Ashis Barad was hired a year ago as the first Special Surgery Hospital, the chief digital and technology officer. The New York Academic Medical Center, known for its Orthopedics program, has hired that its new CEO is wider to determine the priority for data and technology.
Barad, a pediatric gastroenterologist who learned, previously led digital efforts Allegheny Health Network in Pittsburg and Boylor Scott & White Health in Dallas.
Medtech Dive talked to Barad about his digital efforts priorities to HSS and his thoughts on agent AI, a technology that can perform tasks unattended. Barad also discussed how the work intersects with orthopedic devices.
This interview was edited due to length and clarity.
Ashis Barad is a chief digital and technology officer HSS.
A permit provided by the hospital for special surgery.
Medtech Dive: Now that you are a year when you are in your role, what are your most important priorities HSS?
ASHIS BARAD: One of the problems that I hope we don’t see is just efficiency. Using new technologies, people often say, „Oh God, we can continue to do whatever we do, but just be much more effective.”
But are we really not going to think that there will be new opportunities that we can do with AI health care? We begin to think about the extension of nursing patterns not what we have historically done.
My biggest topic is (that), I think the agent AI will be a great health care orchestra.
HSS wants to move to the movement arena more than where you just go to orthopedic surgery because we are already doing a lot of things outside the operation. So, we look at the orchestration of the huge type of ecosystem, starting from prevention to regenerative to performance to wellness to longevity to surgical to non -surgical care. Take what is special in New York’s Upper East side and enhances it for the rest of the US and worldwide.
Are you talking about ai agents, is it something you think about as a long time, a big picture? Or maybe this is something you want to spend quickly?
There are two agents levels. Today’s agents are, let me do the task for you, which is simple. So, it can be inside the call center to call phone calls. It can be an agent to help you plan a meeting, it can be provided for checking you after surgery, / or this may be an agent looking for HR policies as an employee.
When I talk about long -term agents, I think about them as minions from an appicable me. You would never send a minion to do a big thing. If you put 100 minions, they can do wonderful things, but someone will have to lead them and orchestrate. How do you organize these minions to do these really difficult tasks? It will have to be archishadible using data – it will take years.
We talked about some administrative uses. How does your work with AI connect to medical devices?
A lot of things come to mind.
Here we have an implant laboratory that actually cooperates with HSS, and we print 3D (implants). There are many AIs who are involved in 3-D printing the true knee or club. If someone has a huge defect and requires a custom, personalized implant that can happen to HSS.
Eismia’s analysis is another truly popular (area) of orthopedic space. So far, this technology has usually been with markers. You have to actually put the markers all over your body so that the cameras can see the movement. What is happening in the world of computer vision is without a marker, so patients can now walk around the hall and see their gait as they move. Our surgeons are currently doing this actively in the world of our common change service in the field of research. Not only does it get cool data – it actually informs the proper operation of that patient.
We have the Committee of Technology HSS. We look at every seller. We are constantly looking at the latest AI robotics and navigation, but I would separate those two. Many companies are paired. There are now also open platforms operating with any robot and connection.
Currently, there is not much in the world of medical devices with generative AI. The impressive is that the new interface for interaction with technology causes (from) the environment to voice. I think there is a world with navigation and robotics – I’m thinking about Iron Man with Jarvis – that the surgeon talks to software and says, „Can you move a little here? Can you change?”
When you evaluate different AI technologies, how do you decide what is a useful tool compared to what to convey?
(After) 16 years of constant practice, I was disappointed with so many technologies that did not actually solve real problems with the front line. This must solve real problems that affect our front lines, our patients. Can it do better and can you do good?
Make sure we identify the problem and that we are not a hammer looking for a nail. There are really cool things here, but I think before that we did a lot of digital health, telemedicine and other technologies. I think it is my duty to make sure we do not interfere with the glossy object syndrome, and (that) we solve real problems that affect people.
I mainly look at platform companies through Point Solutions. Point decisions are great, but I think we need to be horizontal at the moment than we have to be vertical. I look at the world of platforms until someone comes to me and says, „I’m just going to solve this little narrow part of your journey.” It must have a business value or patient value that means results, safety, quality or financial Ig.
We determine strong data control, AI control, cyber security management, ethics, regulation and justice, and other aspects of viewing of these tools. It’s a new world. It is also very important to make sure that we look at it responsibly in our new governance.