Ep. 71: Agentic AI with Isaac Park of Keebler Health

Isaac Park, CEO of Keebler Health, joins the show to talk agentic AI and how it can be used in health care.

Don't miss our previous episodes on the state of private practice, the physician shortage, risks of prescribing GLP-1 drugs and immigration policy.

Music Credits:
Saxophonia by Offenbach Project - stock.adobe.com
Relaxing Lounge by Classy Call me Man - stock.adobe.com
COCKTAIL by Mythical Audio - stock.adobe.com

Editor's note: Episode timestamps and transcript produced using AI tools.

Introduction and Pace of AI Change (00:00:00) Discussion on the unprecedented speed and velocity of technological change, especially with AI.

Podcast Introduction and Guest Overview (00:00:26) Host introduces the podcast, the episode’s topic, and the guest, Isaac Park.

Defining Agent AI vs. Large Language Models (00:01:09) Explains what agent AI is, how it differs from large language models, and its core capabilities.

Agent AI Use Cases and Healthcare Applications (00:02:43) Describes agent AI’s potential to mimic human workflows and its analogy to customer service bots.

Appropriate Use Cases in Healthcare (00:04:31) Agent AI’s current use in low-clinical, high-administrative tasks like scheduling and EHR management.

Limitations and Human-in-the-Loop Necessity (00:06:09) Discusses why agent AI shouldn’t be used alone in high-stakes clinical decisions; need for human oversight.

Agent AI as a Tool for Physicians (00:07:16) Frames agent AI as a tool to empower clinicians, not replace them, and parallels with other tech advances.

Impact on Clinician Performance (00:08:23) How AI tools can amplify both good and bad performance, based on user expertise.

Building and Maintaining Trust in AI (00:09:31) Addresses the importance of trust, transparency, and evidence in AI adoption among clinicians.

AI in Staffing and Documentation (00:11:32) Explores AI’s role in automating scheduling and its success in clinical documentation (ambient scribing).

Future Steps in Documentation and Efficiency (00:13:49) Considers whether agent AI can further automate tasks like billing and multi-step processes.

Complexity and Limitations of AI in Healthcare (00:14:26) Explains healthcare’s complexity, AI’s struggles with structured tasks, and why full automation is risky.

Point Solutions and Future AI Trends (00:18:27) Predicts proliferation of small, effective AI tools in healthcare, but questions full autonomy.

Prospects for Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) (00:20:13) Discusses fluctuating industry opinions on AGI and the rapid pace of AI development.

Closing Remarks and Outro (00:21:52) Wrap-up of the conversation, thanks to the guest, and podcast subscription information.