Latest / Becker’s Healthcare Podcast / Muhammad Siddiqui, Chief Information Officer at Reid Health

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Muhammad Siddiqui, Chief Information Officer at Reid Health · Becker’s Healthcare Podcast

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  This is where health care leadership comes together.
• 0:04
  Becker's sixteenth annual meeting brings more than 3,500
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  hospital and health system executives and nearly 800
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  speakers to Chicago April.
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  This series event includes keynote conversations with Dallas
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  Cowboys legend Troy Aikman and former president George
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  w Bush. For the agenda and event details,
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  visit beckershospitalreview.com
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  and click on the events tab in the
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  upper right. We're looking forward to hosting you
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  in Chicago.
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  Welcome to the Becker's podcast. I'm Naomi Diaz,
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  health IT reporter here at Becker's Healthcare. And
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  today, I'm so privileged to be joined by
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  Mohammed Siddiqui,
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  CIO at Reed Health. In this episode, we'll
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  talk about the key initiatives Mohammed led over
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  the past year, the results they delivered, and
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  the biggest priorities and headwinds facing health system
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  leaders as they look ahead to 2026.
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  We'll also explore what makes the coming year
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  especially challenging and also where the strongest opportunities
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  for organizational
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  growth lie.
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  Mohammed, no stranger to the podcast. Thank you
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  so much for joining us today.
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  Really appreciate it. And I just wanna start
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  us off, of course, with just introducing yourself.
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  And if you could just tell us a
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  little bit about your organization to get us
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  started.
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  Of course. It's it's great to be here.
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  My name is Mohammad Sadeeti as I'm I
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  am the vice president, chief information officer at
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  Reed Health. I joined Reed Health in August
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  2022.
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  And a very high level, my role is
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  about making sure that technology supports care,
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  support our caregivers,
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  and support our community we serve.
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  Reed Health,
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  is a community based health system located in
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  Richmond, Indiana.
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  We, we serve the East
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  Central Indiana and a part of Western Ohio.
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  We serve around eight different counties, six in
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  Indiana and two in Ohio.
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  Our patient population include a very large
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  rural footprints,
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  and aging community and many patient who face
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  access and workforce challenges.
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  That really give the contest matters. Right? It
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  directly shifts how we think about technology
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  and and and set our strategic directions. I
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  have spent over
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  twenty seven years in health care IT working
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  in both in A United States and also
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  in The Middle East, including
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  time with Cleveland Clinic in Abu Dhabi.
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  These ex experience really shaped how I think
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  about the scale,
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  safety, and execution at Reed Health.
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  And my philosophy is very simple. If technology
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  does not make a nurse shift easier
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  a physician decision more informed,
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  we are building the wrong thing.
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  That's our North Star and is guiding how
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  we think about what's coming next year.
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  Mohammed, I really love that North star. I
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  think it capsulates with so many health systems
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  are trying to achieve here. And I would
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  love to circle it just specifically on your
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  organization and ask you, what was the most
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  important initiative you feel like you led in
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  this last year, and what did you do
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  and kind of go through the results of
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  that? Oh, absolutely. It's a great point. I
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  think the most important initiative for me,
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  which my team led last year was focus
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  on,
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  clinician burnout.
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  Right?
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  We really treated this, last year as an
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  operational priority.
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  We saw our clinician carrying heavy load every
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  day, long hours, endless documentation,
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  less time with the patient.
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  It was like asking them to run marathon,
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  while carrying an extra weight.
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  So we focus on taking the weight off,
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  from their back.
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  We implemented
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  a bridge,
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  MBA AI documentation.
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  And our goals was very simple. We want
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  our doctors to be doctors again. We want
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  them to be focused on a patient's,
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  not a computer keystroke,
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  and reduce the clinician burned out. Right?
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  And that's exactly what we accomplished.
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  That technology wise, of course, the ambient AI,
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  the technology listen to the patients and provide
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  conversation and drop the clinical notes.
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  And the thing that I loved about it
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  is directly integrated in your EHR. So you
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  don't really have to go in two different
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  places
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  to able to send those notes back to
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  the EHR.
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  What it does in output, of course, it
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  reduce the clinical work,
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  is protect the quality,
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  is maintain the trust. Right?
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  And the results have been significant.
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  Our clinicians have two to three hours a
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  day,
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  back on their calendars.
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  Conversation with the patient feel more natural nowadays.
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  Right?
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  And satisfaction has improved. And it comes to
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  the point
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  where we even getting in our Google reviews
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  and ratings,
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  patients are mentioning that, hey. Listen. My doctors
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  be able to spend more time with us
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  now.
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  I'm glad that Reid is forward thinking organization
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  who's implementing this amazing technology. So it really,
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  really excite me
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  that the best ROI that I get out
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  of it from 2025
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  and AI, that's MB and AI.
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  Wow. I mean, those results are astonishing to
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  hear two to three hours
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  back in their their calendar is is amazing
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  to hear. I know it's been amazing to
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  see the results of Ambient this year, Mohammed.
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  So I appreciate you sharing those
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  compelling results on how that's working at Reed
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  Health. I wanna ask too. I know you
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  mentioned, you know, making doctors be doctors again.
