Why Healthcare’s AI Future Requires Patient Leadership
May 28, 2026 – 11:23 am
Image by: Donna R. Cryer
TL;DR
Donna R. Cryer argues healthcare is deploying AI without meaningful patient representation in governance. She advocates for a Chief Patient Officer role and warns that without patient-centric design, the industry risks repeating its history of exclusion at scale.
Artificial intelligence is entering healthcare at an unprecedented pace, according to Donna R. Cryer. However, she highlights that healthcare organizations are often introducing AI systems into clinical and operational environments without sufficiently involving the people most affected: the patients.
Cryer, a healthcare executive, attorney, board advisor, and founder of CryerHealth and Global Liver Institute, believes this presents an important choice for the industry: repeat past mistakes of excluding patients from decisions or use AI as an opportunity to build patient-centric governance structures from the beginning.
“We have seen the benefits of engaging patients. But actually having patients in leadership roles is the next frontier.”
Cryer emphasizes the positive impact of patient engagement, citing improved recruitment and clinical study relevance due to patient involvement. Research also shows that patient-informed trial design can enhance enrollment efficiency and lead to more patient-focused outcomes, contributing to health equity.
Despite this progress, Cryer argues that patient engagement is often viewed as supplementary. She stresses the unique insights that lived experience brings to decision-making processes within healthcare’s C-suite.
Her concerns shift to AI implementation, noting that many organizations are deploying AI systems without consistent governance models or intentional patient representation. This raises questions about consent, accountability, data use, and oversight. Cryer highlights the growing visibility of these issues in healthcare settings where patients encounter automated systems and algorithm-driven workflows without understanding their implications.
She also challenges the notion that patients are not technologically engaged, citing examples of patients managing chronic conditions who integrate AI into daily healthcare decisions.