The Future of AI in Healthcare: What Will the Doctor's Role Be? | Dr. Sajen J. Mathews

Artificial intelligence is already changing how doctors care for patients and how hospitals operate. But as AI becomes more capable, what will the future of medicine look like—and what will the physician's role become? In this episode of Better Care Brief, host Gigi Kurian welcomes Dr. Sajen J. Mathews, MD, Chief Medical Officer and practicing Gastroenterologist at Providence St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton, California. With approximately 25 years of clinical experience and six years as Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Mathews brings a unique perspective on the opportunities and challenges of AI in healthcare. Drawing on his experience as both a physician and hospital leader, Dr. Mathews explores how AI is being used today, where it could make a greater difference, and what its growing capabilities could mean for physicians, patients, and healthcare organizations. In This Episode 🔹 AI in Everyday Medical Practice: How tools such as DAX Copilot and Epic are helping physicians with documentation, medical record summaries, and administrative work. 🔹 AI in Diagnosis and Clinical Decisions: The potential of AI to support physicians in interpreting medical images, identifying important information, and making clinical decisions. 🔹 AI Beyond the Hospital: How wearable devices, home monitoring, and AI could help physicians identify patients who need attention earlier. 🔹 Smarter Hospital Operations: Opportunities to improve scheduling, operating room utilization, patient communication, and clinical workflows. 🔹 The Next Frontier—Agentic AI: How AI agents could move beyond answering questions to helping coordinate patient care, from scheduling tests and obtaining authorizations to managing follow-up. 🔹 The Future Role of the Physician: As AI takes on more clinical and administrative responsibilities, how will the physician's role evolve? What will remain uniquely human about medicine? About Our Guest Dr. Sajen J. Mathews, MD Chief Medical Officer & Practicing Gastroenterologist Providence St. Jude Medical Center, Fullerton, California Dr. Mathews has practiced medicine for approximately 25 years and has served as Chief Medical Officer at Providence St. Jude Medical Center for the past six years. The medical center is a 350-bed community hospital with approximately 700 physicians, offering a broad range of specialized medical services. His leadership responsibilities include physician leadership, developing new clinical programs, and advancing innovation and technology to improve healthcare delivery. About Better Care Brief Better Care Brief brings together healthcare leaders, physicians, innovators, and industry experts to explore the ideas, challenges, and innovations shaping the future of healthcare. Our mission is to inspire meaningful conversations that lead to better patient experiences, smarter healthcare operations, and healthier communities. Hosted by Gigi Kurian Founder & CEO, Harmony Thrive AI Transforming Vision Into Sustainable Reality. Join the Conversation As AI becomes more capable, what do you believe will be the most important role of physicians in the future? Share your thoughts in the comments! 👍 Like this episode if you found the conversation valuable. 🔔 Subscribe to Better Care Brief for more conversations with healthcare leaders and innovators. #BetterCareBrief #HealthcareAI #ArtificialIntelligence #FutureOfHealthcare #AgenticAI #DigitalHealth #PhysicianLeadership #HealthcareInnovation #PatientCare #HarmonyThriveAI