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  But looking ahead, what are some other big
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  priorities and headwinds you're kind of focused on,
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  in the upcoming year for 2026?
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  Oh, of of course. So as we look
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  forward 2026,
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  our our strategic priority focus on resilience and
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  execution.
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  Right?
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  First, in responsible
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  AI experience,
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  we are moving beyond the documentation.
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  We need to think beyond the MBN AI
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  and how can we bring in clinical decision
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  support,
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  within that MBN AI. And I I know
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  that our vendor is working on this implementation
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  as well. So our focus is there.
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  Our second focus that we are really working
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  nowadays is interoperability.
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  Right?
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  Data needs to move
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  with the patient across setting without friction. So
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  that's something we're focusing on right now. And,
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  of course, third, which is keeping me up
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  at night, the cybersecurity.
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  Health care remain is a prime target.
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  We continue to invest in protection and monitoring.
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  And I believe I would add the fourth
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  one there. Probably the virtual care gonna go
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  more expand the role and and probably the
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  hospital at home. And especially in a rural
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  community where in some of our patient has
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  to drive maybe hour and a half to
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  see a cardiologist and oncologist for infusion. So
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  maybe that's those are the some of the
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  things that I'm we will be focusing in
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  2026.
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  We also face evolving
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  AI
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  regulation changes, and and we just something just
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  come out just this week. And, of course,
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  the workforce constraint is in a specialized role.
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  So these are some of the things we're
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  gonna be focused on there as well, but
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  technology adoption is the key.
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  I mean, technology change and people change as
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  well. So we're focusing on those, at some
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  of those things that we're working in real
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  help.
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  Amazing examples there. I really love too how
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  you mentioned data needs to move with the
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  patient without friction and just a hyperfocus there.
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  I think such an amazing work on and
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  call out on your end there, Mohammed. I
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  wanna ask too, just continuing on that feat
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  of maybe some headwinds, what do you feel
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  like in your seat is the hardest thing
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  you'll have to do in 2026
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  as we look to this next year?
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  I think the hardest thing for me would
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  be the maintaining the trust,
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  while moving faster with
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  AI. Right? I think the opportunity is significant.
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  We see real potential to improve outcomes,
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  reduce the cost. At the same time, health
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  care carries responsibilities.
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  Right?
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  One misstep
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  around bias,
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  privacy, or clinician trust can slow progress for
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  years, and we don't wanna do that. Right?
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  There is no established playbook. We are building
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  one as we go. That means balancing speed
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  with governance,
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  helping providers feel supported, and keeping equity front
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  center.
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  It also means building understanding across the whole
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  organization. Right? From the front lines to the
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  executive team. But in the same time, I
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  think the leadership is matters. Right? Knowing when
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  to move, knowing when to pass,
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  and knowing when to stop, and these are
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  very, very critical.
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  Yeah. Yeah. I've had a lot of conversations
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  with CIOs this this past year and just
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  saying, hey. How do we kind of educate
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  everyone from
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  those and those taking patients in the ED
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  to our clinicians on AI, I think, just
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  a smart move there. Again, Mohammed to hit
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  on. I wanna round us out today with
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  today's conversation. We covered a lot from what
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  you're planning to execute in 2020 soon as
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  well as those headwinds.
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  But where do you see the best opportunities
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  for organizational
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  growth in this next year for Reed Health?
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  Absolutely, Laura. So I think I see three
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  main opportunity areas.
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  First in operational performance,
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  artificial intelligence applied to staffing,
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  revenue cycle,
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  of of course, in operational efficiency, help us
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  work smarter
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  and redirect
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  resources back to the patient care. So that
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  would be the first one. The second one
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  is a virtual care. We have an opportunity
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  to build
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  durable,
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  virtual care pathways. Right? The chronic care and
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  prevention, closing the care gaps.
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  This expand access for the rural health and
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  reduce pressure on physicians
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  or the physical facilities. I mean, we should
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  be get out from the brick and mortar
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  model. Right?
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  And I believe, as I said to you,
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  third is the data. I mean, health systems
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  sit on
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  enormous amount of information with strong governance and
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  analytics.
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  We move from reactive care to the proactive
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  care. And these are not IT projects, to
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  be honest. These are enterprise
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  projects.
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  I believe by 2026,
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  AI become part of daily operations,
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  budgeting, risk management,
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  workforce planning. I think all will come in
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  there as well.
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  Many health system already run more AI than
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  they realize. They're running AI. The next fix
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  require, I think, discipline,
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  clear ownership, and I believe a clear outcome
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  and clear stop decision. We are to stop.
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  I think this is gonna be very, very
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  critical.
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  Yeah. All all great points there, Mohammed. And
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  I love, like I said, that sentiment of
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  proactive care to reactive care. Excited to continue
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  to see that those initiatives,
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  become concrete in 2026.
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  That's all of my questions I had for
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  you, today, Mohammed, and for the Becker's healthcare
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  podcast. I just wanna extend a huge thank
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  you to you for sharing your perspective,
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  your leadership priorities, and just how you're navigating
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  challenges as health care continues to change. And
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  thank you all for listening today. We'll see
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  you next time on the Becker's healthcare podcast.
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  Thank you. Thank you.