Health Systems Urged to Rethink AI Hype
A BJC and WashU Medicine executive says medical AI has decades of research behind it and should not be treated as new.
Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in Artificial Intelligence
Live Poll
Do you trust AI to be used safely in your own medical care?
Philip Payne, chief health AI officer at BJC HealthCare and WashU Medicine, warned health systems against treating medical AI as new during a panel at Newsweek's AI Health Summit in New York City. He said health systems risk overlooking AI research dating to the 1950s and 1960s.
Why it matters
Payne said the capability to deploy AI at scale has finally caught up with decades of research, making it important for health systems to build on that foundation. His comments suggest that organizations seeking results should plan for measurable outcomes rather than adopting tools without a clear pathway to evaluation.
Payne pointed to computerized identification of abnormal heart rhythms in 2018 as an example of AI already operating in clinics. Houston Methodist's continuous vital-sign monitoring has been used to identify problems earlier, though the extraction does not report measured outcome figures.
The players
Philip Payne
Chief health AI officer at BJC HealthCare and WashU Medicine, PhD-trained informatician with decades of experience in AI.
Rohit Chandra
Executive vice president and chief digital officer at Cleveland Clinic who described current AI as the most immature version health systems will see.
Bilal Muhsin
Executive vice president and president of the connected care segment at BD.
The details
Payne made the remarks on a panel alongside Rohit Chandra of Cleveland Clinic and Bilal Muhsin of BD. Payne said his program will not undertake an AI project without a clear pathway toward measuring outcomes, and he cited the joint Center for Health AI run by BJC and WashU Medicine as a means of bringing academic research into hospital settings.
Timeline
1950s and 1960s: Early AI research that health systems risk overlooking, according to Payne.
2018: Computerized heart rhythm identification cited by Payne as clinical AI.
Late 2022: Most health systems began seriously considering organization-wide AI deployment.
The Tech Race
Payne's remarks place current medical AI within research dating to the 1950s and 1960s rather than treating it as a new frontier. Chandra's description of today's tools as the most immature version health systems will encounter suggests the field is at an early point in a longer development curve.
Patients at health systems deploying AI may see more continuous monitoring and earlier identification of problems, as at Houston Methodist. The extraction does not specify how these tools change individual care decisions or costs.
The takeaway
Health systems that treat AI as a proven, measurable tool rather than a novelty may be better positioned to show results. Readers should look for organizations that tie AI projects to clear outcome measurement.
Further reading
Explore more Artificial Intelligence coverage from St. Louis health systems.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Newsweek.
Live Poll
Do you trust AI to be used safely in your own medical care?
