Hood Talks: AI and the Future of Healthcare 

By: Michaiah Varnes//

Artificial intelligence in the role of healthcare was the topic of the Hood Talks lecture over Zoom on Sept. 25.

Hood Talks is a virtual series that educates the community on current trends and leading-edge issues featuring the college’s faculty experts. 

This event was hosted by April Boulton, dean of the graduate school at Hood College. 

The keynote speaker was Timothy P. Coffin, program director of Health Informatics. 

Coffin is the chief executive officer and founder of Celtiq LLC, a consulting firm focused on government healthcare solutions. 

His work extends to various federal departments and organizations, including the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, the National Institutes of Health and the Federal Drug Administration.

The program started with images of objects that were either AI-generated or real.

By looking at the shapes, colors, patterns, and memories, our brains form the associations that create thoughts, Coffin said. “It’s an extraordinary combination of perception, of memory, context, reasoning, and emotion,” he said. 

It is difficult to program an AI system to have the context-driven understanding of a human brain, he said. 

Coffin described AI as “like a super-fast decision assistant that learns from mountains of data. Think of it as the GPS.” 

Coffin stated AI can be effective in healthcare situations, such as scanning medical images and lab results and performing repetitive tasks like processing insurance claims, scheduling and transcribing clinical notes. 

Similarly, personalized AI can work effectively with medicine, tailored drug therapies, and care plans for patients. 

“I’m talking about a set of powerful tools that can enhance clinicians’ efforts in what they do,” Coffin said. 

Coffin emphasized the importance of patients and providers trusting that health data is secure with AI. “Trust in securing these systems is really not negotiable,” Coffin said. 

Coffin talked about the next frontier in AI, including digital twins, generative AI robotics and ambient intelligence. 

“This is going to really transform the way of practicing medicine,” Coffin said. 

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