NEW ORLEANS – Healthcare and technology leaders gathered at the 2025 New Orleans Entrepreneur Week (NOEW) to discuss the transformative impact of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare delivery. The panel, titled “From Lab to Clinic: AI’s Role in Revolutionizing Healthcare,” highlighted how AI is moving from the realm of research to real-world application in clinical settings.
Ralph Whalen, CEO and Founder of New Orleans-based healthcare technology consulting firm BENZAIT, was a key speaker on the panel. Since founding BENZAIT in 2020, Whalen has helped healthcare organizations modernize by integrating AI and data intelligence into their operations.
“AI allows us to automate the work people don’t want to do—like documentation or billing—so they can focus on care,” said Whalen. “That shift in time and attention improves the provider and patient experience.”
As a healthcare technology consultant, BENZAIT has developed several tools designed to ease the burden on clinicians. “We’re not building solutions that replace clinicians—we’re building tools that amplify them,” said Whalen. “And that starts by understanding what they actually need in the moment of care.”
“We recently developed a chart summarization tool that automatically tailors patient data to the provider’s specialty,” Whalen said. “Instead of digging through dozens of notes, a cardiologist, for example, sees exactly what they need in seconds. It’s all about making their time more valuable.”
In its suite of services, BENZAIT offers AI data governance, integration, and implementation including custom healthcare software development for improved efficiency. “It’s about solving real, everyday problems,” said Whalen. “If AI can give back even five minutes per patient, that can translate into significantly better care and less burnout across a health system.”
The New Orleans Entrepreneur Week (NOEW) panelists tackled big questions about AI adoption, ethics, real-world uses, and the future of care. The panel observed that AI is often viewed through extremes—either as a panacea for healthcare challenges or as an overhyped technology.
“There’s ‘marketing hype,’ where everyone is suddenly an AI company—and then there’s ‘optimistic hype,’ which I actually think is warranted,” said Whalen. “We’re just beginning to see the real impact of AI across healthcare.”
According to the NOEW panelists, health systems and startups need to prioritize robust integration and alignment of AI with clinical workflows. “If you’re building AI for healthcare, don’t operate in a silo,” said Whalen. “You have to be deeply embedded with the clinical teams you're trying to support. You could build the best AI product in the world, and it’ll go nowhere if it doesn’t fit into a clinician’s workflow. Collaborating directly with providers during development is non-negotiable.”
Data privacy and ethics were also key topics of discussion, especially as AI tools become more integrated into patient care. “Transparency and trust are critical—especially as patients begin interacting more directly with AI tools. Giving people clear choices and context will drive adoption and build confidence,” said Whalen.
A significant theme that emerged throughout the panel was AI’s potential to alleviate administrative burdens, allowing clinicians to devote more time to direct patient care. The rising cost of healthcare, combined with staff shortages and the increasing complexity of patients’ needs, has created pressure on health systems. “Wherever the rate limiter is human time, that’s where AI is most impactful,” Whalen said. “From ambient documentation to prior authorizations, it’s about removing bottlenecks so people can spend more time on what actually matters—caring for patients.”
A particular focus of the discussion was the use of AI in clinical decision support and diagnostics. “Roughly 70% of FDA-cleared AI tools in healthcare today are in imaging,” said Whalen. “In many cases, AI is diagnosing at higher accuracy than the average provider—and we’re just scratching the surface.”
The panel concluded with advice for healthcare entrepreneurs and investors navigating the fast-paced and complex AI landscape. “It’s not that providers don’t want to offer high-touch, empathetic care—they just don’t always have the time,” said Whalen. “AI gives some of that time back.”
