Innovation Summit: Pacific Northwest Executive Summary Report

Moon Shots in Digital Health Innovation

Executive Summary Report

Seattle, WA May 2025

Thank you to our host, Dr. Zafar Chaudry, at Seattle Children’s

Dr. Zafar Chaudry has served as Senior Vice President, Chief Digital Officer & Chief AI and Information Officer at Seattle Children’s since 2017, driving major digital transformation initiatives. One of his most impactful projects was leading the hospital’s switch from the Cerner electronic health record (EHR) system to Epic during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition to EHR modernization, Dr. Chaudry has advanced the hospital’s IT infrastructure by consolidating data centers into a private cloud and forging a 10-year cloud services partnership with Rackspace Technology. His leadership has also brought AI tools into clinical use, supporting outcomes like opioid-free outpatient surgeries and improved stroke prevention. These initiatives reflect his commitment to aligning technology with patient-centered care and long-term operational efficiency.

The State of Digital Health Innovation

MARKET GROWTH: Over 70% of hospital executives are turning to technology innovations to improve operational efficiencies and reduce costs within their systems.

ADOPTION RATE OF GEN AI: In 2024, 66% of physicians reported using AI in their practice. That’s a 78% increase from the 38% that reported using AI in 2023.

AI AND CYBERSECURITY: 84% of physicians are wanting to see improved seamless integration between AI tech tools EHR systems.

PERSONALIZED MEDICINE: Innovators are using predictive analytics to target screening, lifestyle coaching, or early intervention with patients, lowering costs and improving outcomes.

WORKFORCE RESILIENCE: Emergency medicine physicians and OB-GYNs experience the highest rates of burnout. Additionally, female physicians report higher burnout rates when compared to their male counterparts (56% to 44%).

Key Insights from the Summit Sessions

Setting the Stage: Be Bold! – The Key to Digital Health Innovation:

• In healthcare innovation, you need to be the leader who is willing to lose your job.
• You don’t need a lot of money for moon shots, you need buy-in from your team.
• Innovation can work if you bring together people with a variety of disciplines.

“Everyone in healthcare IT must dream big. If you get half way there, you’ve done an amazing job.” - Zafar Chaudry, MD

Keynote:

• 2 of 3 cancer survivors will develop at least one chronic condition. We need to have less toxic and more personalized treatment for pediatric cancers.
• Less than 10% of patients can survive a relapsed metastatic tumor, and the cells that cause that relapse have been present since the very beginning. We need to understand how to treat these cells before they activate.
• There is a 6.5 year lag to get cancer drugs to kids even when there is an indication that the treatment will work.

“Children are not simply ‘little adults’.” - Beth Lawlor, MD

Fishbowl 1: Data-Powered Innovation: From Insight to Impact:

• Reduce 3rd party risk by requiring that all vendors describe exactly how they are using AI.
• Each bit of data going into your system should be tied back to an internal stakeholder.
• AI has democratized the internal build capability of small and medium sized hospitals.

“We need to be providing self-service tools to our customers. I don't want to be in the businessof generating reports.” - Lloyd Fobi

Fishbowl 2: Guardians of the Digital Health Galaxy: Pioneering Cybersecurity Innovations:

• Cybersecurity is unaffordable for most small and mid sized health systems because the attack surface is now essentially infinite and unmanageable.
• Cyber is a balance between resiliency and recovery. It’s most important to be perfect with regard to recovery.
• Send board members to conferences where cybersecurity is discussed so that they fully understand the need and risks.

“Talent before technology. The weakest link in cybersecurity is the human.” - Khalid Turk

Fishbowl 3: Healthcare Heroes: Innovating for Better Delivery, Quality, and Safety:

• 30% of patients are still not comfortable with ambient listening during their appointments.
• Talk to patients about where and how they want to participate in virtual care.
• When identifying potential new technologies, be sympathetic to existing people and processes.

“The previously unknowable is totally knowable today.” - Dan Low, MD

Fishbowl 4: Convenience, Control, and Confidence: The Prognosis for Patient Engagement:

• When you’re in the patient portal, remember that you’re often talking to the parent or caregiver rather than simply the patient.
• Make reducing friction one of your goals.
• Providers spend too much time trying to get approvals. Meanwhile, the patient is having a bad experience.

“In US health systems, you only see the constant ask of the same questions.” - Zafar Chaudry, MD

Fishbowl 5: Precision Medicine, AI, and the Future of Personalized Care:

• Precision medicine is event driven. During events, care needs to happen quickly.
• We need to get reimbursement aligned so that we can do the right thing for the right reason.
• Providers are not financially incentivized to close the data gap to drive personalized care.
• Food as medicine is key to engaging patients outside of the hospital.

“In the US, we have a great opportunity to to embrace genomics to create truly personalized care.” - Deb Muro

Fishbowl 6: Revitalizing Healthcare: Innovations Increasing Workforce Resiliency and Joy:

• Get physicians involved in your innovation projects so they can get excited by the potential and can trust the end result.
• You need to measure workforce burnout at least once per year so that you have an accurate baseline to improve upon.
• Do something to bring your team together on a personal level.
• Be a “friction fixer,” not only for patients and clinicians, but also for your IT team.

“Rounding is the #1 way to connect with your staff.” - Laurie Wheeler

Here are 5 innovations that you should know about starting today!

SageSurfer (www.sagesurfer.com): AI-powered care coordination platform between clinical visits, families, and providers to deliver integrated behavioral health support.

Location: Sunnyvale, CA | Raised: $775K | Founded: 2016

Why you should know them: Has uniquely improved behavioral health continuity resulting in reduced ED overuse, faster post-discharge follow-ups, and stronger wraparound care for high-risk populations.

Paths (www.villagepaths.com): An AI-powered digital care compass designed for holistic patient care navigation.

Location: Auburn, AL | Revenue: $3.2M | Founded: 2022

Why you should know them: Advanced AI empowers streamlined, provider led, content creation that allows for manageable steps, knowledge verification, and progress tracking.

Agili8 (www.agili8.com): Empowers frontline health workers with offsite physicians and AI assistance using patented XRAI Vision® platform and smart glasses.

Location: Perth, Australia | Raised: $2M | Founded: 2020

Why you should know them: Saved a remote hospital staff from potential amputation in 15 minutes without any patient transfer using patented remote virtual "hands-on eyes-on" deep tech for rapid assessment & treatment.

QurHealth (www.qurhealth.com): A next-generation healthcare tech company leveraging conversational AI to deliver personalized care at scale.

Location: Columbus, OH | Funding: Completed A Round | Founded: 2017

Why you should know them: Is partnering with Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia(CHOP), to support chemotherapy protocol optimization for pediatric patients.

Acolyte Health (www.acolytehealth.com): Leverages AI-powered content creation to deliver personalized learning experiences that improve care through onboarding, training, and upskilling of care teams and educating patients at scale.

Location: Los Angeles, CA | Raised: $2.5M | Founded: 2022

Why you should know them: Acolyte partnered with Winona Health to deploy an AI-powered Robert Smith wellness coach, boosting annual wellness visit engagement by34% through microlearning, personalized voice and chat outreach in over 120languages.