Health Data Ethics

Jennifer Owens
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  • MEDICINE
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Health tech conversations, from a healthcare IT professional. We're going to talk about medical innovation, technology, and the ethical and operational considerations for health systems. In other words: it's gonna get super nerdy, super fast!

  1. 3D AGO

    What's AI's Impact on the Labor Market?

    Last week, Anthropic published new research on the labor market impacts of AI. In this week's episode, I break down what the paper actually says, why the gap between theoretical and observed AI exposure matters, and which workers and which sectors are most impacted. Those workers, and the people reading these articles, are also your patients. They're walking into your hospital carrying headlines, anxiety, and ChatGPT conversations from the parking garage — and most governance frameworks have no place to put that.

    13 min

  2. MAR 4

    What's New with AI in Hiring, with Brad Owens of Asymbl

    In this episode, I invite special spousal guest Brad Owens to help explore a landmark federal court case involving Workday’s AI-powered hiring tools and potential implications for AI governance in employment and healthcare. Join us as we dissect the legal, ethical, and technological facets of AI decision-making and bias mitigation. EEOC Four-Fifths Rule - https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/guidance/questions-and-answers-clarify-and-provide-common-interpretation-uniform-guidelines NYC Bias Auditing Law - https://www.nyc.gov/site/dca/about/automated-employment-decision-tools.page

    24 min

  3. FEB 18

    Can AI Help Patients Manage Their Blood Sugar?

    In this week's Health Data Ethics podcast, I dissected a 2023 JAMA study on using a voice-based AI tool to coach patients through insulin titration in type 2 diabetes. Big thanks up front to Aida McCracken who listened to me work through this one! The results were encouraging—patients hit optimal dosing in 15 days vs. 56+ for standard care. But governance questions kept nagging me. → Self-titration works for insulin because it's clinically established. Try the same with other drugs and you're in much riskier territory. → Study was 8 weeks. Diabetes is lifelong. What happens when engagement drops or the smart speaker isn't supported anymore? I'm all for empowering patients to follow validated protocols. We need scalable chronic disease solutions. But let's innovate with eyes open about equity, sustainability, and regulatory frameworks.

    21 min

  4. FEB 11

    What Happens When AI Gets the Sources Wrong?

    This week, I recorded a new episode of Health Data Ethics about FDA and EMA’s joint principles on AI in drug development. I used ChatGPT to help generate a draft. I loved it, until I started fact checking. It cited a section of a review paper that didn’t exist. Referenced a tool that never appeared in the text. When I called it on its hallucinations, it gave me fake quotes with fake page numbers. I was relying on this to build the backbone of an episode about AI transparency and instead, I scrapped the whole thing and started over from scratch. I texted my husband mid-edit: “If I'd recorded this I'd have seriously undercut my credibility with anyone who wanted to check.” He sent back: "The difference between enterprise and demo AI in two texts." In this episode, I talk about that failure—mine, and the model’s—and what it tells us about algorithmic bias and creating a culture of transparency.

    10 min

  5. FEB 4

    What's Readiness for AI In Healthcare? With Dr. Sahar Hashmi, MD, PhD

    Just had a brilliant conversation with Sahar Hashmi MD-PhD—one of my favorite people to talk AI-in-healthcare with. Dr. Hashmi made a powerful case for customized AI workshops tailored to clinical teams. We also unpacked: - What healthcare can learn from other industries - Why assessing AI readiness is foundational - The value of an AI Center of Excellence as a coordination engine - A Flexner moment for AI in healthcare If you're building or scaling AI in a provider org and haven’t asked “who owns readiness?”, this conversation is for you.

    25 min

  6. JAN 28

    When Is AI A Medical Device?

    I recently spent time unpacking the FDA’s clinical decision support software guidance and what it really means for healthcare organizations deploying AI. At the center of the guidance is a simple question: when does software cross the line into being regulated as a medical device? The FDA lays out specific criteria that hinge on how recommendations are generated, how they are presented, and whether a human can independently review and understand the basis for those recommendations. If clinicians cannot reasonably evaluate or challenge an AI’s output, organizations may find themselves in regulated territory whether they intended to be there or not. Understanding where human judgment sits in the loop is essential for compliance, trust, and responsible scaling of AI. If you are deploying or governing clinical AI, this is guidance worth revisiting with both legal and clinical stakeholders at the table.

    10 min

  7. 12/31/2025

    What Does Ohio Law Say About AI?

    In this week’s Health Data Ethics episode, I break down four proposed bills in Ohio that aim to regulate artificial intelligence. These aren’t laws (yet). But they are early indicators of where state-level AI governance is headed, and the healthcare sector is definitely in scope. We also zoom out to look at where these proposals fit within wider state and federal activity on AI.

    14 min

  8. 12/31/2025

    What Does AI Governance By Design Mean? With Nick Woo of AlignAI

    In this week's podcast episode, I had the chance to chat with Nicholas Woo of AlignAI about AI governance by design at multiple stages of AI development and implementation. We also talked about how easily great technological solutions can get stalled when they don’t fit into existing workflows or when there’s no clear operational champion. If you're thinking about AI governance, this episode is for you

    22 min
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About

Health tech conversations, from a healthcare IT professional. We're going to talk about medical innovation, technology, and the ethical and operational considerations for health systems. In other words: it's gonna get super nerdy, super fast!

Information

  • Creator
    Jennifer Owens
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    56
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Jennifer Owens
  • Show Website
    Health Data Ethics