Like any CEO in any industry, Dr. Robert Brenner at Valley Health gets dozens of offers of AI-based products and services each week. Most fit into three categories, he said:
- Some won’t integrate well.
- Some may be short-lived.
- Some may create more problems than they solve.
“There’s no shortage of AI products,” Brenner said. “But you can’t just chase every shiny and new thing.”
You also can’t ignore how artificial intelligence can positively change the workplace.
That tension — between caution and opportunity — defines how Valley is approaching AI.
Brenner said the question isn’t whether a product is impressive or innovative. It’s whether it solves a specific problem, improves efficiency, and fits safely inside an already complex health-care system.
“We are being very pointed about what we do,” he said. “You have to be problem-oriented when you go for AI.”
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Brenner recently sat with BINJE for an all-encompassing interview on the new Valley Hospital and the rapidly changing health-care landscape.
For all the good health care is doing, it remains an industry filled with inefficiencies, he said. Estimates routinely suggest that 30% to 40% of health-care work is administrative, duplicative, or poorly aligned with how clinicians actually practice.
AI, Brenner believes, can help reduce that inefficiency — but only if it’s deployed thoughtfully.
“We are grappling with how to use AI properly,” he said. “Everyone is, in every industry. But in health care, you have to be especially cautious. You always keep a human in the loop.”
That principle — never removing human oversight — is central to Valley’s strategy. AI can assist, synthesize and streamline, but it does not operate autonomously.
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One of the most effective examples Valley has adopted is ambient listening, a fast-growing technology aimed squarely at physician burnout.
During a patient visit, a doctor places a device on the table while conducting the exam. As the physician speaks — reviewing history, performing the physical, and outlining assessment and plan — the system listens. At the end of the visit, it generates a structured medical note that fits directly into the electronic health record.
“The visit may take about a half hour,” Brenner said. “The system synthesizes it into a note. The provider reads it — human in the loop — approves it, and then it’s entered.”
The payoff is significant. Ambient listening can save two to three hours of documentation time per provider per day, eliminating much of the after-hours charting that has fueled burnout.
