McLaren Health Care

Irfan Kasumovic

Irfan Kasumovic is a thought leader and contributor with over two decades of experience in virtual care, healthcare, telecom, and project leadership. Leveraging his diverse accreditations in Lean, technical project delivery, Six Sigma, VMware, and the ITIL framework, he systematically approaches telehealth with the patient’s best interest in mind. As the director of the Telehealth Service Line at McLaren Health Care, he is focused on supporting Stroke Network, multiple specialty clinics, and also remote patient monitoring for high acuity patients.

In an exclusive interview with Healthcare Tech Outlook magazine, Irfan Kasumovic shares his valuable insights on the role of AI in the healthcare industry.

Could you share your experience in the healthcare industry and explain your primary responsibilities as the director of the telehealth service line?

Pursuing telecommunications for nearly 18 years, I switched to the Siemens Health Division and became a part of the Henry Ford Health System. Over the next five years, my team and I led the transition from Care Plus NextGen to Epic EMR at Henry Ford Health System. During this period, I also embraced telemedicine. I had the opportunity to attend the Henry Ford Innovation Institute, where I proposed two projects, one of which won first place and the other third. This marked my initial foray into the healthcare sector.

At one of the Epic Expert Systems Conference, I learned about the tele-ICU project at the University of Maryland. This led to my collaboration with Dr. Zubrow that I ended up joining to assist and learn in its development, scaling, and support. While at the University of Maryland Medical System, my team and I spearheaded a transition from their virtual care platform to Zoom for Healthcare. We also developed various specialty care services, including hospital based palliative care, mental health, and cardio.

Eventually, I returned to Michigan and assumed the role of Director of Telehealth at McLaren, focusing on building up tele-stroke program, and starting various other specialty services such asmental health. McLaren telestroke has since grown to encompass 19 locations, making it one of the largest in Michigan.

We're currently in the process of scaling up remote patient monitoring program, pain management platforms, and nine clinic retail program at Walgreens stores across the state of Michigan. Our retail clinics offer state-of-the-art services, including self-scheduling, various lab services and primary care services.

Can you explain the role of AI currently in the healthcare industry?

AI per current industry trends is set to play a crucial role in population health management, medical research summaries, preventative care, and risk assessment in healthcare. Yet, we at McLaren Health Care approach AI with caution. Rather than viewing it as a revolutionary change, we see it as just another, more sophisticated tool in our toolbox.

Recent advancements in generative AI, like ChatGPT and Google’s Bard, have been game changers, showcasing their potential in various applications. The swift learning and execution capabilities of these large language models (LLMs) are truly remarkable. However, we emphasize the importance of using AI to “enhance” rather than replace the capabilities of our providers.

What initiatives are you taking to implement AI in the healthcare industry?

At McLaren, we are exploring the integration of conversational AI, particularly in the form of intelligent virtual agents (IVAs). We distinguish between generative and conversational AI, acknowledging their strengths and potential pitfalls. These IVAs quickly assess the requirements and assist patients by connecting them to the right person that can help them fastest. Another successful integration has been in stroke imaging to speed up diagnosing and treating stroke patients, further cementing our position of a national leader in stroke outcomes.

We prioritize embedding of these technologies into our existing eco system and capture the value in better and faster outcomes for our patients. We view AI as a means to automate routine tasks, allowing our staff to focus on more meaningful and complex aspects of care. Through this approach, we have achieved a combination of advanced platforms and super-skilled providers who utilize embedded technology to its full potential.

We've learned that training models with incomplete or incorrect data can be detrimental and potentially lead to incorrect diagnoses. Therefore, when it comes to AI deployment, we remain vigilant about privacy, security, bias, and discrimination. Our company follows strict policies to ensure fairness and accuracy in all our applications.

What advice would you give to budding professionals in the industry?

There are many excellent health systems and employment opportunities in the healthcare industry. It is an incredibly dynamic and captivating field, offering various opportunities to build new programs, optimize existing workflows, and develop exciting inventions. However, before venturing into experimentation with various workflows, it is crucial to familiarize oneself with the healthcare domain.