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Episode 574

How AI Could Strengthen the Doctor-Patient Relationship: Dr. Ashwin Vasan, Senior Fellow in Health Policy and Global Affairs at Yale School of Public Health

Apr 9, 2026
40:59

Episode Description

How AI Could Strengthen the Doctor-Patient Relationship: Dr. Ashwin Vasan, Senior Fellow in Health Policy and Global Affairs at Yale School of Public Health and Affiliate Faculty at Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs

“Ultimately, AI needs to be a tool that doesn't break down trust or empathy or clinical judgment, but rather helps enhance those things.” That aspirational perspective from Dr. Ashwin Vasan, Senior Fellow in Health Policy and Global Affairs at the Yale School of Public Health and Affiliate Faculty at the Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs, frames a nuanced conversation about one of healthcare’s most consequential changes. Drawing on his experience as New York City Health Commissioner during the COVID-19 crisis and decades in global and public health, Dr. Vasan argues that the future of AI in medicine should be shaped less by the technology itself than by the values guiding its implementation, and that physicians need to play an active role in this process. “I think it behooves us to engage with this technology and steer it in the directions that we want as a society.”

This timely discussion also offers Dr. Vasan’s thoughtful perspectives on:

  • How AI could allow physicians to focus on the human side of care;
  • The risks of AI reinforcing inequities and driving costs higher;
  • Public health as the marriage of science, society and trust.

Join host Lindsey Smith for a valuable Raise the Line episode on how AI can be harnessed to benefit patients and provides alike. 

Mentioned in this episode:

Yale School of Public Health

Yale Jackson School of Public Affairs

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