Health Technologies

Q&A: Evaluating AI Tools for Healthcare With Northwestern Medicine

HEALTHTECH: How do you connect different departments to test an AI solution? How are you getting user and executive buy-in?

KOCZKA: At Northwestern Medicine, our structure is to have cross-functional teams evaluate solutions, developing from the outset a team that includes representation from relevant clinical areas, IT, operations and admin, which encourages diverse perspectives and knowledge sharing. It is fundamental to clearly articulate the goals of the AI solution and how it’s going to benefit each department or stakeholder that could be impacted by its use.

If a solution is brought in, we pilot it pretty quickly and try to have pilot groups from different departments that will test that AI solution in a controlled environment. Having more hands-on experience with the technology really helps with building that collaborative nature and process for the project.

Then, our team will track whether pilots should keep moving forward or whether they should pull back. We offer good channels for open communication for feedback so that we can make quick adjustments. It’s important to involve those users early on and get their input on requirements and workflows. I think it’s like any project that you’re trying to implement.

Our expectations is that our partners demonstrate the technology, showing real-world examples of how the AI solution can either simplify a task, improve efficiency or enhance patient outcomes. It is vital to also celebrate the early successes, which I think helps to build wider adoption over time.

Northwestern Medicine has a robust executive governance process for evaluating all technology solutions, and that includes AI. Our executive committee is multidisciplinary, with finance, operations, IT, compliance and clinical areas represented. They’re typically not necessarily stakeholders, and may or may not use the technology, but they help us to vet our solutions and truly understand cost-benefit analysis. They’re looking at how the solution aligns with our strategic goals, whether it will drive operational efficiency, things like that.

The executive piece comes a bit later in our process, because we may not have a successful pilot, or the users decide the solution isn’t something that works for them. So, we bring our executive team in at the end if there is a request to more widely deploy the technology.

HEALTHTECH: What advice do you have for other healthcare organizations looking to address user concerns early on?

KOCZKA: Open communication is key. We try to be very transparent around what our goals are, the processes, the implications of the project, making sure that stakeholders are aware of what to expect throughout the implementation and while using the technology.

It’s crucial to keep stakeholders involved and engaged from the outset of the project and make them feel valued and heard. We’ll often have advisory committees, which depends on the size of the project and how many will be impacted across the organization. Those committees can provide ongoing feedback and guidance.

Education and training is another critical area, so we use the vendor’s resources to explain the new technology and its benefits and bring in our own technical and architecture teams to explain how this can integrate with current workflows.

Also, it’s important to address misconceptions about the AI technology. We often show real-world examples and emphasize that AI is intended to enhance human roles. If we’re not the first to use the technology, we show examples of how that AI has positively impacted other organizations and focus on how that allows for improved patient care and operational efficiencies.

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