they can’t leave their rooms.
Updated skill sets and training are crucial in light of new capabilities and rising expectations. Kalimuthu Chithambaram, North Americas field CTO for healthcare at CDW, acknowledged that partnerships between healthcare organizations can support on-the-job training in platform engineering and DevOps adoption. Embracing automation allows IT teams to focus on more strategic initiatives.
From left: Allyson Fryhoff, general manager of global healthcare and life sciences at Amazon Web Services, moderates a panel discussion with Martijn Hartjes, business leader for clinical informatics at Philips; Dr. Zafar Chaudry, senior vice president, chief digital officer and chief AI and information officer at Seattle Children’s; and Kalimuthu Chithambaram, North Americas field CTO for healthcare at CDW. (Photo by Teta Alim)
Automation allows IT teams to refocus on more strategic projects. “Embrace automation. You’re the gatekeeper, and you’re building repeatable models that help you do your job effectively so that you can focus on something that’s coming up next,” said Chithambaram.
