Brian Simmers Shares Vision for AI in Health Care
At SFU DIAL's AI Leadership in Healthcare webinar, PHC’s CFO and PHC Ventures President, Brian Simmers, shared insights on AI adoption, tackling challenges, and transforming patient care.
Innovation | Innovarium
When it comes to embracing artificial intelligence (AI) in health care, Providence Health Care (PHC) is leading the way with innovation, courage, and a clear vision for the future. This was evident as Brian Simmers, PHC’s Chief Financial Officer, VP of Health Informatics and PHC Ventures President, joined health care and technology leaders at the AI Leadership in Healthcare webinar to discuss the transformative potential of artificial intelligence in health care delivery.
The event, hosted by SFU DIAL (Digital Innovation and Leadership), brought together experts from PHC, Fraser Health Authority and KPMG Canada to explore how health care organizations can explore the revolutionary potential of AI in transforming patient care. Simmers, who brings fresh perspective from his extensive business and technology background, offered candid insights about the journey toward AI adoption.
"What we need is the courage to adopt something that personally we might not know much about. People are scared - they're wondering what AI will mean for their job or how to approach it," Simmers shared, addressing the human side of technological change. "What we really need is for people to step into it, to take responsibility for learning how to use AI themselves first. That's when the fear goes down and ability to make real progress begins."
Through PHC Ventures, PHC’s wholly owned commercialization subsidiary, Simmers discussed how they have championed nine innovative DIGITAL projects and work with industry partners to quicken the pace of innovation to implementation. These initiatives range from using AI to address alarm fatigue to leveraging AI to prevent pressure injuries to predicting post-surgery opioid addiction risks - each one pushing the boundaries of what's possible in patient care.
The future looks particularly bright as PHC develops the New St. Paul's Hospital on the Jim Pattison Medical Campus, complete with a state-of-the-art, 12 story research and innovation center. For Simmers, AI represents more than just technological advancement - it's about creating better access to healthcare, especially for those in rural and remote communities.
"What's getting people focused right now is the budget and the productivity challenges that we are facing, and the natural place that you look is technology and especially AI as a possible path forward," he explains. "There is no future of healthcare that doesn’t also include the adoption and widespread use of AI."