The Big Unlock

The Big Unlock · Ann Bilyew, President, WebMD Ignite In this episode, Ann Bilyew, President at WebMD Ignite, explores how the rise of AI-generated health information is changing the way health systems connect consumers to care. As LLMs increasingly own the information layer, she argues that the opportunity for healthcare organizations is shifting from owning search and discovery to establishing credibility and owning the handoff from a patient’s question to the right care. Ann emphasizes the importance of complete, credible, and corroborated content, alongside personalized engagement that reflects each patient’s clinical circumstances, preferences, and needs. She also calls for reducing friction and breaking down organizational and technology silos across marketing, education, engagement, and care to create a more cohesive patient journey. Ann believes healthcare organizations must focus on creating the connection point between foundational AI models and the actual provision of care. Take a listen.

The Big Unlock · Don Woodlock, President, InterSystems In this episode, Don Woodlock, President of InterSystems, discusses what it takes to make AI work effectively in healthcare. He emphasizes that organizations need to look beyond models and focus equally on use cases, ROI, change management, data, and integration. AI needs to be connected to the right data, context, procedures, and skills to deliver value within an organization. Don emphasizes that healthcare remains a human endeavor. AI can summarize complex patient information and help clinicians consider additional possibilities, but it should support human decision-making rather than replace it. He sees agentic AI helping with administrative tasks, reducing burden, and improving access, with human oversight remaining essential. Don believes AI-native healthcare requires AI to be embedded directly into products and workflows. Rather than bolting AI onto existing software, the opportunity is to rethink how users interact with systems, allowing them to state what they want accomplished while the technology handles the underlying work. Take a listen. This guest appearance was facilitated through conversations initiated at HIMSS.

The Big Unlock · Roberta L. Schwartz, PhD, EVP, Houston Methodist Hospital and CIO, Houston Methodist In this episode, Roberta Schwartz, Executive Vice President at Houston Methodist Hospital and Chief Innovation Officer at Houston Methodist, explores how healthcare is moving from AI hype toward a more mature, outcomes-driven approach to innovation. She argues that as technology companies expand beyond traditional “swim lanes,” health systems must become more thoughtful about selecting platforms that can address multiple needs while avoiding fragmented solutions. Roberta emphasizes that technology alone does not create transformation. Successful AI adoption requires rethinking workflows, redesigning processes, and measuring whether technology improves care, strengthens the workforce, and reduces costs. She shares Houston Methodist’s approach of bringing operators and IT leaders together to evaluate innovation through both frontline impact and ROI. She also discusses agentic AI, virtual care, and centralized specialty services as ways to expand access and improve workforce efficiency. Her message to healthcare leaders is to remain optimistic but skeptical: define trials, measure outcomes, question assumptions, and ensure every technology investment delivers meaningful value. Take a listen.

The Big Unlock · Shailu Verma, Chief Executive Officer, Co-founder, Mila Health In this episode, Shailu Verma, CEO and Co-founder of Mila Health, explores how healthcare AI is moving beyond patient engagement and conversational tools toward AI agents that execute care coordination workflows. He explains that many critical tasks across the patient journey remain manual, creating an opportunity for AI to improve access, engagement, operational efficiency, and outcomes. Shailu emphasizes that scaling AI requires more than another point solution. AI must integrate seamlessly into existing clinical technology, remain configurable and governable, deliver consistent responses, and bring humans into the loop when needed. He sees LLMs becoming increasingly commoditized, making the last mile of execution, governance, and workflow integration critical differentiators. Shailu urges healthcare leaders to start with measurable problems where AI can demonstrate real ROI. His message is clear: move AI from conversation to execution, automate manual coordination, and focus on getting meaningful work done. Take a listen.

The Big Unlock · Dr. Ami Bhatt, Chief Medical Officer, WHOOP In this episode, Dr. Ami Bhatt, Chief Medical Officer at WHOOP and former Chair of the FDA Digital Health Advisory Committee, explores how healthcare can embrace AI without losing the clinical judgment, human connection, and context essential to patient care. She sees AI as a powerful source of compute that can surface knowledge, identify patterns, and help clinicians navigate growing volumes of health data, while clinical acumen remains central to decision-making. Dr. Bhatt emphasizes that digital health and Agentic AI must start with the patient, incorporate individual preferences, and establish clear guardrails for when human intervention is required. She also highlights wearables as an important bridge between community-based monitoring and clinical care. Dr. Bhatt highlights the need for post-deployment monitoring and real-world evidence as AI systems continuously evolve, and calls for closer collaboration among patients, clinicians, technology companies, and regulators. She urges healthcare leaders to prepare for constant technological change, develop stronger digital infrastructure, and focus innovation on unmet patient needs rather than technology for its own sake. Take a listen. This episode was recorded in July 2026. Dr. Bhatt is now Chief Medical Officer at WHOOP.