C-Suite Perspectives On AI: Jamie Frew Of Carepatron On Where to Use AI and Where to Rely Only on Humans
An Interview With Kieran Powell
Staying ahead of the curve
Healthcare is ever-evolving, and so are our AI solutions. We view this as a dynamic learning opportunity that enhances our users’ experience and allows our team to innovate better and seek the best solutions to solve any issue that may arise from our pursuit of regularly improving our platform.
As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to advance and integrate into various aspects of business, decision-makers at the highest levels face the complex task of determining where AI can be most effectively utilized and where the human touch remains irreplaceable. This series seeks to explore the nuanced decisions made by C-Suite executives regarding the implementation of AI in their operations. As part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Jamie Frew.
Jamie Frew is the co-founder and CEO of Carepatron, a comprehensive healthcare practice management operating system (OS). He graduated with a dual degree in Psychology and Business Management from the University of Waikato. These, along with his experience and passion for innovative technology and accessible healthcare, fueled his vision for a healthcare platform that democratizes access to healthcare tools, resources, and software for 1 billion people. Through Carepatron, Jamie is committed to enabling technology as a force for good, ensuring that high-quality care is equally achievable and efficient for healthcare practitioners and patients alike.
Thank you so much for your time! I know that you are a very busy person. Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?
It’s my pleasure, thank you for having me! My path into health tech was driven by a passion for both healthcare and innovation, something that began early on, given that I grew up in a healthcare environment. Being surrounded by healthcare professionals and seeing their relationships with their patients gave me firsthand insight into the challenges they face, fuelling my desire to make a difference.
However, when I entered the workforce, my career detoured into technology and people management, both of which provided me with great skill and experience when I ventured into entrepreneurship, co-founding Carepatron with our current CTO, David Pene. With the intersection of my early experiences, my professional growth, and my passion for healthcare and innovation, I made Carepatron thrive with our incredible team’s help.
Since we started, our focus has been on empowering healthcare practitioners to manage their practices better, ensure patient data security, and meet compliance standards — all while delivering exceptional care. It’s been an exciting journey, and I remain passionate about continuing to innovate and improve healthcare through technology.
It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
One of the funniest and most insightful mistakes I made when starting Carepatron was around estimating the platform’s potential scope and demand.
When we began, we were focused on building a solution specifically tailored for our wives’ and close friends’ healthcare and medical businesses. The goal was to address their immediate pain points and streamline their operations. We were so locked into that small, familiar circle that it didn’t occur to us initially that this same need existed on a much larger scale.
It wasn’t until we started sharing the idea more widely that we realized the opportunity was far bigger than we had imagined. Thousands of healthcare practitioners around the world were dealing with the same inefficiencies and administrative burdens, desperate for a solution like ours. It was one of those “lightbulb” moments when we saw how limited our initial thinking had been and how close we were to missing a much larger impact.
The lesson I took from this experience is to always think beyond the immediate problem in front of you and be open to scaling your vision. While solving specific, local challenges is valuable, staying curious and seeking feedback from a broader audience can reveal unexpected opportunities. In hindsight, I’m grateful for that early mistake. It pushed us to think bigger and helped us shape Carepatron into a platform serving thousands of practitioners worldwide.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
Yes, we’re currently working on a very exciting AI-driven project at Carepatron, though I can’t reveal all the details yet! What I can say is that it has the potential to significantly change how healthcare professionals handle their administrative tasks and workflows, making processes smoother and more intuitive than ever before.
This new development will have a big impact on maximizing time and workflow management, allowing them to focus more on patient care. I personally think this is going to be a game-changer in the way technology supports healthcare and we can’t wait to share more when the time is right!
Thank you for that. Let’s now shift to the central focus of our discussion. In your experience, what have been the most challenging aspects of integrating AI into your business operations, and how have you balanced these with the need to preserve human-centric roles?
Integrating AI into our business operations at Carepatron has been filled with both opportunities and challenges. We recognize the importance of preserving the essential human-centric roles in healthcare while acknowledging that we also have to evolve with the times and embrace inevitable technological advancements. With this, we strive to find an intersection between these two and see AI and technology as a means to empower the human touch instead of replacing it. We remain steadfast in our belief that healthcare is fundamentally centred around empathy, communication, and trust and no amount of technology would be able to mimic what’s innate in the human soul.
