Can AI ✦ in healthcare be trusted?

When it comes to the role of artificial intelligence in healthcare, there’s one question on everyone’s mind: Can it be trusted?

Microsoft Global Chief Medical Officer and Vice President of Healthcare Dr. David Rhew sat down with Medtronic Global Chief AI Officer Rodolphe Katra to explore this very question. They discussed how AI can bridge gaps by helping doctors deliver more personalized care, reach underserved communities, and tackle the global shortage of healthcare professionals. As part of our Health Tech Untapped series, Katra and Rhew explored not just what AI can do, but what it should do for patients and clinicians alike.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Rodolphe Katra: When people think of Microsoft, healthcare isn’t always the first thing that comes to mind. Can you explain your role?
Dr. David Rhew: Absolutely. There’s an incredible amount of technology being developed, and it’s advancing at a rapid pace, especially when it comes to AI. My role is to translate that technology into meaningful healthcare solutions. The goal is to understand how these tools can create clinical and operational value for patients, clinicians, and healthcare systems.

Katra: Let’s start with the big picture. What are some of the benefits of integrating AI into healthcare?
Rhew: AI has the potential to increase access to care and identify individuals who may have underlying conditions long before symptoms appear. It benefits patients through earlier detection, clinicians through greater efficiency, and society through improved access and affordability. AI could help address some of healthcare’s biggest challenges, like the rising cost of care and access to information that helps people know when to seek help.

Katra: And what about trust? Can AI in healthcare be trusted?
Rhew: Trust is absolutely critical. It needs to exist at every level: patients, clinicians, organizations, and society. We have to ask: Is it reliable? Does it produce accurate results? Is it free from bias? That takes continuous testing, monitoring, and collaboration. The more we work together to understand how AI operates, the more effectively we can use it to improve outcomes.

Katra: Let’s talk about another major issue, the global shortage of healthcare professionals. According to the World Economic Forum, there could be a deficit of 13 million healthcare workers by 2035. Can AI really help?
Rhew: Definitely. We simply don’t have enough clinicians, especially in underserved areas. AI can help by supporting clinicians, automating certain tasks, and expanding access in communities that lack healthcare infrastructure. It may have the greatest impact in rural or low-resource settings, where it can empower both providers and patients to engage more effectively in care.

Katra: Before we wrap, what emerging AI trends are you most excited about?
Rhew: We’re seeing AI evolve from simply analyzing data to actually taking action. This concept of “agentic AI” means the technology can perform certain tasks autonomously, under human oversight, of course. That could help reduce bottlenecks and support clinicians with day-to-day operations.

Katra: Exactly. AI is becoming more personal, predictive, and preventative, moving healthcare away from a one-size-fits-all approach to something more tailored to each individual.

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Rodolphe Katra has an MBA and a doctorate in biomedical engineering. He is co-inventor on more than 150+ patents granted, published, or pending.

David Rhew is the CMO at Microsoft, a medical doctor, an adjunct professor at Stanford University, and a member of the Stanford Global Health Technology Advisory Board.