The future isn’t AI or people—it’s AI and people that will allow organizations to thrive in the era of AI.
As I listened to sleepy elevator music, I looked down at the call timer on my phone, 55 mins and 37 seconds, and I was still nowhere closer to answers. As the seconds clicked by and my frustration continued to build, my 13-year-old son put his arms around my waist and looked up at me with his huge brown eyes. Quietly he said, “Mom, I know you are doing everything you can, but will we ever get my medication?”
For more than a month, we had been trying to secure his specialty medication, even with a prescription and prior authorization already in place. What should have been a straightforward process became a frustrating cycle of phone calls, conflicting information and dead ends. The individuals I spoke with seemed to heavily rely on processes and scripts. They lacked product knowledge and the ability to solve a problem when processes broke down and a script could no longer be followed.
Eventually, we transferred the prescription to different specialty pharmacy, where I spoke with a woman who understood the medication, the patient journey and the impact of the delay. The difference wasn’t the technology or the processes — it was the person. In addition to her deep product knowledge, she connected with me mother-to-mother in a way that transformed the entire experience. Within 24 hours, the medication was on its way to our doorstep.
That experience made me think about a challenge facing healthcare organizations today.
As AI and automation become more deeply embedded into our industry, how do organizations prepare employees to succeed in an AI-enabled world while preserving the human expertise and connection that is so critical in healthcare?
Technology can improve efficiency and provide information. But, in healthcare, employees will always need more than a script or a set of prompts. They need knowledge, connection and a clear understanding of how their role contributes to the patient’s experience.
Organizations preparing for an AI-enabled future should focus on three priorities:
· Strengthen employee communications to ensure employees understand how AI-driven changes affect their work and what new expectations exist for their role in an evolving environment.
· Invest in employee development so employees continue to grow by building the knowledge and critical thinking skills that AI cannot replace.
· Equip employees to use AI effectively by helping them understand when technology can improve efficiency and when human expertise and connection is required.
The future isn’t AI or people—it’s AI and people working together.
Organizations that succeed will be those that pair technological innovation with a workforce that is informed and empowered. Green Room helps life science organizations strengthen and inspire their teams through employee communications and change management that keep people and patients at the center of the experience.
As you prepare your workforce for what’s next, we’re here to help. Reach out!