We are carefully approaching AI implementation with great intentionality. Our primary focus has been leveraging AI to streamline administrative tasks, such as automating note-taking and appointment scheduling, to enable practitioners to devote more time to their patients. Rather than overtaking the human touch, AI at Carepatron has been purposefully designed to empower healthcare providers by liberating their time and enabling them to concentrate on the personal, empathetic aspect of care that technology cannot replicate.
Another significant challenge has been ensuring that our AI tools are intuitive and user-friendly for healthcare professionals. We have recognized their time constraints and dedicated ourselves to seamlessly integrating our AI into their existing workflows. We aim for AI to serve as a supportive assistant rather than an additional complication they must deal with.
Can you share a specific instance where AI initially seemed like the optimal solution but ultimately proved less effective than human intervention? What did this experience teach you about the limitations of AI in your field?
To be honest, we still see many practitioners hesitant to jump into AI for several valid reasons. First, there are security concerns regarding patient data. Next, some practitioners still prefer manual work when handling their admin tasks due to routine. And these are barely scratching the surface.
Preferences and traditional practices are always some of the biggest factors to overcome when introducing change, but just like how smartphones and the internet have become part of our daily lives nowadays, even when we recall their non-existence in recent history, is proof that adapting to technological advancements is inevitable. Things, whether done manually or not, will always have their flaws, and that’s why constant innovation is needed.
For us, we advocate for AI to be a tool for good and a means to empower practitioners rather than replace them and with that comes the hope that this advantage we are introducing will be accepted as part of the norm eventually.
That said, as someone who advocates for better patient care and healthcare accessibility across borders, I strongly believe that healthcare, an industry rooted in the power of the human touch, will never be overtaken by AI. AI’s role will merely be a means of support. It can never replace the human spirit, dignity, and yearning for survivability and sympathy that is essential in the healthcare practice.
How do you navigate the ethical implications of implementing AI in your company, especially concerning potential job displacement and ensuring ethical AI usage?
We approach the ethical implications of implementing AI at Carepatron with great care. We understand the concerns about potential job displacement, and our focus is always on ensuring that AI enhances rather than replaces human roles. We design AI to take over repetitive, time-consuming tasks like data entry or appointment scheduling so that healthcare professionals can focus on patient care, relationship building, and more complex decision-making that requires human intuition. For us at least, that’s a mission we are clear on from the very beginning.
We’re deeply committed to maintaining transparency and fairness in ensuring ethical AI usage. This means carefully vetting our AI algorithms to ensure they do not perpetuate biases or compromise patient data security. We also value our user feedback in the development process to ensure the technology genuinely serves their needs and respects the human-centred nature of healthcare. This and extensive research on industry trends and general practitioner sentiment are at the heart of how we plan to implement our AI functions.
Could you describe a successful instance in your company where AI and human skills were synergistically combined to achieve a result that neither could have accomplished alone?
One successful example of AI and human skills working together at Carepatron has been improving workflows like documentation and treatment plans, allowing for a more streamlined, efficient process without additional costs for clients.
Our AI tools assist in handling repetitive tasks, such as automating clinical notes and administrative work, which saves healthcare professionals valuable time. However, the AI is designed to work alongside human expertise, not replace it. Practitioners still provide the essential insights and personalized care that AI alone cannot achieve, especially when understanding patient preferences, emotional needs, and unique treatment paths.
This dynamic between AI and human skills allows for more efficient, high-quality care delivery. While the AI handles routine tasks, practitioners focus on building patient relationships and delivering personalized care, making the healthcare experience more seamless for both providers and patients. This approach keeps the cost low for clients while enhancing the quality and accuracy of documentation and treatment plans.
Based on your experience and success, what are the “5 Things To Keep in Mind When Deciding Where to Use AI and Where to Rely Only on Humans, and Why?” How have these 5 things impacted your work or your career? Please share a story or an example for each.
Since I’ve been using Carepatron as an example, here are five principles and factors that strongly impacted and are still impacting our decisions regarding the intersection of AI and the human element in our work.
