As AI reshapes industries worldwide, these technologies are moving rapidly from experimentation into everyday practice. For health systems, the question is no longer whether to adopt AI, but how to do so in ways that deliver meaningful value while preserving clinical judgment, patient trust and the human connection that is — and must be — at the center of care.
Lee Health continues to explore ways to use AI and has implemented practical applications designed to support clinicians, reduce administrative burden, improve workflows and enhance the patient experience.
Our approach is straightforward: AI should augment the work of healthcare professionals, not replace them. Just as important, health systems should identify where the technology can solve a meaningful problem rather than adopting AI simply because it is available.
At Lee Health, one example is AI scribe, an AI-powered documentation tool that, with patient consent, can listen to clinical conversations and generate structured notes. The goal is not simply to introduce an AI capability. It is to address a familiar challenge in healthcare: the administrative demands of documentation and the impact those demands can have on clinician time and the patient experience.
By helping streamline documentation, AI scribe can allow clinicians to spend more of the visit engaged directly with patients while continuing to maintain comprehensive clinical records. The lesson for health systems is straightforward: Successful AI implementation starts with a clearly defined need and a measurable opportunity for improvement.
AI can process information quickly, identify patterns and support prioritization, but healthcare decisions require context, experience and clinical judgment.
Lee Health is applying this principle in radiology, where advanced AI tools can help identify potentially critical findings and flag studies for prioritization. With radiologists reviewing large volumes of imaging studies, these tools can support efficiency and help bring attention to cases that may warrant more immediate review.
The technology functions as an additional layer of support — not a substitute for the radiologist. This distinction is essential as healthcare organizations evaluate increasingly sophisticated AI tools. The goal should be to strengthen the capabilities of clinicians while maintaining clear accountability for clinical decisions.
Technology adoption in healthcare is not only an operational or clinical issue. It is also a trust issue.
Patients increasingly encounter AI in ways they may not immediately recognize, from documentation tools to diagnostic support systems. Health systems therefore have an opportunity — and a responsibility — to communicate openly about how these technologies are being used.
Lee Health recently brought that conversation directly to employees and community members through an educational event hosted by the AI and Digital Transformation team. The event included demonstrations of AI tools and opportunities for attendees to ask questions and interact with the technology firsthand. Inviting the community into the conversation reflects an important principle: transparency should be part of AI implementation, not an afterthought.
One feature of the event was an interactive AI Playground, where attendees could explore chatbots, prompt-based AI tools, clinical assistants and digital whiteboards with guidance from subject matter experts. Hands-on experiences can make an otherwise abstract technology more understandable while creating opportunities to discuss appropriate use, limitations, privacy and safeguards.
For healthcare executives, perhaps the most important lesson is that successful AI adoption is as much about people and processes as it is about technology.
Health systems need governance structures that address privacy, security, clinical oversight and appropriate use. They need clinicians involved in evaluating tools and workflows. They need to communicate with patients and employees about what AI can — and cannot — do. And they need to evaluate whether implementation is actually improving care, enhancing the patient experience or reducing unnecessary burden.
The rapid pace of AI development makes these considerations even more important. Technologies will continue to change, but the principles guiding their use should remain consistent.
At Lee Health, the focus is on identifying practical use cases where AI can support care teams and improve the experience for patients, while keeping clinical expertise and human connection at the center.
Healthcare organizations do not need to adopt every new AI capability. They need to identify where the technology can make a meaningful difference — and create the trust, governance and culture necessary to use it responsibly.
The future of AI in healthcare will ultimately be measured not by how much technology health systems deploy, but by whether that technology helps clinicians deliver better care and helps patients feel better supported along the way.
Larry Antonucci, MD, is president and CEO of Fort Myers, Fla.-based Lee Health.
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