Building Intelligent Health Around the Whole Person with Nasim Afsar

Health care should not be designed around fragments of a person’s life. It should be built around the whole person, with data, intelligence, and ownership working together. In this episode, Nasim Afsar, author of Intelligent Health and former Chief Health Officer at Oracle Health, joins Don Berwick and Kedar Mate to discuss how technology can transform healthcare from reactive and fragmented to personalized and proactive. Drawing on her experience as a hospitalist, quality leader, health system COO, and health tech executive, Dr. Afsar explains why healthcare systems often fail when they prioritize institutional needs over patient realities. She shares the story of Elena, a patient labeled “noncompliant” whose challenges were actually tied to homelessness, insurance loss, and a care plan disconnected from her daily life. Dr. Afsar also outlines the three pillars of Intelligent Health: integrating clinical and social data, applying intelligence to generate foresight and insights, and creating systems driven by consumers themselves. Tune in and learn how intelligent health can give people more agency, more personalized support, and a better chance at living healthier lives. Resources: Connect with and follow Dr. Nasim Afsar on LinkedIn. Learn more about her book, Intelligent Health, here! Explore Nasim’s website.