1. Security and compliance
As mentioned earlier, security and compliance are still some of the main concerns regarding adopting AI into workflows. That said, we work our hardest to prioritize data security and adhere to privacy laws like HIPAA and GDPR, ensuring healthcare professionals can trust our AI tools. This, along with the understanding that any cybersecurity framework is only 100% effective with proper team caution and training, is at the core of how we approach security and compliance in this landscape.
2. Support-driven rather than AI-dependent approach
While our AI-assisted documentation can streamline note-taking, we still emphasize professionals taking ownership of their work. Our AI tools are meant to support and streamline their processes and workflows, not replace their expertise. We encourage the use of AI as an empowerment tool for one’s practice while reiterating that professionals must and are still accountable for their work as a whole.
3. Smart cost managament
We understand that new technology often means additional costs, thus people’s aversion to immediate innovation. However, we see these as opportunities to manage costs in the long run. And we’re not just talking about AI but other potential emerging technologies. That said, we put great emphasis on using these innovations as empowering tools rather than threats to displace human workers. Our automated features save time and reduce operational expenses, allowing us to provide excellent value to practitioners while enhancing efficiency.
4. Staying ahead of the curve
Healthcare is ever-evolving, and so are our AI solutions. We view this as a dynamic learning opportunity that enhances our users’ experience and allows our team to innovate better and seek the best solutions to solve any issue that may arise from our pursuit of regularly improving our platform.
5. Ease of use must also be prioritized
This is crucial for adoption. Our intuitive AI tools fit seamlessly into daily workflows, allowing practitioners to focus on patient care without added stress.
These principles shape how Carepatron incorporates AI into healthcare, focusing on security, collaboration, cost-effectiveness, relevance, and user-friendliness. Ultimately, we believe AI should enhance the compassion and expertise inherent in healthcare rather than become a threat to the human workforce who serves as the heart of the industry and practice.
Looking towards the future, in which areas of your business do you foresee AI making the most significant impact, and conversely, in which areas do you believe a human touch will remain indispensable?
AI is inevitably set to impact every aspect of healthcare in the long term. At Carepatron, we are excited to explore how this technology can transform both clinical and administrative processes. We envision AI playing a larger role in developing predictive care models and other innovations that will practically change the game when it comes to the holistic engagement between practitioners and patients.
However, we firmly believe that the human touch will remain indispensable in many areas of healthcare. AI cannot replicate essential aspects such as building patient trust, delivering compassionate care, and making nuanced clinical decisions based on emotional and social factors. The relationship between practitioners and patients requires empathy, understanding, and context that only humans can provide.
As I keep stressing over and over, at Carepatron, our philosophy is to leverage AI as a tool for empowerment rather to to replace human expertise. By taking over repetitive tasks and enhancing decision-making, AI frees healthcare professionals to focus on what they do best: providing personalized care and fostering meaningful relationships with patients. This combination of AI and the human touch will drive healthcare forward, ensuring that technology supports practitioners without compromising the empathy and compassion that define quality care.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
At Carepatron, we believe that health is a collective responsibility, and our platform is our way of contributing to that vision. By empowering healthcare professionals, we are helping to build a more inclusive and brighter future for healthcare. This is a goal we should all strive for, not just as businesses but as individuals as well. As the saying goes, “health is wealth,” and it’s a principle we should live by, supporting initiatives that make healthcare more accessible and affordable for everyone.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
You can connect with me, Jamie Frew, on LinkedIn and support our mission for accessible, affordable, and global healthcare by checking out Carepatron.com.
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
About The Interviewer: Kieran Powell is the EVP of Channel V Media a New York City Public Relations agency with a global network of agency partners in over 30 countries. Kieran has advised more than 150 companies in the Technology, B2B, Retail and Financial sectors. Prior to taking over business operations at Channel V Media, Kieran held roles at Merrill Lynch, PwC and Ernst & Young. Get in touch with Kieran to discuss how marketing and public relations can be leveraged to achieve concrete business goals.
C-Suite Perspectives On AI: Jamie Frew Of Carepatron On Where to Use AI and Where to Rely Only on… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.