How I Used AI to Build and Understand the Healthcare Domain from the Ground Up

We often talk about having “information at our fingertips,” but with AI, we now have expertise at our fingertips. AI allows us to not only access data but also step into the shoes of different stakeholders, understanding their perspectives and the broader business context. In this blog, I’ll show how I used AI to build insights into healthcare—specifically, how Academic Medical Centers (AMCs) approach technology strategies. This method, however, can be applied to any domain, enabling you to break down complex problems, understand different viewpoints, and build expertise from the ground up.

I’ll also share the full conversation I had with ChatGPT, including both the prompts used and the responses, to illustrate the depth of this approach.

The Art of Guiding AI: Thinking Holistically

When working with GenAI Models, it’s not just about technical expertise. To extract meaningful insights, we need to consider the perspectives of different stakeholders. Whether it’s a Chief Medical Officer focused on patient care, a CIO concerned with technology integration, or a CFO looking at cost efficiency, each leader brings a unique focus. Guiding AI effectively requires understanding these roles and asking questions that reflect both the technical and business challenges they face.

In this exercise, I imagined The Bharti Foundation receiving a donation to build a healthcare service and medical college. My goal was to develop a well-rounded technology strategy that accounted for the needs of various stakeholders—from clinical leaders to IT teams. While healthcare was my focus, this process applies equally well to any business or industry.

Setting the Stage: Understanding Stakeholder Needs

The first step in any strategic process is to understand who the key players are and what their priorities might be. I started by asking AI foundational questions to identify the critical leadership roles and the specific skills required to drive a comprehensive technology strategy. Some of the initial prompts included:

• Who are the key technology leaders the founder would need to hire to drive the overall technology strategy?
• What specific roles and skills are essential for building a world-class technology team in healthcare?

These questions helped me outline a basic structure for the leadership team, but more importantly, they allowed me to consider how each leader's priorities would align or differ. A CIO may prioritize cloud integration and data security, while a clinical leader might focus more on how technology impacts patient care. By stepping into the shoes of each stakeholder, I was able to approach the problem holistically.

Drilling Down: Balancing Technology and Business Strategy

After establishing the leadership framework, I guided AI into deeper discussions around the technology infrastructure and how it would need to serve both clinical and operational goals. This involved thinking not just as a technologist but as someone who understands the broader business impact of these decisions. I asked AI:

• What are the essential technologies and systems The Bharti Medical College will need to implement to run both a medical campus and a healthcare facility effectively?
• What cutting-edge tools should The Bharti Medical College adopt to support healthcare operations, patient care, and clinical workflows?

These questions went beyond technology for technology's sake. They framed the discussion in a way that considered both the clinical outcomes and operational efficiencies. For instance, adopting an advanced electronic medical record (EMR) system isn’t just a technical challenge—it’s about improving patient care, streamlining administrative tasks, and ensuring regulatory compliance. Every technology decision has a direct impact on the business, and AI helped explore how to balance these technical and business needs.

Iterating for Precision: Aligning Technology with Stakeholder Goals

As the conversation with AI deepened, I used follow-up questions to refine my understanding and align the technology strategy with the goals of different stakeholders. The iterative nature of AI allowed me to get more specific as I explored how various systems could integrate across departments, meeting the needs of both the clinical and IT teams. Some of the questions included:

• How can The Medical College ensure full interoperability between clinical, research, and operational systems?
• What role do open standards like FHIR and HL7 play in enabling seamless data exchange between healthcare systems?

These questions brought to light the need for interoperability not only from a technical standpoint but also from a business perspective. A seamless exchange of data improves operational efficiency, enhances patient outcomes, and reduces costs—issues that resonate with both clinical leaders and financial officers. AI helped me map out how these technological choices could meet diverse organizational goals.

Stepping into Stakeholders’ Shoes: A Holistic View

The ability to step into the shoes of different stakeholders is critical when crafting a strategy that resonates across an organization. AI allowed me to explore these different perspectives simultaneously, considering how various roles—like the CTO, CMO, and CFO—would each evaluate the technology strategy. The CTO might look at scalability and integration, the CMO at patient safety and care, and the CFO at cost-effectiveness and ROI. By asking the right questions, I was able to understand their viewpoints and how the technology choices would impact their respective domains.

This method of strategic inquiry is not just about solving technical problems; it’s about aligning technical decisions with business objectives, ensuring that every choice supports the larger vision of the organization.

Applying This Method to Any Domain

While healthcare was my example, this approach applies to any domain. Whether you’re in finance, education, or manufacturing, understanding the intersection of technology and business strategy is key. Guiding AI through well-thought-out questions allows you to uncover insights that are relevant to both technical and business leaders, helping you build a strategy that works across departments and organizational goals.

The key is to structure your questions in a way that brings out the deeper business implications of technical choices, enabling AI to deliver insights that support both innovation and efficiency.

Full Conversation with AI: Prompts and Responses

To give you a full picture of how this process works, I’m sharing the entire conversation I had with ChatGPT. This includes all the prompts I used and the responses that helped guide me through building a comprehensive strategy for healthcare technology.

Click here to view the full conversation.

Conclusion

Using AI effectively means understanding both the technical and business dimensions of a problem. By stepping into the shoes of different stakeholders and guiding AI through a structured series of questions, I was able to build a comprehensive strategy that addressed the needs of various leaders within an Academic Medical Center. But this method applies to any domain—you can use AI to explore any complex problem, balancing technical expertise with business understanding.

The key is to start with a clear understanding of the various roles and priorities, guide AI with thoughtful questions, and iterate on the responses to develop deeper insights. This approach allows you to unlock expertise at your fingertips, driving both technological innovation and business success.