Episode 45: A Conversation with Dr. Racquel Moore, VP, Optum on the US Health System’s Speedy Integration of AI

I think most of us know that AI is rapidly changing the meaning of that now rather old fashioned-sounding phrase – “I’m going to the doctor’s”. If you go for a scan of some kind – AI’s now involved. Same with making appointments or the patient portals that almost all of us use now – willingly or not. If the AI is well integrated and works well – it saves time. If it isn’t – and that’s too often the case at the moment – we hate it. But the speed that some version of an AI is moving into all aspects of American health care is accelerating and it appears there’s no stopping it. And indeed – if AI is improving your healthcare – why would you want to stop it?  So – is it? In Episode 43 we learned what a well-integrated AI can do in an advanced, well organized healthcare system. As they have in Israel. And Israel is already far ahead of the US in using AI to improve direct patient care. In our own, more fragmented, more competitive, mostly for-profit system – the deployment is primarily in the largest hospital, imaging and doctor groups and in the big insurance companies. So in this episode we’re talking to someone who’s at the helm of AI rollout at Optum – the huge, health services and technology arm of United Health. Dr. Racquel Moore is Vice President of EHR Strategy, Governance, and Special Projects at Optum. EHR, which I had to look up too, stands for “electronic health record”. It has broadly replaced most paper records. At Optum – Dr. Moore leads enterprise AI and digital strategy across a large, multi-platform healthcare network. Her work focuses on how AI tools are evaluated, implemented, and responsibly scaled to improve provider efficiency and reduce administrative burden, while maintaining strong clinical and governance oversight. With a background that spans frontline clinical work, quality and compliance, and enterprise strategy, she brings both a practical and strategic perspective to the evolving role of AI in healthcare. So that ultimately – both providers and patients should benefit. As always in these informal conversations – we used first names. YouTube Episode Link: YouTube Channel Link: @conversationsonhealthhowwe482