Atlantic Health CEO: AI is a tool — not a transformation

Atlantic Health CEO Saad Ehtisham doesn’t mince words when it comes to where he
thinks most health systems stand on technology and analytics — including his own.

“Most health care systems, contrary to what they think they are, are actually data rich
but information poor,” he said.

For Ehtisham, that’s the real challenge. His goal is to turn the mountain of data health
systems already have into meaningful insights clinicians can actually use.

“I want to be able to take the robustness of the data that sits there and convert that into
knowledge insights for our clinicians,” he said. That means giving teams the ability to
make timely decisions in the right setting — and speeding up patient care along the
way.

“Data architecture is a big component of our strategy as we move forward,” he said.

And yes, we know what you’re thinking: Isn’t that exactly what AI is for?

Ehtisham doesn’t see it that way.

To him, AI is one tool in the toolbox — helpful, yes, but far from a plug‑and‑play
miracle.

“AI has been around since the 1960s,” he said. “All it is, is multivariate regression
analysis.”

Come again?

Ehtisham breaks down that techno-speak this way. On the revenue side, AI has been
helpful for years. Now, he said, it’s moving more deeply into clinical operations.

But there’s a line he keeps drawing.

“It’s never going to replace the clinicians,” he said. “That cognitive ability is never going
to be replaced, but clinicians who refuse to use AI will be left behind.”

So where does he want to use it?

Ehtisham’s focus is on very specific friction points — places where the work is slow,
repetitive, or getting in the way of care. For documentation, for example, he points to
ambient listening tools that lift administrative burdens off physicians and nurses.

“I like technology, but I want to bring in technology that solves my problems,” he said.
“It’s not for the headline — it’s about making life easier for our clinicians.”

Access is another target. Ehtisham is pushing for agentic AI to speed up patient
scheduling, eliminating the dreaded hold times and call transfers that frustrate the
community.

“Know where you want to go, stay true to your core of what you’re trying to solve, which is really the Disney approach,” he said.

The goal, he said, is to take the complexity of health care and make it easy for patients
to get in the door.

He also is looking beyond clinical use cases to something he argues most systems
haven’t seriously explored — using AI to predict operational needs.

“How do we use AI in a way to predict what’s going to happen in the future from an
operational standpoint?” he said.

The upside, he believes, is big: better outcomes, lower costs, less friction, and better
experiences for both patients and staff.

What he’s not interested in is “headline tech” — what he calls technology adopted for
PR value rather than problem‑solving.

“People get enamored with AI and they want to bring it in because it’s a headline,” he
said.

And that, he warned, is where organizations get into trouble.

A flashy tool with no real use case becomes “a solution that’s seeking a problem.” The
result? Chaos, disruption, distraction — and a drift away from mission.

For Ehtisham, the test is simple: Does the technology make it easier for clinicians to
care for patients and easier for patients to receive that care?

If not, he’s not buying it, literally or figuratively.