This week, I had the opportunity to attend a conference on Transformations: AI in Medicine, hosted by the University of Pittsburg Medical Center, Division of Health Sciences at the Ritz Carlton Naples – Tiburon.
We were invited by Dr. George Russell, Chair of Orthopedic Trauma, and Vice Chair of Orthopedic Surgery at UPMC. As most of you know, my wife and business partner, Elizabeth Jeffries, runs our other consulting practice, Executive Mastery … a Tweed Jeffries company, where she coaches Physician Leaders in Academic Medicine, and C-Suite leaders in hospitals and health systems. Elizabeth and Dr. Russell have worked together for the past four years.
Here are some key take-aways from a day of lectures from amazing physicians, researchers, and medical school faculty members:
- AI is NOT one thing. It is a combination of analytical computing that can be broadly divided into two sectors; Generative and Non-Generative.
- Data Security is a big issue for AI in Medicine
- Only 30 to 40% of medical decisions are supported by Medical Knowledge. That medical knowledge comes from medical journals, medical textbooks, and practice guidelines. (Dr. Shyam Visweswaran, MD, PhD, Professor and Interim Chair, Department of Biomedical Informatics.)
- There is a new edition of ChatGPT called ChatGPT Health that is a dedicated experience designed for health and wellness.
- We all suffer from data overload. In one example, in a hospital ICU, one patient generates 1200 to 2000 data points per day. In a 24 bed ICU there may be 50,000 data points.
- “AI is Not Magic. It’s leverage. The application is to analyze data, find patterns, priorities best bets, and shrink years into months.” We are using AI to stay ahead of the next virus.
So what does this mean to you?
When ever I attend a conference, read a book or blog post, or watch a Youtube video, I ask myself, “How does this lesson or insight apply to Home Care?“
My focus is always on finding new insights that will help Home Care CEOs grow their business and get ready for the future.
Newest Applications of AI in Home Care
My experience at the UPMC seminar reinforced what I have been learning about applications for AI in Home Care. In the 2026 Future of Home Care Study that was conducted by Leading Home Care, and published by AxisCare, we learned what 300 Home Care leaders see as the applications of AI that will have the greatest positive impact on the future.
I’ve been looking more closely at the top five:
- Client and Caregiver Shift Matching and Auto Scheduling
- Caregiver Utilization, balancing scheduling with desired hours and paycheck needs
- Care Plan Visit Documentation
- Caregiver Engagement and Retention
- Caregiver Recruiting Funnel Optimization
These applications are directly connected to the top pain points for Home Care CEOs; caregiver shortages, caregiver recruiting, and caregiver retention.
Developing your Company’s AI Strategy
Over the last several months, I’ve interviewed a dozen leaders from Home Care companies, and from companies that provide services to Home Care, about their innovation in AI. There are some very interesting things happening that will affect your agency in the short-term and long-term future.
Applications of AI fall into three buckets:
- Tasks – AI is being used by individuals to improve speed, save time, and reduce costs for specific tasks that are part of their job.
- Systems – AI is being used to improve operating systems within companies to improve performance and reliability within the company.
- Competitive Ecosystem – AI is being used by companies to transform their position in the marketplace, and to create sustainable competitive advantage.
Where are you with AI?
What is your short-term AI strategy?
What is your long-term AI strategy?
It is becoming very clear that every Home Care company needs to be working on their AI Strategy.
What is your approach?
AI and The Future of Home Care … Executive Briefing
New for 2026 from Leading Home Care … a Tweed Jeffries company is a “Future of Home Care Executive Briefing” for leaders of top tier Home Care companies, and top tier Home Care Franchises.
One of the topics we dig into deeply is the latest developments of AI, and how you and your leadership team can be thinking about the most effective applications for your company. We believe that any Home Care company that does not have an effective AI strategy will be left behind the rest of the industry.
