Healthcare AI and digital health, without the hype.
Practical takes on clinical AI, digital health strategy and new medical device technology, written for the CNOs, CIOs and OR leaders who decide what makes it onto the floor.
The Energi Brief
One email a month. Only what is worth your time.
Each issue covers the AI and device innovations moving through health systems right now, with a short section for each leadership role.
What is real and what is still hype
What a smart pilot looks like and what it should cost
Questions to ask before anything reaches committee
Latest
Recent insights
OR and Perioperative
Ambient AI in the OR: five questions to ask before you pilot
Computer vision and ambient sensing are moving into operating rooms to track case milestones, turnover and room use. The technology is impressive. The pilots that succeed are the ones that answer a few plain questions up front.
Which number are we trying to move? Turnover time, first case on time starts, or prime time use. Pick one and measure the baseline before go live.
Who acts on the data? A dashboard nobody owns changes nothing. Name the perioperative leader responsible for it.
How are staff and patients informed? Cameras in the OR raise fair questions. Bring nursing and compliance in early.
What does IT need to support it? Network, security review and EHR integration timelines often set the real start date.
What does success unlock? Agree in writing what results lead to expansion, so a good pilot does not stall.
Nursing
Continuous monitoring beyond the ICU: where to start
Most deterioration on general floors happens between spot checks. Continuous monitoring on med surg units promises earlier warning, but it only helps if it fits the way nurses already work.
Start with one unit and one problem. Post surgical patients on opioids or a unit with frequent rapid response calls are common starting points. Design the alarm path first. Decide who receives an alert, on which device, and what they do next, before choosing hardware. Plan for alarm fatigue. Agree on thresholds and escalation with frontline nurses, not only leadership. Measure what matters to the CNO. Rapid response calls, unplanned ICU transfers and nurse satisfaction tell the story better than device uptime.
IT and Informatics
Evaluating an AI vendor: a short checklist for CIOs
Every week brings a new AI pitch. A short, consistent checklist helps IT separate products that are ready for a health system from those that are not.
Integration: How does it connect to the EHR, and who maintains that connection after go live?
Data: Where is patient data stored and processed, and is it used to train the vendor's models?
Security: Can the vendor complete your security review and sign a business associate agreement without delay?
Performance over time: How is model accuracy monitored at your site, and what happens when it drifts?
Regulatory status: Is it FDA cleared where clearance is required, and for which exact use?
Exit plan: If the contract ends, what happens to your data and your workflows?