HIMSSCast: Leaders beyond CFOs are making investment decisions in AI – Healthcare Finance News

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Broken workflows and broken data pipelines will lead to biased AI and bad AI design, according to  Dr. Deepti Pandita, CMIO and chief AI officer at the University of California Irvine.
That’s why having an informaticist and a practicing physician who is cognizant of workflow design in the AI systems is important, said Pandita, who is both and who has a center seat on AI decisions at UCI.
“If you let the AI systems dictate what follows in terms of workflow or implementation, they are very likely to fail,” Pandita said. 
This has been learned from the EHR deployment era, she said. 
The biggest mistake executives make is using AI expense as innovation instead of viewing it as infrastructure, she said. AI should be tied to enterprise value, such as reducing lengths of stay or in improving the revenue cycle coding and appeals process.
“If organizations start looking at AI as infrastructure and not as point solutions, ROI will follow,” Pandita said.

For more, please listen to Pandita’s conversation with Susan Morse, executive editor of Healthcare Finance News.
Talking Points:
A survey, that includes Dr. Pandita, confirms that more CIOs have roles as strategic leaders 
In 2026, 45% of CIOs are the primary decision-makers on AI purchasing 
Business success depends on leaders who can bridge technology, operations, and strategy at scale.
Executives are looking at AI’s impact on workforce integration, value, clinical risk, accountability and alignment with enterprise strategy
The biggest mistake when balancing the cost of implementation with the problems AI is trying to solve is using AI expense as innovation instead of using it as infrastructure. 
Trending data does show the ROI of AI is there
AI has the potential to reduce disparities and help marginalized populations
AI tools are intelligent and learn, a factor that helps build patient trust.
For example, AI knows that if a patient works 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., that it would be best to schedule a telehealth rather than in-person appointment around these hours.
Being seen and being heard builds trust and when you build trust you have better patient outcomes, says Pandita.
More About this Episode:

Beyond the EHR: Why one CIO believes AI will dwarf every prior health IT shift
Implement AI in the mid-cycle of rev cycle for the biggest return
Revenue cycle leaders look to AI for automation, keeping up with payers
AI’s value in healthcare goes beyond hard ROI

What healthcare AI cannot be allowed to become, according to one CIO
 
Email the writer: [email protected]
 

HIMSS is hosting the one-day AI Executive Leadership Summit in Boston June 24, 2026, followed by its AI in Healthcare Forum June 25–26. Register separately for the two events here and here.
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