The Data-First AI Strategy Behind a $7M Healthcare AI ROI

Too many healthcare organizations measure their AI maturity against their closest competitors, and it keeps them thinking small. In this episode, Dr. Ashis Barad, EVP, Chief Transformation and Digital Information Officer at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), explains why a strong AI strategy looks to pace-setters in any industry and starts with a unified data foundation. He shares how quick AI wins earned executive buy-in, why payer-provider collaboration beats an AI arms race, and why HSS is killing dashboards. Key Moments:  Why HSS Built Its Data Foundation Before AI (08:05): One-off AI use cases rarely add up to transformation, so Ashis asked his board for 18 months to centralize HSS data before scaling AI. AI ROI in Healthcare (15:38): Quick AI wins built executive trust. Ashis started with proven wins: ambient AI to ease clinician burnout and revenue cycle AI worth $7M a year. Payer-Provider Collaboration vs. the AI Arms Race (20:20): Ashis makes the case for data interoperability, scalable gold carding, and faster claims payments that cut administrative waste. Killing Dashboards: The Garage Model for Data Products (29:12): Dashboards report yesterday’s news. Daily garages put domain experts and data teams in one room to build data products that drive action. Measuring AI Maturity Beyond Your Industry (38:22): Ashis urges healthcare leaders to stop comparing themselves to other hospitals and benchmark AI progress against frontier companies, no matter the industry. Key Quotes:  “We really took the approach to say data is the foundation of AI, and we’re not really going to go after all these AI shiny objects until we get the data right.” - Dr. Ashis Barad “I’m tired of everybody saying healthcare’s 20 years behind. I’m tired of it… We have to push ourselves to think a little bigger.” - Dr. Ashis Barad “ One of the major fundamental flaws in healthcare data is it has grown up in four hundred different systems of record. And it's all been siloed… So if we're really going to go do this, then we need to centralize our data inside. One platform, and then we will surface all AI use cases from there.” - Dr. Ashis Barad Mentions:  Announcing the 2026 Databricks Customer Awards Industry winners The ‘Bot Vs. Bot’ Dynamic Between Providers & Payers Is Driving Up Costs for Everyone Hospital for Special Surgery Selects Abridge to Advance Orthopedic AI Documentation Hospital for Special Surgery’s Ashis Barad says AI must solve real problems Guest Bio:  Dr. Barad is a physician leader with more than 18 years of experience in clinical medicine and various technology domains, including digital and virtual health, artificial intelligence (AI), and data analytics. He comes to us from Allegheny Health Network, in Pittsburgh, where he served as Chief Digital and Information Officer.  In this newly created role at HSS, Dr. Barad, who began his career as a board-certified pediatric gastroenterologist, will lead enterprise-wide technology and digital operations. He will partner with leaders throughout the organization to optimize care delivery, the patient experience, and clinical outcomes by harnessing the power of technical and digital solutions. Hear more from Cindi Howson here. Sponsored by ThoughtSpot.