AI oversight with Kedar Mate, M.D., of Qualified Health

Kedar Mate, M.D., founder and chief medical officer of Qualified Health, joins the show to talk about the promise and risks of artificial intelligence (AI) in health care. He discusses the importance of proper oversight and governance, the need for HIPAA-compliant tools and how health systems can operationalize ethical frameworks to ensure safe and effective AI use.

Mate also shares lessons from other industries and offers strategies for triaging and prioritizing AI ideas to maximize business and clinical impact.

Don't miss Monday's episode on health equity and medical misinformation, or previous episodes on the state of health care policy, remote patient monitoring (RPM) and what's broken in health care.

Music Credits:
SEDUCCION by Bopper Beats - stock.adobe.com
Relaxing Lounge by Classy Call me Man - stock.adobe.com
A Textbook Example by Skip Peck - stock.adobe.com

Editor's note: Episode timestamps and transcript produced using AI tools.

Introduction and Episode Overview (00:00:00) AI as a potential solution for health care’s economic challenges; importance of smart implementation.

Podcast Introduction and Guest Introduction (00:00:22) Host and guest introductions; overview of episode topics: AI opportunities, risks, oversight and evaluation in health care.

Start of Interview: AI Safety and Governance (00:01:23) Dr. Kedar Mate joins to discuss AI safety, governance and responsible use in health care.

Opportunities and Risks of AI in Health care (00:01:49) AI’s promise for clinicians, shift from supply-driven to demand-led technology and risks like hallucinations and model changes.

Monitoring AI Performance and Mitigating Risks (00:04:48) Need for ongoing monitoring of AI model performance and application reliability in clinical settings.

National and Federal AI Frameworks (00:05:57) Overview of national frameworks and codes of conduct for ethical AI use; need for operationalizing these in practice.

Operationalizing AI Guardrails and HIPAA Compliance (00:07:03) Translating ethical frameworks into technology; importance of HIPAA compliance and risks of using public AI tools with PHI.

HIPAA-Compliant AI Tools and Data Security (00:08:14) Dangers of leaking protected health information; introduction of HIPAA-compliant chat tools for secure clinical use.

Public Service Announcement: Clinical Resources (00:10:12) Brief mention of Patient Care Online as a clinical resource for physicians.

Physician-Level AI Evaluation and Compliance (00:10:31) Questions physicians should ask about AI tools; lack of official approval seals; importance of validation and self-regulation.

Vendor Self-Reporting and Need for Independent Oversight (00:12:33) Risks of relying solely on vendor self-reporting; need for independent, ongoing monitoring similar to cybersecurity.

Measuring AI Safety and Value (00:14:27) How to assess AI safety: technical performance, value to clinicians and monitoring defect rates.

Lessons from Aviation and Automotive Industries (00:16:05) Applying high-reliability principles from aviation, automotive and nuclear industries to health care AI safety.

AI Reliability in Practice: Aviation and Automotive Examples (00:17:51) How AI is safely used in aviation and self-driving cars; importance of trustworthiness and reliability.

Practice Management Minute: Automation Tips (00:19:53) Tips for automating and simplifying medical practice management to save time and reduce costs.

Governance and Control of AI Usage in Health Systems (00:21:05) How health care leaders can govern and triage AI tool usage within large organizations.

AI Triage Systems and Vendor Proliferation (00:22:31) Implementing triage systems for AI ideas; challenges with numerous point-solution vendors; need for platform approaches.

Industry Consolidation and Final Thoughts (00:24:43) Industry trends toward consolidation; final advice on smart AI adoption and the importance of knowledgeable partners.

Episode Closing and Credits (00:26:28) Host thanks guest; episode credits and subscription information.