Intern Impact: Unissant 2024 interns use Generative AI to advance healthcare data interoperability

Creative problem-solving. Intellectual curiosity. Advanced technical know-how. In 2024, Unissant’s summer interns applied all of these to achieve breakthrough results for our clients. Our four interns—Neha, Sushobhita, Tanay, and Eeshani—worked with Unissant’s Chief Data Analytics Officer and our teams supporting Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) clients. Their goal—exploring new ways to address common data-sharing challenges.  

Addressing a real-world challenge 

The healthcare ecosystem—including providers, researchers, insurers, and government—manages and shares vast amounts of data. Today, two data formats prevail—Health Level 7 (HL7) and Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR). The concurrent use of both standards leads to interoperability problems, which can cause delays and errors, impacting data integrity. The Unissant interns wanted to identify ways to reduce that complexity and ease data migration and interoperability.  

“Our interns were excited about exploring how Gen AI could help our federal healthcare-focused clients address these issues,” stated Unissant Chief Data Analytics Officer Vishal Deshpande.  

“The problem was clear,” explained intern Neha B. “Today, healthcare entities rely on manual or semi-automated data conversion processes, which are time-consuming and resource-intensive. Setting up an effective conversion framework requires specialized knowledge and technical skills. We knew we could design a better way.”  

A Gen AI-driven solution 

Unissant’s solution applies Gen AI to read and interpret HL7 data, enabling interaction through simple, plain language expressions.  

Intern Eeshani G. elaborated: “Our approach would forego the need for complex ETL transformations and instead let someone ask simple questions of the data such as, ‘What does this HL7 file contain?’” The AI would then provide a clear explanation such as, ‘This file contains health information for patient Patricia Jones, including segments like allergies, which detail the patient’s allergies, and observations, which cover all recorded observations by healthcare professionals.’” 

The Unissant team also explored how Gen AI could simplify data management, automating the conversion process between HL7 and the more modern FHIR standard. “The team leveraged existing libraries for data conversion and integrated a conversational chatbot interface enhanced by Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG),” explained Unissant team member and intern mentor Siddhardhan Selvam. “The chatbot provides highly accurate and contextually relevant responses, improving user interaction and ensuring that the converted FHIR data aligns closely with the specific needs and queries of the user.” 

The end goal—improving the ability to interact with data. Deshpande explained, “our federal healthcare clients are looking for ways to better manage large-scale data transfers, improve patient and provider experience, and increase efficiency. Gen AI holds great promise for enhancing data accuracy and empowering the healthcare ecosystem with better tools for data-driven decision-making.” 

Internship experience, real-world impact 

Our interns shared their excitement at the opportunity to help federal agencies apply advanced technologies to real-world problems.  

Data science major Sushobhita P. expressed her thoughts on the internship experience. “It definitely makes me feel proud of myself and my team as well as our mentors. It shows how we're making a real-world impact. Mainly in school, we work on hypothetical projects. This was a unique experience, contributing to a client's needs, which is what I want to do in my career." 

Sophomore intern Tanay J. echoed, “It's awesome to know we're making a difference and being a part of people who want to make a difference. It inspires me in the future to follow my ideals, to help people with technology. I want to do something that's going to help address real-world problems, and I'm inspired to continue to pursue that in my future." 

“We challenged our interns to make a real impact this summer,” stated Unissant Chief Technology Officer, Venkat Kodumudi, who leads Unissant’s internship program. “It’s gratifying to offer students an opportunity to apply their skills to timely client challenges, providing a valuable glimpse into the dynamic and impactful work we do. By working alongside experienced professionals on projects that directly benefit clients, I think our interns gained invaluable hands-on experience. I know that they contributed meaningfully to the advancement of our AI practice while demonstrating Unissant’s commitment to applying trustworthy AI responsibly.”