Tell us about Healthvana and your role there.
Healthvana is a health tech company that builds solutions to help patients with their health journey. We provide a patient engagement platform that serves as the digital side of the experience for patients. Our customers range from stakeholders such as the County of Los Angeles to the largest HIV and sexual health organization in the country. In AI, our patient-facing solution is being used in 15 states and 50 clinics, helping patients get instant replies to their questions via our portal. Notably, 68% of the messages to our AI are from communities of color. Patients are loving it and so are staff because it’s saving them time.
As Chief Product Officer, I’m responsible for the product roadmap and architecture. I started in engineering, specializing in iOS development, and have been with Healthvana for about nine years. My role has evolved to focus more on strategy and determining where we should go as a company.
How did Healthvana become involved with CHAI?
We became aware of CHAI through our existing connections in the healthcare industry. Our CEO, Ramin Bastani, has known Dr. Nirav Shah from Stanford for a while, and we’ve collaborated on various projects, including publishing in the New England Journal of Medicine Catalyst.
As we explored AI solutions to address staffing challenges in healthcare, particularly in managing patient messages, we learned about CHAI. Through Nirav, we connected and began collaborating on publishing our early research in AI, patient engagement and education, and reducing staff workload. This collaboration led to my involvement in the CHAI working group.
What has been your experience participating in CHAI’s working groups?
It’s been incredibly positive. The working groups are consensus-driven and actively seek feedback from all participants, including startups like us. They’re very receptive to our input and constantly ask for feedback to ensure the guidelines are applicable to companies of all sizes.
For example, when we raised concerns about the feasibility of the assurance checklist for startups, the group was quick to address it. They’ve been willing to schedule more time, walk through the checklist point-by-point, and consider ways to make it more manageable for smaller companies.
How do you see CHAI’s work benefiting Healthvana and other startups?
While the guidelines are still in development, they’ve already provided valuable insights into best practices for AI implementation in healthcare. The goal is to create standards that are achievable and provide useful information for companies at different stages and with various use cases.
For Healthvana, participating in these discussions has been invaluable as we develop our AI-powered patient response system. It’s helping us build confidence in our solutions and potentially streamline the process of selling to new customers or improving relationships with existing ones.
What advice would you give to others considering joining CHAI’s working groups?
If you’re willing to roll up your sleeves and get involved in the process, CHAI is extremely welcoming to that feedback. It requires commitment and effort, but it’s an opportunity to help shape the future of AI in healthcare.
Even if you’re not ready to join a working group, I’d recommend reviewing CHAI’s published drafts of assurance standards and checklists. It’s a valuable exercise to consider these points as you develop AI solutions. And if you have insights or feedback, CHAI is very open to hearing from the community.
Any final thoughts on your experience with CHAI?
One unexpected benefit has been the connections I’ve made with other professionals in the field. For example, I’ve had the opportunity to meet and collaborate with people like Zach Lifton, CTO and Chief Science Officer at Abridge, who co-chairs one of the working groups. These connections have been invaluable as we navigate the rapidly evolving AI landscape in healthcare.
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